Jobs, careers, vocation, occupation

[Volvoclaret]

That's why he lives in Long Preston, it's an amalgamation of Long Kesh and Preston Prison

[ŽižkovClaret]

Worked at Hepworth from 1983 to 1999 in Extrusion and enjoyed my job.

Might have known my Grandad Reg. He was one of the mechanics who maintained the heavy duty vehicles

[ClaretFelix]

In my 20th year as a copper, local, and despite the pelters I'll no doubt receive, seen a hell of a of a lot of things I wouldnt wish on my worst enemy..

[Bosscat]

So am I understanding this right, Bosscat?
You went from being shifty into breaking and entering?

[bfccrazy]

Some of the most successful people who ever lived surrounded themselves by people smarter than them. It's the smart thing to do...

Not when they’re paid obscene amounts of money and my inquisitive side keeps cropping up all the flaws on their “fixes” for problems

[Lord Beamish]

The details of my life are quite inconsequential... very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really. At the age of twelve I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum... it's breathtaking- I highly suggest you try it.

[Bosscat]

That's why he lives in Long Preston, it's an amalgamation of Long Kesh and Preston Prison

Oh see what you did there Vc

[HuncoatClaret]

Got a job in the kitchens making hundreds of meals a day, which paid £12 a week. When I got released, I became an accountant.

[cbx750]

Wringer out for a one armed window cleaner.

[ynot]

Trained as a nurse after farting about in my early 20s. Still love the job and never regret doing it. Money could be better but caring and helping people, as cheeses as it sounds, is very rewardable

Certainly better than bashing plaster off walls eh mate?

[Vegas Claret]

Trained as a nurse after farting about in my early 20s. Still love the job and never regret doing it. Money could be better but caring and helping people, as cheeses as it sounds, is very rewardable

you'll never be rewarded fairly for what you guys do in terms of money, I can't give you enough respect for your vocational choice.

[Taffy on the wing]

Started off at John Cotton’s at Colne, did an HND… couple of jobs in advertising, then a swerve into food distribution before setting into managing Opticians and learning the trade. Breakdown in 2007… eventually returned to University to get a combined BA honours, currently in the middle of my masters dissertation in History. Found out this year my breakdown was probably a massive autistic episode… since been diagnosed as an autistic ADHD sufferer, which has gone unspotted for 52 years.

Congratulations!

[Lord_Bob]

Ragged a couple of A levels (Colne Grammar) but not enough to get to Uni. Ended up at Hatfield Poly, which is now Hertfordshire University. Got a degree in Biology, went to Kings College London and got a PhD in Biochemistry. 2 weeks later I was on a plane to Madison Wisconsin (go Badgeres / JJ Watt) to do post-doctoral research. From there to University of California Irvine to continue research. Finally gave up academia after 5 fruitless years and worked in the Life science / medical research / diagnostics industry here in California for over 30 years. Reached as high as VP / COO level before retiring 2019, but couldn't handle it. Went back to work part time until earlier this year. Now consulting, playing golf and Pickleball.

Used to get back home before COVID when I was working for an Italian company, but not been there since COVID. Hope to get back soon, still got family there.

[Boxy]

Just started as a the senior biomedical scientist In blood transfusion at ELHT.

Been doing biomedical science for close to 6 years now working across Lancashire and Yorkshire.

[ŽižkovClaret]

Not when they’re paid obscene amounts of money and my inquisitive side keeps cropping up all the flaws on their “fixes” for problems

Your job in QA awaits!

[CryerBFC]

Left school and started college only to leave having scraped through the first year. I just hated being in a classroom.

My mum gave me the push I needed to start adult/working life and at 17, I walked into the Army careers office in Burnley. Having started out as RMP (I know), doing multiple overseas deployments and exercises, I had a brief spell out to ‘settle’ at home. I never settled and 2 years later I rejoined, re-traded and I’m now an Electrician in the Royal Engineers. 12 years and counting!

[Burnley1989]

Good thread this, very interesting

[Pheonixknight]

Grew up in Heywood, hated school and teachers, ended up with next to no qualifications....now a teacher, working with kids that got nothing from school and have struggled in education....funny old world.

[Suratclaret]

40 years with the Probation Service. Started in Birmingham…interesting listening to Villa and Brum fans arguing! After seven years, moved back to East Lancs. In the late 90s, became involved with training eventually being seconded to the North West Training Consortium. Last role was with the performance and professional standards unit based in Preston which was basically checking whether staff were doing their jobs properly…didn’t get on many people’s Christmas card lists!!
Best career move was taking retirement and then twelve months later emigrating. Have to say I do miss East Lancs although the beaches in Thailand are preferable!

[Corky]

Went to St Teds where the careers advice in 1970/71 was pretty useless. Bummed around for a year with no clue what to do and then my Dad saw an Ad. in the paper for the Civil Service. Apply to Alencon Links in Basingstoke. Never heard of the place (now live about 15/20 mins from there). At 17 moved to London to report first thing Monday morning to Romney House. I was working for the Lord Chancellor and better still I was being put in the Judge Advocate Generals Office in Cockspur Street, overlooking Trafalgar Square, dealing with Court Martials. A bit of an eye opener for a young chap from Padiham. Did that for 5 years, then realised that promotion would be difficult and on the advice of a friend I'd made who was a Postie applied to join the Post Office as a Postman. As I had 'O' Levels they took me as a Counter Clerk, a job I thoroughly enjoyed working in Stockwell and Brixton. Then I applied to move to POHQ in St Martins Le Grand and from there I got a number of promotions and I finally ended my career after 40 years with them as one of 4 Network Control Managers who work round the clock 24/7 in what is still called Central Postal Control, dealing with all sorts of Logistics problems which would impact the quality of service of mail. So, along with a team of people I got to play with the inland road, air and rail network. And outside of normal office hours we had a corporate responsibility for Royal Mail generally. In short if it went wrong we were the first port of call to fix it. Now I am officially retired my wife and I run a very small dog boarding business for no more than 2 dogs at a time and we love it. Keeps us fit.

[what_no_pies]

I work in a factory making clowns shoes which is no small feat.

[Cooclaret]

Rode bikes

Told people to go faster and stop moaning whilst riding bikes

Husband (1st time: worst job I ever had)

Teacher FE/HE (current)

Husband and dad (2nd time: best job I’ve ever had)

We (wife) produces horses and we have a few log cabins we rent.

[gtclaret]

Optician and for 10 years worked as a dancer.I didn't really like either job and I am now very pleased that I am retired.
This is a great thread BTW, very interesting

[gtclaret]

Optician and for 10 years worked as a dancer.I didn't really like either job and I am now very pleased that I am retired.
This is a great thread BTW, very interesting

[Hipper]

As a youngster and when i left school, i always had the ambition to join the Armed Forces. My school teachers advised against this due to being one of the higher achiever's in grades, so i didn't listen and joined the Army.
Now i didn't join straight from school as i would have had to spend a year at the foundation college so i waited for adult entry. I completed all my training, basic in Whittington Barracks in Lichfield, then Catterick and then some time in Brize Norton.

I spent the next 4 years after training as a fully fledged member of the Parachute Regiment. Spent a very small time down at Browning Barracks in Aldershot and then in Colchester when we formed into the 16th Air Assault Brigade. I enjoyed a 6 week tour of Australia and New Zealand and it was great but then reality struck. September 11th.
That same year, i ended up in Kabul, Afghanistan. What a crazy experience.

My Army career came crashing down at the beginning of 2003. Just before i was due to be deployed to Kuwait for intense training before going into Iraq, i broke my knee cap. After rehabilitation, i was never the same and have been left with a form of arthritis that flares up. I was unfortunately medical discharged.

The next chapter of my life began. I secured employment with a major world wide company and trained to become a QA test and Data Analyst. I am still with the same company but i am now the QA Manager who looks over 10 QA and Data Analysts.

Do prospective employers still like it that potential recruits have been in the forces?

[Hipper]

Never very academic and Mum didn’t know where I’d end up. She took me to a private career advisor who gave me reams of Q&As. Weeks later he said, “he likes helping people, he likes physical work, he loves being outdoors, he should be a fireman or policeman”.
I chose the Fire Service but living in North Yorks. all the stations around us were part-time.
My football manager was mates with the guy that ran North Yorks football who happened to be the Teesside FS Chiefs secretary. After a chat between them I was in. Joining at 18 I had to do 32 years as you couldn’t retire until 50. The very best years of my life with wonderful colleagues, even the ones that followed our neighbours.

Similar thing happened to me in 1970 when I was due to start work. I also had no clue what I wanted to do, no ambition, and not much brain, just the knowledge that I liked watching football.

My mum took me to some private career advice centre in London (I live in Hertfordshire) where I had to fill in various questionnaires. I probably lied and said 'I like helping people' and other anodyne stuff resulting in it being suggested that work in the hotel industry was suitable. Hang on a minute, you don't get Saturday's off to watch football in that business. No good to me.

My career advisor at school suggested banking so they got me an interview with the Midland Bank. My mum who banked at Lloyds tried to help and arranged an appointment with them too. The first was Lloyds and they asked me to go to their office in central London. I hated wearing ties and so I insisted against my mother's advice on not wearing one. I hadn't got a suit but did my best with what I had. After finding the office in a multi story building I had the interview. 'Why do you want to work at Lloyds Bank?' I'm an honest sort of person so I replied 'because I like watching football and in banking you get Saturday off'. It seems I'm a bit too honest. You may may be surprised to know I didn't get the job and he added that 'you didn't even bother wearing a tie'.

My next effort was at the Midland Bank and I thought they were more considerate in that the interview was to be conducted in the local branch by the manager. It was on my way to school and, with lesson's learned, I wore my school uniform. Of course the question came up 'why do you want to work for the Midland Bank?' I can't remember what I said but I didn't mention football or Saturday. It worked. I got offered a job. The only requirement was that I got three 'O' levels. In fact I only got two - Maths and Art, failing English. I still got the job, £10 per week and most importantly, Saturday's off.

[Fretters]

Co-own and run a company manufacturing wood finishing products. Oh, the website you ask? Here you go

https://littlefairs.shop

Worked at the County Council for 10 years prior to that working in policy and then streetworks (drove around all day inspecting street repairs, it was great).

[Hipper]

The details of my life are quite inconsequential... very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really. At the age of twelve I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum... it's breathtaking- I highly suggest you try it.

I had shorn testicles once. I had to do it myself in hospital. Never noticed any pleasurable aspect to it but it was a bit odd when the hair grew back.

[Tricky Trevor]

I hated wearing ties and so I insisted against my mother's advice on not wearing one.

I went to Grammar School where ties were compulsory. All through those school years and for quite a while after I had a horrendous twitch in my neck. I put it down to trying to escape the tie.

[rayzer]

Left StTeds in mid 70s and didn't know what I wanted to do. Ended up goung to N&C catering college for 2 years. Passed all the relevant exams and realised quite quickly that there wasn't much future in the hospitality trade around Burnley. So I took the plunge and applied for jobs in London. First job was at the Mount Royal hotel, Marble Arch. Learned my trade even though it was brutal at the time. After becoming a decent chef I worked in France, Germany, Shetland Islands, Wales and a few places in England. Have been working in Aberdeen for the last 30years. Semi retired now. I work when I want and I wouldn't change a thing I've done.

[bfccrazy]

Your job in QA awaits!

Been seconded recently into the environmental projects team - which pretty much lines me up for that sort of role if I pursue it … so you’re not far off

[davideyresleftear]

In my 20th year as a copper, local, and despite the pelters I'll no doubt receive, seen a hell of a of a lot of things I wouldnt wish on my worst enemy..

Nothing but respect for good coppers

[bfcjg]

Construction, commercial, residential and industrial. Mainly project managing/surveying always worked in UK now semi retired.

[Milltown1882]

Work in Tech recruitment for one of the big 4.

If anyone wants a Software Developer or Test role let me know

[AfloatinClaret]

The details of my life are quite inconsequential... very well, where do I begin? My father was...

But managed not to grow up to be either a Rovers or a Leeds supporter; well done Sir.

[ŽižkovClaret]

Rode bikes

Told people to go faster and stop moaning whilst riding bikes

Husband (1st time: worst job I ever had)

Teacher FE/HE (current)

Husband and dad (2nd time: best job I’ve ever had)

We (wife) produces horses and we have a few log cabins we rent.

Your wife produces horses? You sure you aren't a rovers fan?

[ŽižkovClaret]

Do prospective employers still like it that potential recruits have been in the forces?

Our place still does.

[Raconteur]

Do prospective employers still like it that potential recruits have been in the forces?

Apologies for the delay in replying. I cannot speak for all employers but i do know that mine looks at it as an advantage.

It was a long time ago but i was informed it was the reason i got the job. It shows that you are disciplined, dedicated, can deal with pressure and adversity. All traits that any employer would love in there workforce.

[HarleSykeClaret]

Had the option of going to uni to follow the dream of being a PE teacher or progressing from bar man to bar manager at a summer job, sadly the short term money drew me in I'm still in the hospitality game 20 years later.....

[Tricky Trevor]

In my 20th year as a copper, local, and despite the pelters I'll no doubt receive, seen a hell of a of a lot of things I wouldnt wish on my worst enemy..

Utmost respect having worked alongside them and seen the crap they have to put up with from the knuckle draggers. How they keep their cool I’ll never know.

[Herts Clarets]

Left school and started as an apprentice baker with WH Oddie. After 2 years i was forced to leave for medical reasons and nothing lined up or any idea what i wanted to do. I took a job working in a warehouse in Burnley, indirectly for Liberty of London. I was promoted after about 2 months working there and progressed slowly over the next few years. Mid 90s the purpose built Distribution Centre we had moved into closed down and the operations outsourced to a third party in West London. I worked on the move and transfer of stock and systems with consultants who were managing the move and one evening was invited for dinner at The Oaks. When i was asked the question that would change my life. Have you ever considered moving to London. No was my answer. Would you if the offer was right?

It was and 26 years on i am still living in the South East and have worked for a number of companies managing logistics operations. Currently working for a County Council running transport operations for school deliveries across London, Home Counties and Nottinghamshire. Enjoy most aspects of what i do, despite the frustrations that working for a Local Government organisation can bring, but have managed to move a lot of the operations more in line with the private sector companies we compete with.

[Cooclaret]

Your wife produces horses? You sure you aren't a rovers fan?

No, we’re not. Might sell the odd misguided supporter one (1).

[Venkys4eva]

Went to a crap comprehensive school and left at 16 with nothing. I left school on Friday and started work in a factory on the monday following. I worked there for 8 months and thought to myself that I couldn't carry on like this, so I signed up to do 4 gcse's at college. I got 3 A's and a B and then did A levels while working full time. By now I was 19 and been in a dead end job for 3 years. By chance I got another dead end job in a food factory where luckily for me one of the senior managers saw something in me. Within a year of starting in the factory I was offered a job training in their technical department and they paid for me to attend Rease Heath food college and Chester University. I now work as a senior food technologist for one of the UK's biggest food importers.

[TsarBomba]

Worked since I was 16, was never interested in Uni. Just wanted a bit of money in my back pocket and a car.

Flirted with the RAF but they didn’t have movement in any of the trades I wanted. Passed all the exams, and waited 18 months without joy. The only thing which became available was avionics. So joined the Police instead.

But after 17 years, and for the first time ever in my Policing career, I’m done. Done with Policing, but done with the Met more specifically. They have no desire to change as an organisation, and I don’t feel like I can work for them anymore.

I don’t really have any idea where to go from here. I’ve got 2 kids so can’t afford too much of a paycut, if any. So if anyone has any ideas on what I can do and what might be out there, I’m all ears!

[ŽižkovClaret]

Could you transfer to another force? I know Hot Fuzz was a fictional film, but that idea doesn't feel like it would be too bad a move?

[Croydon Claret]

Worked since I was 16, was never interested in Uni. Just wanted a bit of money in my back pocket and a car.

Flirted with the RAF but they didn’t have movement in any of the trades I wanted. Passed all the exams, and waited 18 months without joy. The only thing which became available was avionics. So joined the Police instead.

But after 17 years, and for the first time ever in my Policing career, I’m done. Done with Policing, but done with the Met more specifically. They have no desire to change as an organisation, and I don’t feel like I can work for them anymore.

I don’t really have any idea where to go from here. I’ve got 2 kids so can’t afford too much of a paycut, if any. So if anyone has any ideas on what I can do and what might be out there, I’m all ears!

My neighbour was the chief dog trainer for the Met and did his 30 years. He then got a job as head of security for Merlin entertainment

Think it was a startup role at the time they wanted someone with experience in all matters relating to security and people management etc

Not saying you should get a job as a security guard but your skills are very much transferable and in demand.

[Funkydrummer]

Good to know I'm not the only brick-counter on here.

Didn't count too many bricks, mainly money in rents etc
in the General Practice division.

Too many changes were on the way, wasn't
too keen on the way things were changing. Voluntary
redundancy presented itself with a handsome payout so I
took it and retired aged 59.

Never looked back and happy as Larry at 70.

[Flying Without Ings]

Trainee Lawyer - a few months away from qualifying. Generally cover Court of Protection work. Interesting and rewarding job, helping some of the most vulnerable people try and live a happy life.

[rufus lumley]

Drill Instructer.I tell drills what to do and I don't want to shave off all my hair.

[Belial]

Worked since I was 16, was never interested in Uni. Just wanted a bit of money in my back pocket and a car.

Flirted with the RAF but they didn’t have movement in any of the trades I wanted. Passed all the exams, and waited 18 months without joy. The only thing which became available was avionics. So joined the Police instead.

But after 17 years, and for the first time ever in my Policing career, I’m done. Done with Policing, but done with the Met more specifically. They have no desire to change as an organisation, and I don’t feel like I can work for them anymore.

I don’t really have any idea where to go from here. I’ve got 2 kids so can’t afford too much of a paycut, if any. So if anyone has any ideas on what I can do and what might be out there, I’m all ears!

Plenty of ex-Police go to Councils to work in Licensing