Getting to know you. What do you do?

[TGO David]

I think we had one of these threads in the past but we have enough new members and I think the other thread was done years ago, so I thought this would be fun.

Basically, just to get to know each other a little better, reply back to the thread and tell us what you "do".   Business, retirement, school, homemaker, etc.

 

[TGO David]

I'll start...

I am in Healthcare IT.  I manage an operational support team that takes care of the final tier of support for approximately 10,000 Windows Servers and over 1,000 VMware hosts.  We also do special projects and lifecycle work.  Basically, if it comes to my team of 12 engineers, it has generally exhausted everyone else's abilities to fix it or get it done.  My guys are the "special operations" of IT nerds and I have much respect and love for them.  They work some ridiculously long hours and make miracles happen every single day to ensure that doctors, nurses and our patients have reliable infrastructure serving them.

I used to be one of those engineers until the company decided that I could either do less damage or accomplish more as a member of management.  Not sure which.  Probably both.

 

[KahrMan]

I am a CFO for a small tech firm. 

Edited July 13, 2017 by KahrMan

[nightrunner]

In the past, I was a residential electrician. Grew up doing that. When the housing market crashed in 08-09, we lost our General Contractor and had to shut down due to nobody else had work either.

Went into factory work, Was at Nissan in Smyrna for a while (quality inspection). Evidently it was quite difficult to find someone who could drive a manual transmission (I test drove the finished cars).

Now I work at Bridgestone in Lavergne, building tires (22.5" and 24.5")

[Grand Torino]

Originally from Philly and joined the AF in 68. Two tours in Viet Nam and other stops in Germany, England, Turkey, New Mexico and Arizona (3 times). Retired CMSGT (26 years) from the AF. Then worked for about 20 years as an interior trim carpenter doing everything from crown to custom staircases. Had a heart attack in 08 and received a quad bypass and said the hell with working after that. The missus went back into the AF after 9/11 so we traveled from Montgomery to Tucson until she retired as a SMGT. Came back to Tennessee and mess around with guns and knives and and try to keep up the daily chores around the house.

[Bob T]

Born and raised in the 'burgs of Chicago. Worked at a Lotus dealership out of high school before joining the service. Four years in the Army as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne. Went to school on the G.I. bill, before landing a job as an electronic technician. 8 years later I was made supervisor of the department and held that position for 25 years. They put me in charge of a couple of other departments in the last couple of years, trying to get more for their money.

Summer of '16, I had open heart surgery to replace my aortic valve. While I was out on medical, the replaced me with someone making 60% of my pay. Company was having issues, so they told several of us "senior" employees, it was time to retire. (No, it was not an option). 

So, at 60 years old, we packed up our life, and moved to Knoxville. I am still pissed at the company I gave my life to, but we are so glad to be here in Tennessee. 

[Steelharp]

Musician, play steel guitar and harmonica (harp), hence my screen name. Been doing it 43 years now. Mostly recording, a few artist gigs over the years, Tammy Wynette, Dan Seals, Billy Walker... this was a career highlight... https://youtu.be/_aL2vrrHaNA

[buck1032]

Joined the Navy right out of high school. Was just about finished with my 20 years when I got married, single Sailor for 18 years. Got married in 03, retired in 05. That first year after retirement was fun, range time, riding our motorcycles, concerts, traveling and by the end of 05 the wife was pregnant. I have been the stay at home dad, homemaker and school parent volunteer ever since. Our son goes off to middle school this year so little to no parent volunteering and I hope to shoot more, ride more and actually take better care of our yard.

Edited July 13, 2017 by buck1032

[Ronald_55]

I grew up in Sevierville and went to college close to home (not UT). Graduated about 2 decades ago with a business degree but had already sunk deep into IT stuff ( we just called it computers). I have worked a lot of different jobs over the years due to layoffs and business closings. I have been a mortgage loan processor, sold Kirby vaccums, worked retail in Pigeon Forge, done landscape work, trained cashiers, installed school lunchroom cash register systems, installed Gas & Go kiosk systems, and generally whatever it took to pay the bills. I now do IT for a construction company where I am the whole IT department. I support around 75 users in the office and field. I handle the servers, PCs, printers, cellphones, tablets, wireless air cards, accounting systems, and ordering all the supplies for the IT equipment. The company ensures they get their money's worth from me every day.

I grew up hunting, but got away from guns while I was trying to work and go to college.  Then my jobs kept me busy enough that there was not as lot if "hobby time" with all the travel I did. Plus money was a issue as I got married and started to try get a house and such. I got back into it a few years ago and have been playing at it. I enjoy shooting, but have had to learn/relearn a lot. 

[peejman]

I grew up in Chattanooga and went to UTC and then TTU to become a mechanical engineer. I spent 7 years doing steering system product design in the auto industry. While I had been looking for another job for a while, my boss called me while I was on vacation to tell me my job was moving to Detroit.  That was the final push for me to find something else.

I found an unexpectedly brief job designing industrial products (8 months) and then found my current job fixing broken jet engine parts, which I've been doing for 10 years. 

[Grayfox54]

I'm retired now, but I spent 42 years working as a mechanic. Started out in the trucking industry, ended up spending the last 25 years working for the city I live in. There I was the truck and equipment guy. I worked on everything bigger than a pick-up and just about any piece of equipment the city owned. In my time I've worked on everything from weed eaters to bulldozers, shovels to backhoes, Fire trucks, garbage trucks, chain saws, lawn mowers and even the occasional desk chair. 

I'm a dinosaur, a general mechanic who'll work on anything put in front of me. But my kind are becoming extinct. In these days of high tech, computer controls and electronic everything, you have to specialize in certain areas as one man just can't learn it all anymore. Hell, just the average garbage truck these days has electronics controlling pneumatics which are running hydraulics. Backhoes have computers in 'em now!   Gettin' to be too much for my old head. So I pulled the plug 3 years ago. Let the younger generation who grew up with this stuff deal with it. 

These days the hardest thing I want to work on is lunch. 

[Ronald_55]

1 hour ago, Steelharp said:

Musician, play steel guitar and harmonica (harp), hence my screen name. Been doing it 43 years now. Mostly recording, a few artist gigs over the years, Tammy Wynette, Dan Seals, Billy Walker... this was a career highlight... https://youtu.be/_aL2vrrHaNA

Man, that looks like it was a sweet time.

Edited July 13, 2017 by Ronald_55

[Billrube]

Born in Kentucky; lived in Macon Georgia 35 years or so...after a divorce moved back to Kentucky, met a Tennessee gal and got married again and now reside in Tennessee. 

Spent 20+ years in production management, currently working in the independent adjusting industry (since 2005)- mainly marketing work. 

Grew up shooting but really caught the bug in the 90's. Held a C&R for a while, piled up a large collection and really enjoy the little group of firearms that I have left.

[LCPfraTN]

My dad was career military, so we moved around a bit, but I mostly grew up in south Mississippi. I joined the Marine Corps after high school and went to boot camp at Parris Island. After weapons training at Camp Pendelton, I spent a year as a squad leader in a mortar section of a weapons platoon in Okinawa, Japan and South Korea. I went through Marine Security Guard School in Quantico, VA after that and then served at three American Embassies in Copenhagen, Denmark; Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and finally as part of the security detail for a UN conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

 

After the Marines, I went to school at Ole Miss and got my degree in accounting and became a CPA. I spent six years with two of the largest international public accounting firms and then spent over twenty years managing a tax department in several large corporations. I'm now semi-retired, but I do have a small sole proprietor tax practice focusing on individuals with complex tax reporting needs.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Raoul]

I've been a self employed real estate appraiser since 1989.

The bulk of my work is residential. It's been so long since I had a boss I'm pretty much unemployable by now.

[abusfullofnuns]

Regional Director for a medical equipment service company with about 50 local engineers that report to managers who report to me.  Graduated with a MBA and no clue what to do.  Luckily found this company which has been a rocket ship in the last six years.  

 

Prior to going back to school, I worked for a company that built cars for celebs and ultra rich.  All of our builds were over $100K without the cost of car.  I was a project manager and was one of few who took cars home before delivery.  We had to test before we sent back to Saudi Arabia and other countries.  We did Restomods, exotics, and drag cars.  The shop now builds cars for top speed too.  I believe they hold the record for rear wheel drive top speed in a viper. 

[DWARREN123]

Right now not much. Old guy, retired from the ARMY in 1992. Have done industrial maintenance since.

Just retired 1 July 2017 and had shoulder surgery 20 June 2017 so I am being a lay about now.

Love shooting/reloading, fishing (light line). 

[gregintenn]

i am an inspector for a TDOT engineering field office. Been there since right after high school. I also make holsters, sheaths, and other assorted leather items.

[TGO David]

Great replies so far!  I hope more folks pile onto this and tell us about themselves.

I think it's really neat to see not only the diversity of things that TGO members do and have done but also the really interesting paths their lives have taken.  If nothing else, perhaps this thread will help anyone who is currently in a rut or just not sure what their life holds in store, to rest assured that not every GOOD thing in life came with a pre-defined plan attached to it.  At least, not a human plan.  Divine plans are often so far above our comprehension that they look like serendipitous accidents when they finally reveal themselves to us.

 

[Murgatroy]

<insert tragic broken home/gutter trash/drugs and abuse raising with a dash of fostercare here>

Left home at seventeen, never looked back. After a long series of bad decisions I pulled my act together and went to school for Computers and Electronics Engineering Technologies. Used that and a strong work ethic to buffalo my way into a job as a Dispatch and Logistics Manager role for about fifteen years.

Now I am a plumber, and I have never been happier. Or making better money.

I am married, with a child, two black labs and a cat. We have a nice home, in a nice neighborhood with nice things. We support one another and create a good home for our daughter. I have my cars and bikes and guns and guitars. 

Overall, I know it isn't a competition, but as a gamer (console and PC) I often times am overcome and sit back and think to myself, "I won."

[Erik88]

I'm 6 years into my career in logistics. Back in November life threw me a curve ball and I got fired from my job of 5 years despite several promotions and raises. Looking back it was actually a blessing in disguise. I was extremely unhappy there but too scared of change to quit. I was managing a group of 50 people and nearly all were convicted felons. It was so bad I didn't feel safe even with my Ruger LCR on me.

My job now is hard to explain. Out of 8000 employees at my new company only 1 other person has the same job title as me. I'm part operations manager, part customer service, and the job has very little stress. I have a great boss and it's nice to actually be appreciated by my employer again. I had to take a substantial pay cut but I'm hopeful that I will eventually change that.

Life is funny sometimes. It's important to remember that although money can help, it's not healthy to hold a job that makes your life hell. 

[cmsmith712001]

I am a Senior Analyst for the nations largest healthcare company with my primary focus being the financial impact analysis of contract proposals from medical device companies based in the US.  

[chances R]

I am a Physician Assistant (PA) at a large Orthopedic clinic.  I have been blessed to be there 40 years and work for a great bunch of surgeons.  I have been there longer than anyone to include the docs.  For the past 8 years I run our injury clinic Mon - Thurs 4 PM to 8 PM.  Good gig, enjoyable work.  May hang in up in a couple of yrs, but right now hours and type of work tolerable to enjoyable.  Spent 16 yrs in National Guard.  Grew up shooting/hunting.  Spent a  lot of time and money shooting all type clay targets.  About 6 years ago went to a Defensive Pistol class at Front Sight.  People that really know how to shoot a pistol 'hurt' my feelings.  Now have spent considerable amount of time going to classes with various instructors and getting to the point of half-way decent.  Enjoy teaching/coaching pistol classes, HCP classes and still going to classes for me at least once a year.  My biggest accomplishment is raising two great kids who have good jobs, respect others, Christian, and are responsible gun people. 

[Lee J]

I am currently helping to take care of my father who was diagnosed with cancer. One day when I am able to I would like to make a career with my degree or maybe go back to college and get a better degree. Aside from working at a grocery store while I was in school I do various odd jobs for people like fixing their vehicles, carpentry stuff, anything I can make a few dollars off of basically.

[gregintenn]

So far, this thread makes me feel a touch inadequate.