What's your day job?

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Started out as a NightClub Disc Jockey in the 70's when disco was HOT.
Was a writer for Local comedians in the Charlotte, N.C. area.
Studied music at Winthrop U for 2 years......not for me......got to be outside.
Worked for a Paper Tube company.
Played piano in my church and in local bands
Worked for Duke Power as a surveyor helper. I held the dumb bob.
Loan collector for a local loan company,,,,,too dangerous !
Tried brick laying.......NOT!
Drove a box truck for Miller Beer selling kegs of beer. For some reason my truck never made a profit. 
Went back to school and studied forestry
Went to work with the S.C Forestry Commission in 1986, Fire Warden and Forest Tech.......still there after 26 years. Not getting rich but happy.
Own and care for rental property. 2 mobile homes. ( a pain in the butt )
Bought my Woodmizer mill in Feb. 2011. Getting rich......slowly.

Enjoy Golf, fishing, hunting and helping old people.


And in between all this......worked on the farm helping to raise beef cattle and crops.

Whewwwww! 

[colinofthewoods]

I split my time between salvaging and selling old growth cedar and taking care of christmas trees.  Used to log full time but gave up camp life when I got married.

[snowshoveler]

Oh my where to start...
Well about 1 hundred and 5 years ago, my great grandfather built a steam powered sawmill.
I never saw the mill as its long gone. I trained as a millwright/industrial mechanic. Never took a job in the trade.
Worked in retail gricery for a while then ran heavy equipment.
Somehow ended up in small engine and marine. Got out of the marine side and stuck with the small engines.
Been at it for better than 20 years
You guys made me get addicted to sawmilling..yea right you say.
The sawmilling turned out very good for me. My uncle who had the old steam mill property left it to me because I had an interest in sawmills and as it turns out its on a very nice lake and worth a tidy bit.
I won't sell it but will put my mill there some day.
Chris 

[thurlow]

Retarred row-crop farmer (1000 mostly-rented acres...cotton, corn, soybeans, wheat) and cattleman (265 mama cows in commercial cow/calf operation on mostly rented acres), which meant being a mechanic, plumber, carpenter, roofer, engineer, electrician, veterinarian, herdsman, welder, logger, sawmill operator, laborer, blacksmith, heavy equipment operator, farm equipment operator, bossman, counselor, husband, cook and..........probably a few other occupations.  Was also a sojer for a few years.  Wadn't really good at anything;  knew just enough to get by.  Well...........I tell a lie;  I'm actually a GREAT cook!  8)

[eastberkshirecustoms]

Well like Jake, I was a Press Operator by night until I was 'downsized' after 14 years. I also own an auto customization shop that did well in the late 90's-early 2000's before the economy tanked. I expanded this business into general fabrication, which helped it (and me) survive. I also run a small family farm with some beefers, chickens, and border collies. Currently, I am one month into a new night job as a Press Operator once again. Printing is a dying industry that pays very well. I didn't think I wanted to get back into printing, but "you gotta do what you gotta do"... And then there is my mill project that is chugging along slowly with everything else going on. Milling is what I really want to do. I miss the sound of the ol' circle mill and the smell of sawdust of my younger years. I also have a degree in Sociology that I never used- my calling has always been to work with my hands.

[Left Coast Chris]

Civil Engineer. Started out doing structural and now manage the State of Ca highway construction projects in one of twelve districts in the state.   Manage a hobby walnut farm and built a woodmizer clone to saw lumber for the farm, wood working and friends.  Built shop, barn, two heavy timber awnings, horse riding arena out of rough sawn lumber from the mill.  Mill has paid for itself several times over.     

[Larry]

First serious job was a cabinet maker.  Really enjoyed the work but Uncle Sam called about '69.  Decided to beat the draft and went into the USAF for four years.  I was fortunate in they gave me a great education in electronics.  It was another job I really enjoyed.  Got out in '73 and bounced around for a bit due to the recession of the time. 

Started to work at the telephone company.  Held a variety of jobs and retired as Outside Plant Manager-Engineering Design.   It was a very early retirement in '99 as I had started to hate the direction the company had decided to take.  Do it fast and do it cheap.  I could take no pride in my work so I felt it was time to move on.

Throughout most of the phone company years we had a small farm that we struggled to make money from.  After retirement we decided to sell the farm in north Missouri and start again in northwest Arkansas.  What a great decision, as we love it here.  Almost have our new house completed...only been working on it for four years now.

All kind of plans for the future...actual retirement is boring boring boring.  I'm thinking about doing a lot more mobile sawing.  I turn down jobs now quite frequently.

[hackberry jake]

Thanks guys, this is pretty entertaining!

[Jeff]

Thanks guys, this is pretty entertaining!

Yea, a great topic Jake. Weird it took almost 12 years for someone to start it. :D  Somewhere there is a how did you get your username topic as well.

[sawguy21]

Oh my where to start...
Well about 1 hundred and 5 years ago, my great grandfather built a steam powered sawmill.
I never saw the mill as its long gone. I trained as a millwright/industrial mechanic. Never took a job in the trade.
Worked in retail gricery for a while then ran heavy equipment.
Somehow ended up in small engine and marine. Got out of the marine side and stuck with the small engines.
Been at it for better than 20 years
You guys made me get addicted to sawmilling..yea right you say.
The sawmilling turned out very good for me. My uncle who had the old steam mill property left it to me because I had an interest in sawmills and as it turns out its on a very nice lake and worth a tidy bit.
I won't sell it but will put my mill there some day.
Chris

Are you one of my customers?  ;D I am a customer service representative for a national outdoor power equipment distributor. I went to university with the idea of becoming a teacher but decided that was not for me. After doing various jobs I went to voc school so I could get something more steady. Worked in small engines as a mechanic and parts man, got into the helicopter industry fixing support equipment. Administered the vehicle fleet for a heli logging company until it folded then back to small engines. I enjoyed the logging but no future in it.

[Greg Brown]

I used to be a self-employed custom cabinet maker back when there was some building going on.   >:( >:( >:(

[barbender]

Poston, I find it kind of a stretch to believe you wrote for comedians :D One other occupation I should add is, bicycle mechanic. We have 5 kids, as I am trying to work on the house or the mill it seems someone always has a bike that needs fixed :

[happyj]

I am an IT architect designing servers and systems currently for the Dept of Natural Resources. I was in the Navy as an electronics technician and prior to that owned and operated a logging company in virginia.

[Mooseherder]

Thanks guys, this is pretty entertaining!

oh, you want entertaining. :D
I used to have a lot of hair. ;D



 

[red oaks lumber]

pictures are worth a thousand words :D

[Kcwoodbutcher]

I spent eighteen years as a research biochemist for a major pharmaceutical company then took my profit sharing at built a stable. What a wise choice, twice the hours at a fourth the pay. Been taking care of horses for the last twenty years ( actually the horses take pretty good care of themselves the owners need a lot of attention though ). Been sawing for the last eight years part time. I could grow this business pretty easy in this local but I like keeping it simple.

[Delawhere Jack]

I spent 12 years in the retail lumber - building materials business, did everything from sweeping the warehouse to sales. I took a 1 1/2 year break in the middle of that time to work as a locksmith. I liked the work, but the pay was lousy and the boss was a creep.

When I turned thirty I was working sales at a lumber yard. There were some real numbskulls working with me, I decided that I did not want to be there when I turned forty, so I went to school for network engineering / data comunications. I spent 13 years doing a variety of work in the IT field, desktops to servers, networking etc. It came to an end almost a year ago when I was scapegoated for a project that wasn't advancing as it should. I was burned out anyway, so I can't say that I regret it. I used to chant to myself "The pay is good and there's no heavy lifting" when I was getting stressed.

For the last six years in the IT field I worked for lawyers. Surprisingly most of them were pleasant to work with, the staff was a completely different story, bunch of whiny old nags. I don't miss them, I don't miss paying $130 a month to park, and I don't miss working in the city AT ALL!

I've had the idea of getting a mill for a long time, so I finally took the plunge.

[homesteader shane]

I'm a custodian at a local school but with all the cut backs I don't know for how long
GREAT POST

[SamB]

32 years in the regulated telecommunications industry as a linesman, cable splicer, engineering assistant and construction supervisor. 4 years in the deregulated telecommunications industry as a part timer installer/cable tech. Also spent 6 years in the USAR, 6 months as a sales clerk in a department store, 1 year as an apprentice linesman for the local power company and worked part time in HS as a janitor and dishwasher. Currently grounds keeper, part time sawyer/woodworker/maintenance man and backup for woman's work at our 15 acre homestead. Oh and I still have an active Electricians card just in case I'm called to the city to work for free for one of my relatives. Life is good!

[Jim H]

I've been a part-time beef cattle farmer my whole life. Worked as a carpenter for about 8 yrs, iron worker 1 1/2 yrs, sawmilling ever since. Along the way built and sold several houses, and aquired several rentals which my wife and I maintian. All that and raising a couple of kids makes for a pretty good life. Can't wait to see what God has in store next .

[pineywoods]

My last paying job was 40 years as a manufacturers support engineer on large-scale computers. The most interesting part of that was supporting the apollo program than put men on the moon. Now I'm "retired" and have a whole bunch of part-time jobs...mouse catcher, bug killer, bird feeder, kitchen help, gardener, grounds keeper, chaufer, plumber, light bulb changer, grocery shopper, wheel chair mechanic, etc. And oh I find time to piddle with my woodmizer and saw a few boards..

[Holmes]

  I am a plumbing and heating contractor. I started working for a plumber right out of high school in 67, started my own business in 78 and I am still at it. For the first 14 years it was almost all new houses we did, now it is mostly remodels. From the late 90's to now about half of my jobs included radiant heating. My hobby before going into business was woodworking , furniture making, now it's golf.

[jrkimroxie]

1 yr as a Welder
6 months Asplundh Tree Experts "Giraffe Operator"
10 yrs Tool & Die Maker
7 +yrs and counting as a Elevator Service Tech.  IUEC Local 16

[Dave Shepard]

Full time timber framer running a WM as needed to support  the restoration work.

[walterkilo]

Sold jeans, worked in a psychiatric hospital, work on films, location manager film, post-prod manager film, prod manager publishing, electrician, master electrician and since 14 years, elevator maintenance technician IUEC local 89 Montreal...  A life summary in 3 lines..            Hello jrkimroxie and IUEC local 16 !