What do you do to make a living?

Very interesting topic!

I design electronic circuit boards for aviation console displays. Before my degree I was an electronics technician, which I picked up from my prior endeavor as a radio technician in the U.S. Marine Corps.

 

I'm sorry.

Correction: can be. Not always. Sometimes I make 5 digits in a month. Sometimes I make zero. Your mileage may vary.

That's a pretty good month.

Both parties think the other is a crook. Never fails. That's one of the things I hate most about the business.

Don't. It is the epitome of all that is wrong with capitalism.

:werd:

*disclaimer: Your mileage may vary. I hate the profession with every fiber of my being; but, kid's gotta eat. And the pay is only good when the business is good. I starved to death for 2 years. If gas stays high through the spring and summer, I'll probably starve then too. Such is the business. That's one reason I'm getting out. In the meantime, I am the anti-salesman. You want an honest opinion from an industry insider, sale or no sale, hit me up. My dealer gripes about that a bit, but I generally get more than I lose, so they leave me alone most of the time. Just serving my time, I suppose.

And now back to your regularly scheduled thread.

 

Do you know what you get when you cross Texas Governor Rick Perry with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker?

Florida Governor Rick Scott. Don't worry, we have our own horror stories to tell.

 

Captain in a medium sized fire department currently assigned as a training/safety officer. I am also full-time faculty at AMU and adjunct occasionally for a few other schools.

 

Engineer stuff that goes to Mars, Venus, Titan, and Jupiter along with other fun activities - I have never had a boring day in my work life. And I get paid for this.
I also work at cycling, tennis, and modern pentathlon events.

 

Yes it sounds like you need a new job.....

 

lol. How could you tell.

+1 vote for Ian having the coolest job of anybody yet on this thread.

 

I work in IT but am looking to break into another area of it. Desktop / end-user support burns you out after a while. Plus, compared to most contemporaries, I'm waaaaaay over-educated. People with a BS are looked at as if they have a 3rd arm growing out of their backs. Thus, I keep the MS on the down low, at least for now.

 

But in a sense, you are trying to screw them. Your commission money comes out of their pockets.

 

Only in the same way that any seller of any service or good profits by their hawking thereof. Profit is not evil, nor does it inherently imply a screwing. Without having sat on this side of the desk, it is difficult for people to comprehend the position that salespeople are in.

Counterpoint: Is it possible to try to screw people? Absolutely. Does it happen all day, every day? Absolutely. But, are there good people who happen to do this for a living? Not very many, but yes, they do exist. While I finish my time at my dealership, I approach every deal with the utmost of care so that I in no way take advantage of anybody. There is full disclosure every step of the way. I do make a profit for the dealership, and I do take a percentage of that as my wage. Does this make me a bad person? No, I don't think so. Am I absolutely freaking sick and tired of walking the tightrope that lets me operate this way? Completely.

It is not the individual salesperson that corrupts the auto retail sector; it is the structure of the industry itself. Successful salespeople simply find a way to flourish inside of that structure. It's not a world in which I care to live any longer, but many are completely comfortable working within those boundaries. I'm like the dung beetle that one day woke up and said "Hey, did you guys realize that we're rolling in $#!+?!?!?"

Sorry for hijacking.

 

My dad is in your line of work, and I hear horror stories all the time.

 

The difference is that everyone seems to get a different "price" at the dealer. I have been on that side of the desk (albeit briefly), and I quit in part due to this very factor. I saw prices being just plain made up for accessories. The more gullible you seemed, the higher the price was. Money got held on trade-ins all the time.

I believe in an honest profit, but for a standard good, there should be some consistency in price.

 

I agree completely. That is part of what I'm referring to when I talk about the structure of the industry.

 

Do you go into walmart and try to get them to knock some money off the price? No. Selling a new car at full price made me $250 (I worked for KIA). I made all my money selling used cars that we took in really cheap.

 

excel spreadsheets, pivot tables, charts

 

There is a business model in car sales that avoids negotiation--CarMax uses it.

Yes, you made money on used cars by selling them significantly above the amount paid for them. The problem is that negotiation is required to get a reasonable price. No, I don't negotiate at Walmart, but the price of a loaf of bread at Walmart isn't eight dollars, either.

 

I'm currently enlisted in the Army and work as an intelligence analyst, and technical writer. My contract is up next year, and as much as I love the Army, I think it is time to move on. Therefore, my goal is to continue to work-- although as a civilian this time--as an intel analyst or technical writer. Prior to the Army, I was regional insurance manager for a large insurance company, prior to that, I was an insurance adjuster, and prior to that I worked in finance.

 

High school teacher

 

Great thread!!!

Since my life is boring... I have been blessed to not have to work in almost 10 years (gasp) and I have spent the last 4 years contributing to making sure the human population does not go extinct by adding a small boy(3.5) to the mix (its a joke about the extinction....)

However at this point I have no clue where I am going to end up career wise but we shall find out soon enough