Why did you pick the line of employment your in?

[Big Daddy Badger]

Originally Posted by Killerb

Photography because I like having an excuse to take pics of half naked women. I joke of course.

So...you don't enjoy being around half naked women?

That explains a lot...

[762Russian]

Forced into college immediately after graduating high school despite not having any clue as to what I wanted to do. Did two years of Paralegal and graduated, and that set me up for nearly ten years of dead-end jobs because after six months of searching all across Canada I couldn't get a job with no experience in law, so to hell with it. I've been a gas jockey, retail clerk, animal wrangler and a bunch of other crap. I did do a stint as a Tin Basher and I really enjoyed it; I was gearing up for a full apprenticeship, but this was immediately before the big recession hit. When January rolled in, I was the lowest man on the totem pole, so I had no job and no one was hiring. Liquor store guy now.

I'm now upgrading my maths and physics so I can wedge myself into the Power Engineering field next year. Not going to sit on a third- or even second-class ticket, either...

Live at the bottom long enough and you discover a reason to want to fight your way to the top.

[Flyfisher87]

I always had an excellent memory for and knew my way around numbers and have an interest in mechanics and machines ( parts involved, how they operate etc), that getting into parts was a no brainer. Started apprenticing while I was finishing High School. Three years later, I got certified Journeyman as a Parts Technician. Been doing it for about 10 years now. I absolutely love it. 8 hour days, weekends off, pay is good to excellent depending on industry. I have worked my way into parts management now and spend almost all of my time behind a desk pushing paper but am still very heavily involved with front line customer interaction which is good. It is a very rewarding career. No shortage of work if you are good at what you do. I tried the trucking thing for 5 years doing long haul till I got too crippled which I am paying for now, and besides my wife doesn't have to worry about me on the road anymore.

[srp71]

It took me 6 months after grad to realize farming wasn't gonna make me rich and famous so I took a job at a tank shop sandblasting.That intern led to a job burning rod,and building new trailers and repairing old ones.With brand new cert. In my wallet I left home and went off to make my mark.I ended up in a repair shop for a rig moving company and while siting under a trailer at 2 in the morning with mud and salt and water running down my back and getting zapped the odd time I though that maybe wrecking trucks for a living would be better than this.Next thing I know I are truckin'.Went moving rigs for the next 8 or so years.Driving then pushing.Then woke up one morning and realized I had a family now so in the office I went dispatching and now managing a rig moving company.This year will be year number 8 driving a desk.Like Hayseed says when it gets in your blood it's hard to get it out.

[NSRfishing]

3rd generation scaffolder i was born into this job

[dfrobert]

Power engineer. It was a pretty easy decision. Get to work close to home, half the year I'm on days off, and good pay.

[hunterbobthebuilder]

Started running dozers and hoes in grade 11 pay was to good to go back to school after 4 years I got bored of swinging in circles so I started trucking water to build ice roads love the rush of climbing hills I prob wouldn't try on a quad

[huntinstuff]

I always wanted to be a cop, but my mom wanted me to finish medical school first so that in case the cop thing didnt work out, Id have a trade to fall back on....

[catnthehat]

Started in construction as a crane operator and found out after I got my crane ticket and started rigging that it was more fun on the OTHER end of the hook!!
Went iron working, blew my knee out, so got into carpentry because it was "easier on the body"!!
After 28 years of heavy industrial construction as a carpenter and scaffolder, I don't think any of it is easy, physically!
Been a business agent for the last few years, big strain on the brain, but not so much on the body!
Cat

[bigbuck19]

Went to college for design, lost my desire to draw/do anything artistic... worked for a bit and then went to university for accounting, mainly because of the money aspect, hated it. So figured I needed something hands on where I wasn't sitting at a desk, looked at a few trades and chose welding. Happy about my decision too.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by bigbuck19

Went to college for design, lost my desire to draw/do anything artistic... worked for a bit and then went to university for accounting, mainly because of the money aspect, hated it. So figured I needed something hands on where I wasn't sitting at a desk, looked at a few trades and chose welding. Happy about my decision too.

I would say the rest of the guys in your shop are happy you made the choice you did

Seriously though it is good to keep trying till you find something you enjoy!

LC

[leo]

Started pounding nails 30 years ago as a laborer, moved up to lead hand, foreman, Then started my own company and became a general contractor. Building construction has been good to me and my family. Now I play Superintendent for one of the larger construction companies in Canada.

[OneGirlWolfPack]

Originally Posted by Bear00

Thanks for sharing everyone,

Another reason for this post was to see how and why people chose the career path they did. I am in a funk right now, want to do many things, I have many skills but not set on which career path to take.

It is very interesting to hear how some of you fell into the career path that you did.

I wish you luck in finding what's right for you

[oldgutpile]

Been hunting, trapping, and getting into trouble since I was thirteen. I did the usuall, "work for a few years and save money for college" trick, which at the time meant fish and wildlife officer. Hired on at a local packing plant (cause I was an experienced skinner and butcher!!) and wound up enjoying the money too much to go anywhere. Worked my way up to superintendant, but even that wasnt good enough. Now I own my own shop. Been thirty years plus of butchering critters.
I have always enjoyed the work, and sure dont have a problem getting my hands dirty. The body is starting to revolt though! Lots of hard labor has left me hurting in places I never knew I owned. Other than the chronic pain issue, there is a big downside; for me, when I am out hunting and finally get a chance to pull the trigger, I am right back at work! As the years go on I have gotten very selective before I pull the trigger just for that reason.
Would I recommend this line of work for anyone? It takes the right kinda person, but working in a small team atmosphere like my shop (15 staff) its a pretty tight-knit group and for the most part, myself and my crew enjoy showing up every day.

[bobalong]

Worked electrical construction for about 20 years, equipment operator, lead hand, and the last 6 as a Foreman. Left to start our own small trucking company, did that for about 5 years. Bad knees had me searching for a job that was easier on the body. Worked retail for the last 12 years as salesman, buyer, general manager. Got tired of the BS and went back to just retail sales, pay sorta sucks, but stress is virtually non-existant.

[winger7mm]

Originally Posted by bigbuck19

Went to college for design, lost my desire to draw/do anything artistic... worked for a bit and then went to university for accounting, mainly because of the money aspect, hated it. So figured I needed something hands on where I wasn't sitting at a desk, looked at a few trades and chose welding. Happy about my decision too.

Awesome hahaha did the welding thing for a few years then got into oilfield construction and maintence. Now im working in the fleet department in leth working for the provincial government lol, how direction has changed

[Bucket Dan]

I took electronics at SAIT after high school but girls and hockey got the best of me. Didnt finish that (too much math!) but really enjoyed telecommunications. Went back and got my diploma in telecom. Got a job with TELUS, worked my way through doing different things, now I maintain and repair the outside cable/fibre. I work outside, company truck and everyday is a new challenge. Best of all... I bring my dog with me!

[Arn?Narn.]

i chose my career because I felt I had something more to offer than what my other jobs allowed me to, great pension, great pay, amazing benefits, not affected by the boom and bust cycle, etc. are bonus.

Before working in healthcare I had a number of jobs...

Did everything from cleaning toilets, to mowing golf greens, to guiding, bouncer, manager of a bolier room telemarketing company, retail, ...

i recall being in numerous heated arguements with a golf course superintendant here in Alberta. The more we argued, the more awful my job assignments would become... i remember it coming to a head one night after 2 years, outside a bar in Jasper... i recall thinking "there has to be something better than this bs" and sure enough, there was.

[pickrel pat]

heavy equip operator. warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and listen to tunes/radio all day.

[BANG]

16 years of various oilfield occupations,still looking for a fit that does not bore the crap out of me in 6 months,pays decent and allows me to be home every night.

[keeks]

Started hanging out at the golf course when I was 10. I would pick range balls for free golf. Put myself thru university working on a couple different courses. Decided that golf was where I wanted to be, went back to school, and the rest is history.

[bigbuck19]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

I would say the rest of the guys in your shop are happy you made the choice you did

Seriously though it is good to keep trying till you find something you enjoy!

LC

You bet, and it sure is nice working with guys rather than a bunch of women. Too much estrogen can be stressful...

[boounga]

I didn't choose, I smoked pot and didn't do **** until my dad got me a job wirelining. Hated that and came home from Brooks, AB and kept smoking pot. Eventually I got sick of smoking weed & quit. Dad got me a job as an MWD field hand, been doing it ever since. Pays great as a contractor and lots of free time but **** I wish I went to school. Damn drugs!

[Rocky Mountain Roy]

I blame that old bastad in the old Peterbilt that hit a moose out by Pocohantas near the East Jasper National Park border. I was on my last month of contract with McGavins Bread for Jasper/Grande Cache. I gave him and his young son a ride into Hinton and told him to call the tow company in Jasper if the Hinton guys weren't available. Got home to Jasper that night and his truck was in the Jasper compound. I met him the next day and gave him a hand for 6 hrs replacing his radiator. The owner of the tow company actually paid my for the work and thanked me for the referal.
Once my contract was done I worked for a local motel doing maintenance as I wanted a job were I could just recharge my batteries and shut off my brain. I knew too much from previous experience and they put me on a split shift, 3 early mornings and 2 nights each week, I hated it.
I started hanging out at the tow yard on my evenings off and was offered a full time job. Sometimes the on call gets a little hectic, but the slow fall, winter, and spring makes up for it. I know I can make more money running equiptment or trucking, but its fun. Each call is a new adventure. My job can get stressful, but never boring.

[Arachnodisiac]

I started in and trained educationally for radio, but it wasn't as stimulating as I thought it would be.
Then I sort of got stuck in print ad sales for a while after I became a single mom (money was better). Eventually, I moved West to pursue getting back into the news side of media, and I began to write for a newspaper, without any formal training. Within the first two years, I had won several awards, including a national one for investigative journalism and columnist of the year.

Because of where I was living, I was exposed to and fell in love with, the cattle industry, which is essentially how and why I ended up working in Alberta.

So, the snakes brought me here and the cows kept me? Yikes!


Plus of course, I am part of the vast leftwing conspiracy and was recruited by the Liberal Party of Canada to infiltrate the staunch heart of Canadian conservatism through the entity known as the leftwing media!
(I kid, I kid!)

[cochranenite]

It was between being a millwright or a welder, I asked my dad who gets paid more underground in the mines he said millwrights , so I picked millwright, plus tons of jobs.

Didn't think i was going to leave Sudbury so i thought i was going to be working for Vale inco or Xstatra nickle

now iam in the oil patch

CN

[kronk]

I got an apprenticeship offer on the terms that I did a year of operating, that boss left, and the deal fell through... I really enjoy operating, and stuck with it.

[S-in-Cochrane]

Well let's see...

Worked some crappy jobs after high school..butcher shop ... labourer in the mine surface plant ...took a year off to figure out what I wanted to do.

At the end of the year the only thing I knew was that I didn't want to be a labourer anymore.

Signed up for engineering in university because I had a cousin doing that and I heard it was a good job when you were done...

I don't love it .. but it's worked out pretty well so far.

__
S

[Fisherpeak]

Logged for 20 some years untill the ass fell out of it up in North west B.C.Moved here and worked construction for 8 years,now that`s going down hill too.My next gig is haul truck at Fording Coal,the pay is insane($33 per hour) and the benifits are great and it`s 4 on and 4 off so lots of time to hunt.In 12 years I can retire with a $2700 a month pension.

[SportHuntingHelp]

Went on a hunting trip with my dad and his boss. Boss had been drinking at the fire one night and says you wanna be an insurance adjuster i said ya sure lol started monday 13 years later here i am.




No son you can't come hunting this year