On the back of the 'field of expertise' thread, what's the best job you've ever had? I spent 18 months as a stained glass 'artist', repairing church windows and making new panels for shops, hotels, exhibitions, etc. A surprisingly filthy and dangerous job, it was hugely rewarding and satisfying, and I ended up getting a lot of recognition for my work. Shame then, that the job was the worst paid I've ever had and that I was working for a junkie with a malfunctioning nervous system. The guy was a genius but a fucking nightmare at times. If I could get back into that trade and earn a decent wage out of it I'd jump at the chance.
Summer of '79 spent in Greenland doing support work for a geological survey. Beautiful, fascinating and well paid.
The one I do now........Business development director for an engineering firm that builds ski slopes. I love it. The job has taken me all round the world where I've met many famous and also interesting people. It's also taken me into some hot spots that could have been potentially quite dangerous. I've also met a few arseholes but thankfully they have been more than outweighed by the good people and good times I've had. The old adage says that if you have a job that you love you will never work again.........and it's true.
I worked in Libya (before the up rising) it was suppose to be for a year but because of a few things only lasted 3 months however for those 3 months 3 lads shared a 4 bedroom villa with its own swimming pool just like you get in the USA. I basically spent the time chilling by the pool, going to expat parties & visiting Libya's tourist site which are so un spoilt you need to see them to believe them. If that wasn't good enough it was all paid as if I was working & tax free!:smile:
6 months in Sweden. Touring with rock festival organisers as the food guy. Arrive few days before, setup food stuff, cook in morning party for free in evening, cook in morning and so on. Then pack up at end, go back for 4 days rest and another festival. Done about 15 big-ish festivals all over the country. Best off all also got paid!!!
Another interesting job was working for Thames Water, checking water mains and pinpointing leaks. I worked a nightshift walking the streets of the east end, which proved to be quite a dangerous undertaking, but certainly never boring. I had two guns pointed at me, was pelted with batteries from the top of a tower block, attacked by a bloke with a sledgehammer, and attacked by a breadknife-wielding nutter who stabbed someone to death the following night. Like I say, not boring. One night I pulled up beside an alleyway in Plaistow and poured myself a cup of tea, there was a tap on the van window, and I looked round to see a heavily armed copper stood there. "Will you fuck off", he said, "You're ruining our stake-out".
Well after the YTS stint probably the 4 years working at a race horse stable Feckin hard work but a brilliant crack , the animals are amazing and the people bonkers - plus you get really really fit and they all smoked
I worked in the motortrade for 10 years My favourite parts were stores person for Ford I was the first girl to work there and was a novelty and a bit cheeky I got on with everyone I learnt to drive a fork truck. A White van. One of the lorry drivers let me take his truck a littleway down the side road. I have seen guys tied up and put in windscreen boxes and filled with water a hole was cut out and a tube put in to breathe. Loved that job My other was for Nissan and I took microfische out to car body repairers and ordered all parts for damaged cars and then delivered them Was even allowed to take the bosses Nissan bluebird zx turbo in White :-D
17 years old, dressed up as bugs bunny in the Santa's grotto at Brightside and Carbrook co op in Sheffield. Good money, great laugh. Happy carefree days.
remember when i was at college in the early 80s learning panel beating / spraying , the lad who worked for the ford garage in southampton got his hands tied together, hoisted up in the air, pants down and bum cheeks sprayed different colours, shocking when you think about it now, but pretty much the norm in them days lol
I have had several i have enjoyed, As a young lad i was involved with the public transport strike in London, where the Army had to turn Hyde park and Regents Park into car parks. I worked in a control room in Horse Guards Parade, directing Low Loaders in to central London, with the Met Police on one side of me and resources on the other, the site would tell me they needed more track way and the police would meet the truck and blue light it into town. Really incentive 24hrs Living for 2 months in the Jungle in Belize teaching Comms. Going on diving expeditions to Bermuda/Orkney/Gibraltar/Cyprus and Belize all whilst being Paid!! Numerous Tours to far flung places around the world, not so good at the time but the memories priceless. But now i work from Home and see my Wife and Children all the time, in fact this last year is the first in 20 years of marriage we have been together non stop. There is a lot to be said for absence makes the heart grow stronger, has worked for Me
Lmao Seems the norm in body shops One guy annoyed them that much they taped his hands together put glue in his hair and hoisted him in the air He never came back after that I used to get threatened if I cheeked them :-D
Sound like the college I went to in Frome Did engineering we had a 'vice squad' pretty much the same as above but your overall arms were secured between to vices - good harmless fun :cough:
I used to Crash Range Rovers for a living. More specifically I had to roll them over. We devised a remote control system we fitted in 2 days to the vehicle. Crash dummies and sensors all over it then ran it through scenarios: Ramp rollover, ditch, side slide, curb trip etc. So I used to stand on the roof of one Range Rover and drive the other with a remote control on a runway into a crash scenario. Got through 5 new Range Rovers, lol. Landrover then lent me one for a year to record normal driving and also had to record extreme off-roading and their test tracks in Gaydon. When Ford bought LandRover, their Explorers were falling over in the states, so I had to go out to Detroit and fit the kit into an explorer and do the same thing. Long days, hard work, but such fun.
