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What do you do for a living?

Logsplitter

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Brilliant. It’s
I’m an anatomical pathologist , anatomical pathology being the gold standard of diagnosis when it comes to the need to take a biopsy to confirm or investigate a diagnosis.
A bit like an OBD tool – microscopy takes guessing out of the equation!

A fair proportion of my work concerns cancer diagnosis , often a highly complex and time consuming task of which the patient is generally unaware.
I don’t do the job for likes , thanks or joy – there is none!
But I enjoy being a contributor to a team that keeps people in the best state of health possible so they can get on with their lives.

That said , like a pilot there is no room for error and a constant stream of work under time pressure conditions. I have no control over the workload and am salaried – not paid/case.
After 26 years of FT work , for my sanity I decided to step back to a 7 day fortnight, which gives me mental circuit breakers. After all , each day requires the mental effort you would recall from 2x3 hour exams in high school/uni.

How did I get here?
At school I enjoyed science , esp physics , and was an amateur astronomer. Just before the end of matric I applied for medicine as I figured 6 years study – which I was good at – and no rush to enter the workforce.
Accepted onto a surgical training program but after 2 years of ICU , A&E , plastics , orthopaedics and the like had had enough of the afterhours and wanted to see my wife more often (she is a GP).
So I switched ; 6 years more study and at 32 fully minted as a pathologist.

The Port Arthur massacre (’96) was a “highlight” and being involved in the mortuary at the time was a sobering experience.

My job uses hands (dexterity in performing surgical cut ups of biopsies ranging from small to large.
(I performed >1000 autopsies in training , but none since ’97) and eyes/brain. It’s an evolving and complex field ,especially nowadays with molecular pathology and complex targeted treatments for various cancers. Keeping up with the latest and greatest is necessary - and monitored by the “authorities”.

Regrets? Yes maybe – perhaps should have done Ag science or geology, because I love getting out in the wild and bringing back stuff to study – it’s a hobby now, and should keep me active in my dotage.

I work hard on fitness to counteract stress and the ergonomics of a day job, and allow trips in the wild as well as a helluva lot of gardening on our acreage.
I enjoy the classic car hobby as it is a paradigm for keeping ageing things “on the road.” Plus the physical and mental challenges involved.
As the next few years pass I intend to gradually drop working days to increase my leisure time , to a large part guided by my Grenadier!

My often black humour is standard fare for those who work in health , emergency services etc. :D I t stops us going completely mad.
Brilliant it’s people like you and @Tomdoc that keep people like me alive and kicking. I’ve had so many major injuries over the years inc both knees replaced , shoulder replaced other shoulder repaired, countless broken bones and pins holding them together plus scars far too numerous to count on top of that three major stomach operations due to complications from Bilhartzia amongst other other gut related issues. Approaching 62 yrs and still hope to be fighting fit within the next month . My aim is to be back to doing press ups, pull-ups, squats, rowing machine and cycling by month end following gut surgery on 26 April. As my surgeon says most people we have to encourage to exercise enough with me they have to hold me back.
As for a career I now have the life of Riley which I will tell you all about at some point. But quite a change from building power lines 😎
 

muxmax

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I feel like a voyeur reading all your stories and not contributing (even though I am a little reluctant when it comes to publishing my private life). WTF. I am a lawyer. Studied in Heidelberg and Kiel, went to Philadelphia for a post-graduate degree and had the honour not only to study on a stipend at Penn Law and Wharton but also to join the oldest mounted military unit of the United States and train with the Pennsylvania National Guard for a year. Having returned from there, I made first attempts in my profession focusing on insolvency law until after a detour I ended up as a partner of a medium sized law firm, focusing on corporate litigation, mostly shareholders' disputes. That came to an end a little more than a year ago when a client of mine asked me to join his family office and fill the legal chair in his team. I am now involved in operational management of several portfolio companies reaching from viticulture to the construction of high performance computers and serve for example as general counsel in a company that develops and builds high performance computers, mainly for national research centres, and software for their operation.
 

Logsplitter

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I feel like a voyeur reading all your stories and not contributing (even though I am a little reluctant when it comes to publishing my private life). WTF. I am a lawyer. Studied in Heidelberg and Kiel, went to Philadelphia for a post-graduate degree and had the honour not only to study on a stipend at Penn Law and Wharton but also to join the oldest mounted military unit of the United States and train with the Pennsylvania National Guard for a year. Having returned from there, I made first attempts in my profession focusing on insolvency law until after a detour I ended up as a partner of a medium sized law firm, focusing on corporate litigation, mostly shareholders' disputes. That came to an end a little more than a year ago when a client of mine asked me to join his family office and fill the legal chair in his team. I am now involved in operational management of several portfolio companies reaching from viticulture to the construction of high performance computers and serve for example as general counsel in a company that develops and builds high performance computers, mainly for national research centres, and software for their operation.
I feel totally under qualified with all you academic people on this forum 😂
 

emax

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I feel totally under qualified with all you academic people on this forum 😂
Bulllshit.

It's not about academic titles. It's about what you you do.

I have no academic degree at all. Have been an autodidact throughout my life.

I'll be provocative: being taught something by others is only one way. But the real art is to find out and understand by yourself and make the best of it.
 

Logsplitter

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Bulllshit.

It's not about academic titles. It's about what you you do.

I have no academic degree at all. Have been an autodidact throughout my life.

I'll be provocative: being taught something by others is only one way. But the real art is to find out and understand by yourself and make the best of it.
I kind of agree I only made the comment in jest. I’ve done OK through hard graft so can’t complain. Most of my mates are of the academic type and we all tell the same jokes down the village pub.
 

emax

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If only someone told me how to do that, I'd do it.
For me, it was the lack of money to continue studying and to as well feed my family.
Next thing was: I didn't want to work something stupid, e.g. to sit on an assembly line and press a button every 37 seconds.

When I found the work that really interested me (which was the bit of luck one needs in his life), I decided to sell the only really valuable and most precious asset I had as expensively as possible: my time. And I quickly realized that I needed to develop the necessary skills to increase my market value.

So I learned: bought and read books, experimented, made mistakes and learned to avoid them. And I copied, improved and developed my own. And that part had nothing to with luck but was work which lasted over three decades.

Learning by doing.

Two things help a lot: passion for what you do and staying curious. :)

Wording improved
 
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Krabby

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When I started this thread I had no idea where it would lead - it has turned out to be fantastic! We have some amazing people amongst us and it's wonderful hearing peoples' * stories. We are doctors, lawyers, tradesmen, engineers, educators, veterans, and whole host of others who have lead dynamic lives and it seems few had straight A to B paths. My path was a bit windy, but in the end it lead me to the right place.

For the lurkers out there - come join us for a pint and tell us about yourself. Proportionally speaking, many of us will never meet face-to-face, but do not let that diminish the fact that we are all glad you are all here.

(* Edit - totally debating the use of people's or peoples' here. While we are one group, we are comprised of a variety of different countries and cultures. I've been going back and forth and back again.)
 

muxmax

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For me, it was the lack of money to continue studying and to as well feed my family.
Next thing was: I didn't want to work something stupid, e.g. to sit on an assembly line and press a button every 37 seconds.

When I found the work that really interested me (which was the bit of luck one needs in his life), I decided to sell that time as expensively as possible. But this was only possible because I realized that I needed to develop the necessary skills to increase my market value.

So I learned: bought and read books, experimented, made mistakes and learned to avoid them. And I copied, improved and developed my own. And that part had nothing to with luck but was work which lasted over three decades.

Learning by doing.

And staying curious helps a lot.
I absolutely agree (even though you missed the irony in my response). My "boss" is close to 80, curious like a child and that - together with the willingness to leave your comfort zone - really is the magic.
 

Logsplitter

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So following on from my previous post. After deciding to pack in being a linesman (overhead power lines) while i was still relatively in one piece I travelled around the world for a couple of years then came back and studied Horticulture. Long story short but this led to some very interesting job opportunities including working in amazing formal gardens, working in Malawi along with my wife who trained at Kew Gardens and running our own gardening/ landscape business . Now we’ve ended up with the most amazing job managing and maintaining a private island for some very nice people who own as a holiday retreat. Can’t say any more than that but life is good and work is flexible enough to allow us to travel the world for three to four months per year. 😍
 
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Guilty for lurking so here it is. Nothing super special here or any major collage stuff, some trade school, have done many job/things. The main ones are, US military, wildland firefighter engine boss & Inventor. Had to retire early due an serious injury from my military service caught up with me. Now I go everywhere with one awesome dog that can't wait to ride in a Grenadier.
 
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emax

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Hey INEOS, what about this book:


The Grenadier Owners.
About The People Which Drive Our Cars.
Edition 1
(C) 2023 INEOS Automotive


Page 1
Authors:
(long list following)
...
...
 

Krabby

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I use them to abuse my vehicle for fun. But, as we all know, "that'll buff out."
 

Deleted User Account.

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Hey INEOS, what about this book:


The Grenadier Owners.
About The People Which Drive Our Cars.
Edition 1
(C) 2023 INEOS Automotive


Page 1
Authors:
(long list following)
...
...
"IT'S A COOKBOOK!"
212zo9.gif
 

WyomingRoaming

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Also guilty of Lurking… @Krabby I had the same curiosity as to what others did on this forum. Glad you started the thread. Very diverse group of people with impressive careers.

I’m on the younger side, so who knows where my career will lead me, but so far I have really enjoyed the ride. I have always been interested in agriculture, so in high school and college I worked for a research farm collecting data on various seed varieties and chemical treatments. My last year there we also got into organic research. The data was for companies like BASF and Bayer Crop Science, and I enjoyed it, mostly because it had me out in the field on equipment every day. Later in college, I worked on a cattle farm in South Carolina when I was not in class, and I spent my summers as a wrangler on a ranch in Wyoming where I currently live. Right after I graduated had a short stint as a research field technician for wildlife biology studying mountain lions as well as maintaining trails for the United States forest service. And deciding that I wanted to earn more money than one can typically earn in field biology (also my degree was in business, not biology), I went into sales and project management for a North American construction and rental company. I enjoy getting to speak with people from all backgrounds in my role as a salesmen. We build temporary facilities for Capital projects, the military, and the disaster relief along with the occasional festival. I’m now creating a runway for myself to exit and start my own business which has really been my childhood dream. I’ve seen my grandfathers and my own father run their own businesses and it seems to lead to a lot of satisfaction, albeit risky.
 

Highwayman

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I’ll keep this very short, because I doubt it will win too much goodwill and support - I’m an accountant, who has worked in financial services for 35 years. That’s normally enough to see me standing alone at a dinner party!

On leaving school at 15 I got a job in a garage, because I always loved cars, and my plan was to go that way. However, my exam results were good, and I had the opportunity to go back to school and so I did, then got a degree, and then qualified as an accountant (but always had cars to play with).

I cut my teeth in manufacturing and then became a management consultant with PWC, focusing on business turnarounds (and I loved doing this). Joined Barclays to set up a part of their IT organisation as a stand alone business, then did another global company turnaround (not as a consultant, but someone with skin in the game) which was quite lucrative, then joined Amex to help transform their IT functions. For the last twelve years I’ve been CEO of the UK’s largest cash processing company.

I retire at the end of next year, and the build of my overland truck is currently underway and my wife and I plan to travel around Europe (initially) and see where we end up.
 
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