Job

[Frank to be]

Civil Engineer turned Project Manager, mainly in energy.

Good points: varied work, tangible results, makes a worthwhile contribution to society, has taken me around the world a bit so far and will do more in future, money ok

Bad points: can be a lot of driving involved, usually I'm either way too busy or not busy enough, too many meetings, 'higher ups' who haven't got a clue what they're doing, that feeling that you're basically a prostitute

[ScouseFox]

There will be a position soon for someone to be my trainee.

where do I apply

[Merging Cultures]

Senior Adviser for Africa and the Middle East. I work with financial institutions to identify their capacity constraints and help them to overcome them so they can a. reach a broader and deeper client base and b. make more money.

 

Good points: Travel and money isn't bad

Bad points: Quite a bit of cut and paste.

 

Education and experience: BSc Economics, MSc Financial Economics + 5 years living in Africa doing this work and 13 years total experience globally.

[Guest MattP]

Part time accountant, part time web host/owner/developer, part time freelance writer, part time sponger.

 

Unemployed wank*r in reality.

[BoneDog]

There will be a position soon for someone to be my trainee.

 

With your guidance they could be the best.

[Finnaldo]

Currently unemployed, finished Sixth Form over a month and looking for an apprenticeship at a couple of companies.

Last job I had was working in a nightclub in Hinckley as a glass-collector-turned-sexy-barman ( ) from October to March, but business dried up and I stopped getting shifts around March, it was a shame as I was starting to get work as a barman properly which meant a payrise

It was a decent job I guess, up points were that when I started, I was technically out every Saturday, manager was very laid back and you were allowed a couple of drinks on shift (rarely took the offer up though) fairly easy work although obviously it meant working mental bank holidays. Wasn't too bad whilst I was 17 but at 18 you felt a bit like you were missing out somewhat. Although the Christmas period was mental- ended up working the break up Friday, Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and New Years, but got £150 added bonus for working over the holiday period.

Miss it somewhat, was a lot of fun a lot of the time, very social and I got to knew all the bouncers in Hinckley town which meant when I went out I didn't have to bother getting my ID out. Also the after hour staff lock-ins were always a laugh.

[Wymsey]

Been looking for 10 weeks.

Done two 'Learn Direct' courses (Sage 1&2 & 'Analysing Information') which both lasted for around 3 weeks.

Just stunned at the lack of response, even from agencies.

Money is not an issue, not much so I'm even willing to work on NMW (despite a 1st classification).

I want to be somewhere and do something; starting to get to me , quite depressing.

[Captain...]

I'm basically a software implementation consultant. I'm never called that though my current title is process application specialist, my favourite was when I was a business systems analyst and all of our email sigs were shortened to BS analysts. I also work with Global IT specialists, abbreviated to GITS.

I work from home quite a lot and it isn't all it's cracked up to be, i spend a whole day not seeing anyone and then when my girlfriend gets back I'm all hyper at some human interaction and she's tired from work and commute and just wants to veg.

You also feel completely detached from the head office and what is going on and the decisions that are being made, it is also very easy to slack off and get behind with work.

[Stadt]

internet troll

[Vardinhio]

Emergency Services, coming across different situations and helping people each and every day.

 

I made a career change after gaining a 1st class honour degree in a business related discipline and working on a prestigious graduate scheme afterwards for 3 years. I'd never return to an office environment like that though, the lack of organisation, the boredom and lack of focus on projects was unbearable.

 

Absoutely love my job now, decent pay too but always mitigated by potentially having to deal with some unimaginable circumstances.

 

Now working in my ideal job I would say it is important to understand the type of work you enjoy. For example I realised I like shift based work with short/medium goals and wins. Others enjoy working a routine pattern and working on the same project for years with the same people where progress is often difficult to notice. If you can figure out what motivates you it makes a happy career far more likely.

[ozleicester]

Advertising and Marketing manager, currently for a niche publication and previously for a number of national and international publications (News Int).

 

Good; - Good money, pretty well run the place excluding the owners so its a nice role, hours are good and can come and go as suits. Compared to previous positions this is relatively stress free and not too taxing. Dealing with decent high end clientele so less of the ****wits.

 

Bad; - Maybe a little too easy, the owners are... odd... only a small team so not a great deal of fun to be had, out of the city so miss out on the buzz. Easy work, i like solving problems and dont really get too many.

 

i should probably not complain too much.

[Mark_w]

Student, I like the spending all day on Foxes Talk.

[lavrentis]

I write software innit.

 

Not a consultant though, permo staff which means I'm not on much.

 

Consultants are overpaid good talkers though. Maybe i'll be one one day.

[Rincewind]

Retired.-  Part time poet. Been chosen as the resident poet for the Kings Head.

 

Good - The  hours are good.

Bad - I will be famous only after I am gone and will not be present at the wake.

[Ollie93]

Just coming to the end of my Civil Engineering placement, not sure if it's what I want to go into after I finish uni but talking to some of the lads in the office the money seems to be good, hours fairly relaxed. But can get pretty tedious at times. 

 

Ideally I'd like my music to take off, but like a lot on here, we all have our pipe dreams!

 

Civil Engineer turned Project Manager, mainly in energy.

Good points: varied work, tangible results, makes a worthwhile contribution to society, has taken me around the world a bit so far and will do more in future, money ok

Bad points: can be a lot of driving involved, usually I'm either way too busy or not busy enough, too many meetings, 'higher ups' who haven't got a clue what they're doing, that feeling that you're basically a prostitute

 

Hows civil engineering been for you mate over the years? Worth it?

[ramboacdc]

I sell plastic in raw form....as you may have been able to figure out...it's a desk job. 

[RonnieTodger]

Graphic Designer. 

 

I'm a junior now, having finished my apprenticeship. It can get repetitive with briefs and the same work as JJJS said but again, it's quite cool seeing your designs in-store too. Also, it's a much more relaxed environment compared to my previous jobs. We've got a big TV to watch in the studio when there's Wimbledon or the World Cup etc. If you don't fancy going out at lunch you can have a game of fifa. There's always the option to move into 3D design too.

[kingcarr21]

Im a Technical Planner for Alstom Power. A little boring as i find myself having days where im not very busy. hence why im on FT to pass the time. 38 hours a week Mon-Fri.

 

Used to work as a Mechanical Fitter for Alstom and worked away from home 10 months of the year. For 10 months i would work minimum 70 hours a week (10 hours a day everyday) and have 1 weekend off every fourth weekend. Was a good job and good banter with the lads but you can imagine how tough it was being away for so long from wife and daughter. Those weekends off used to be awesome seeing my daughters face. My wife got pregnant again so i decided to switch career path. Been in this job over 2 years now and love the fact i go home everyday and see the kids.

[goose2010]

Packaging Project Manager for Aldi. Work close with the buying team taking their ideas and getting them in store.

 

Pros - Aldi are flying at the minute which is good for our company. Basically get as much food and booze for free - we just request a production case to analysis

 

Cons - Trying to make a buyer understand that we are just trying to keep them from being sued and suppliers getting frustrated with Aldi but all in all its a good job.

[foxfanazer]

Warehouse work. Work with some great lads and we have a good laugh but ultimately its a dead end job. Without trying to sound big headed I'm an intelligent person and could've done better but I've just never been great at applying it to anything.

Concentrated far too much on my social life at school and hardly ever did coursework. I'd love to go back and change that

[ballso]

Project Coordinator for the (tax) man in New Zealand. On a working holiday, have been with Inland Revenue for about ten months (only got two months left now) and before this I did six months with the Ministry of Justice as an IT Project Coordinator.

 

I used to do Supply Chain Planning/Analyst type work back home, so it's slightly different and will definitely stand me in good stead going forward. I've actually really enjoyed working in the Public sector (for IR anyway, MOJ not so much) and have been really impressed and quite surprised at how passionate people are over here about making a difference for the 'Kiwi in the street'. Quite refreshing. Not sure why, but I just had a pre-conveived notion that most Government workers were work shy!

Awesome, relaxed work environment over here though, with a massive focus on work/life balance. Probably the best thing about working over here, I think. They really encourage and support you to strike that balance - totally different to the UK (in my experience anyway!)

[kingcarr21]

Warehouse work. Work with some great lads and we have a good laugh but ultimately its a dead end job. Without trying to sound big headed I'm an intelligent person and could've done better but I've just never been great at applying it to anything.

Concentrated far too much on my social life at school and hardly ever did coursework. I'd love to go back and change that

You can always take courses and train yourself. Will be hard with a child and what not but its never too late to learn a new skill. At the end of the day you have a steady job which is the most important thing.

[foxfanazer]

You can always take courses and train yourself. Will be hard with a child and what not but its never too late to learn a new skill. At the end of the day you have a steady job which is the most important thing.

Yeah I could but as you say it would be difficult. Priority is to pay the bills and make sure little one has everything she needs. The job isn't too bad in fairness and the people are great to work with

[Alf Bentley]

Self-employed translator working from home (70% French-English; 25% Spanish-English; 5% Portuguese-English, mainly commercial/legal texts)

 

Good: Mentally stimulating, learn about random interesting topics (Belgian potato growing/processing & Geneva tourism today), no commuting, flexible hours within reason, no boss on your back

 

Bad: Social isolation (counteracted by use of FoxesTalk), crap money (partly cos I'm crap at self-marketing, partly just the structure of the industry - undervalued skill, agencies taking big cut), some unsociable hours,

 

Did enjoy it and still do sometimes but now bored with it after 16yrs & need a new stimulus

[Tommy G]

Qualified Accountant in practice, then moved into industry 18 months ago to an American Corp.

 

Manage a team of 5, one in india. Work as the Assistant FC to a group of  6 UK subsidiaries. Varied work and travel, no day is the same. Dont bean count like most accountants, role is much more varied with main responsibility of month end reporting. Look after mobile phone contracts across the group, fleet management etc.

 

Would recommend anyone festering in practice to get out as soon as you can unless you have ambitions to become a partner. I have doubled my salary in 3 years outside of practice