How many vocations...

[Wilbur ★]

..did you have during your working career?  

[JerrySTL ★]

Religious vocations? Less than zero.

In the other sense of the word, I'd say two. I wanted to become an aircraft mechanic as a child, so I did. Later I was drawn towards database work.

Being an instructor both in the military and college level certainly wasn't a vocation. I had to work too hard to be good at it and really didn't like it all that much. 

[maddmaxx ★]

Dishwasher, Navy, Gas station attendant, District sales manager, Instrumentation technician, Process engineer, Steel mill technician, missile guidance system technician, Laser technician, Laser design engineer (junior), Hobby shop clerk. cable fabricator.

That's an even dozen.

And I forgot tire buster and battery/alternator mechanic while going back to school

[Johnny Come Lately Name]

Paperboy, Dishwasher, Autobody "technician", Vending service person, toolmaker apprentice, toolmaker. 

Part time bike shop mutant.

@maddmaxx when you finish a meal in a restaurant, do you stack all the dishes and put all the trash on one plate, knowing some poor bastard has to bus the tables and deal with the dishes? I still do.

[Kirby]

2 real vocations, but more jobs than that

[shootingstar]

I would consider my 2 job types...a vocation for my entire career:  I went to university to get degree for it.  Job ads often require the degree and affects  pay starting level in a pay range.  

The training is also how to formally set up an entire facility /system and services from zero to meet local /corporate needs. Plus deal with all the hot issues:  censorship, equitable access, confidentiality, etc.  

Library manager/librarian and e-records information analyst and manager.  I chose my vocation, after doing volunteer work at a non-profit resource centre on information about the developing countries. 

The initial bookstore clerk was just after graduation.  It was alot of fun since I was working at 3 different store locations across Metro Toronto.

[shootingstar]

1 hour ago, JerrySTL said:

Being an instructor both in the military and college level certainly wasn't a vocation. I had to work too hard to be good at it and really didn't like it all that much. 

What made it hard for you?  All the prep work and student queries/papers afterwards?

In my final 4 years of work, 25% of my job was group training which included course design and teaching. I taught 4 different courses.  It took me last 20 yrs.  of my career to actually enjoy teaching. In beginning, I was stiff/not relaxed.  The computer technology for group instruction at beginning was a real pain in butt.  

 

[Parr8hed]

ER in a busy community Hospital

ER in a small community hospital

Peds ICU in a major pediatric trauma center.

Organ Procurement 

Dialysis both running a dialysis center and now as teaching home dialysis to patients.  

But all as a nurse, so however you want to count it.  

[JerrySTL ★]

1 hour ago, shootingstar said:

What made it hard for you?  All the prep work and student queries/papers afterwards?

In my final 4 years of work, 25% of my job was group training which included course design and teaching. I taught 4 different courses.  It took me last 20 yrs.  of my career to actually enjoy teaching. In beginning, I was stiff/not relaxed.  The computer technology for group instruction at beginning was a real pain in butt.  

The public speaking part. My instructor in military academic instructor course told me at graduation that she didn't think that I'd make it to graduation. A couple of years later I started working on my BS in Occupational Education to improve myself. Once I started being an adjunct facility member at a local college, I actually started liking teaching plus the money was pretty good for a part time job.

[BuffJim]

3 Tax Accountant, Corporate Accountant, Export Compliance Officer.

[MoseySusan]

2 hours ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said:

I still do.

Yes. And before we leave a hotel room, I gather the wastebaskets and stack the used towels where housekeeping can pick them up easily, usually lying across the side of the tub. 
 

I’ve worked some jobs, but teaching was my only vocation. 

[Tizeye]

Pooled assets with friend who had a truck and yard mowing business. First official punch a timeclock job was bag/stockboy at Kwik Chek (Winn Dixie) which left for inpatient mental health (joke in there somewhere what Winn Dixie did to us) as a psych tech. During college, department store sales, initially camera/electronics, later shoes. Still remember the interview..."What do you know about cameras?" "Well, I have my own darkroom." "You're hired". Short stint as The Orkin Man.  Juvenile Probation Officer before returning for Masters Degree. Internship and subsequent employment - policy analyst in the Florida Legislature staff on the House Committee for Health and Rehabilitative Services (one of my favorite jobs). Ironically, my staff director later was elected to the Legislature, and a co-worker who stayed in the system bouncing between House and Senate positions progressed to the most powerful non-elected position as Clerk of the House of Representatives. It was interesting going back to visit both of them as took daughter to college. Left as wife was pregnant with first child and needed something more stable that "Service at the pleasure of the Speaker of the House" and President Carter nominated the Florida House Speaker to a federal sub-cabinet position. Short stint as fund raiser with the American Heart Association for N Florida when got a letter from the Dept of the Navy, joking that the Navy recruiter wanted me until noted Civilian Personnel Office in the return address. Drove to Camp Lejeune, after the interview they asked me to sit in the hallway, had a little pow wow, came out and asked how soon could I start. Myself and my counterpart, Kate at Camp Pendelton, staffed the pilot project creating the Navy's Family Advocacy Program dealing with child abuse and neglect, spouse abuse, and in the Navy, rape intervention. It was successful and the created the active duty commissioned officer, and the selection committee called me from Bethesda "Where is your application?" I jumped ship and went active duty Air Force with similar and broader experience. The Navy's was located in the Pediatric Dept, where both Army and Air Force were in the Mental Health Dept where also provided general mental health counseling and alcohol abuse treatment - at one point Deputy Dir of an inpatient Alcohol Treatment Program. There was no drug rehab program as it was known as the civilian re-orientation program while they awaited their less than honorable discharge...but alcohol was different.

After 8 years, 9 months and 22 days in the Air Force initially had a short stint with the VA but was just too burned out from the toll counseling takes, so major career change. Became a Stockbroker, initially with Merrill Lynch, then Charles Schwab where progressed through broad areas ranging from investment sales to back office operations. When laid off at Schwab...just shy of getting Certified Financial Planner (required letter from supervisor that doing financial planning to sit for the test...and I was unemployed) tried using the insurance and security license but most places, including banks, want you to have a book of business (customers) that you will bring to them. As a hold over, worked for a couple of years at Lexus of Orlando and saw all these Realtors coming in buying their Lexus. Both my mother and sister were Realtors in a distant city so decided to get my license and became a Realtor, and technically, still am as keep my licensed active ($60 every two years to State) but parked as "referral only" (avoids monthly Association, MLS, and office fees) at Caldwell Banker, but may revert it back to full if decide to sell my house - and switch to a 100% no commission cut flat fee Broker such as Charles Rutenberg. When first started as a Realtor, the other Realtors in the office saw my listing photos and remarked "Larry, you should turn pro" so I created Larry Gray Photography LLC. The irony is, now that I am retired, I tell people that I am self employed - photographer and Realtor. And then there is author, writing a book during the COVID year, but that will never happen again as discovered how publishers rip authors off. I make far more selling photos.

[12string]

my vocation is husband and father.

I've been at one job for 30+ years. the prior full  time jobs were pretty much in the same work.  Except for a year of sheet metal work, but that was just for beer money until I had to get serious

[Bikeguy]

Jobs before I graduated college;

Did the grunt work for a catering service.  

Installed fencing, mostly chain link fence. 

Repair cars in my garage and made house calls for some work. 

Was the gunt for a HVAC contractor. 

Worked at a small printing company compiling materials that were used for training classes.

After graduation;

40+ years at the same company.

2 years in a technical support dept. Most of that work was estimating heating and cooling annual costs for commercial buildings. 

Many years as a customer account manager for different geographic areas.  

An assistant supervisor for a few years. 

Then we reorganized and I became the account manager for any large refineries and chemical processing plants.

Lastly the regional manager for the southern region large customers. 

Now I'm groundskeeper for the Bikeguy estate. 

 

[Tizeye]

The short version:
Lawn maintenance (Business partnership age 14-16)
Grocery Store bag/stock
Mental Health technician
Department Store clerk x2
Freelance Photography and taught darkroom technique
The Orkin Man
Juvenile Probation Officer
Policy Analyst in the Florida Legislature
Fundraiser - American Heart Association
Family Advocacy Representative - Dept of the Navy (civilian) (Licensed Professional)
Family Advocacy Officer - Dept of the Air Force (active duty) (Licensed Professional)
Stock Broker (Licensed Professional)
Car Sales, and forgot in the above Financial trading software sales and seminars
Realtor (Licensed Professional)
Photographer
Author

[Mr. Silly]

Paper boy

Gas station attendant

House Painter

Cashier @ Photomat

Cook @ pizza place

Cook @ restaurant

Cashier at Radioshack

Programmer at security software place

Field service computer work

Tech support at big corp

Programmer at big corp

BOM analyst at big corp

[Johnny Come Lately Name]

1 hour ago, MoseySusan said:

Yes. And before we leave a hotel room, I gather the wastebaskets and stack the used towels where housekeeping can pick them up easily, usually lying across the side of the tub.

Yep. Same here. Having worked retail, I also treat  cashiers and such like they're actual people, not self-checkouts. I think I may have gotten that from my dad, because my sister does it too. She told me when she'd chat with a cashier, my ( then teen) niece would be mortified "Moooom, you're embarrassing me..." Later on, said niece got a job as a cashier and her tune changed. "Mom, I wish more people like you would come in - it's so BORING..."

 

[sheep_herder ★]

Four main ones, service station attendant, pipe fitters helper, wild land firefighter, and teaching and research which included the combination, administration and then total research.

[Kzoo]

Farmhand - baling hay, feeding, mikling

Paperboy

Construction - mud tender for a block layer

Construction - hired help for new home construction

Office cleaning

Residential painter

After graduation:

Mechanical designer

IT Manager

IT consultant

Business owner/IT hardware, software, and development services.

 

[Razors Edge ★]

Just now, Kzoo said:

Residential painter

Did I mention a question I had from last week?  Got some time this weekend to help a fellow out?

[Kzoo]

1 minute ago, Razors Edge said:

Did I mention a question I had from last week?  Got some time this weekend to help a fellow out?

You did mention a question, and I remember it well, and I remember my response, and my experience was pretty much all exterior.  Wood, block, asbestos siding, trim...

[Razors Edge ★]

1 minute ago, Kzoo said:

You did mention a question, and I remember it well, and I remember my response, and my experience was pretty much all exterior.  Wood, block, asbestos siding, trim...

So - Sat 1pm?  Grab lunch before you get here and get dinner after you leave? All the tap water you can drink!

[shootingstar]

While the information I had to help find, was interesting,  best part was client services and learning from, no matter how difficult :  was breadth and diversity of people I met and worked with from a wide range of backgrounds. I had absolutely no idea what was in store ahead, when I was young pup in her 20's.

[Bikeguy]

2 hours ago, Tizeye said:

After 8 years, 9 months and 22 days in the Air Force

That's kind of an exact recollection. 

So did you get time off for good conduct?  Or did you like the Air Force?  

[Kzoo]

41 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

So - Sat 1pm?  Grab lunch before you get here and get dinner after you leave? All the tap water you can drink!

I can't be there on Saturday.  I got places to go, things to do and people to see.

[Longjohn ★]

Parts manager for a Chevy dealership, factory worker, automotive technician, maintenance supervisor, truck driver, landscape technician, handyman, forge press operator.

[ChrisL]

Wow, with the exception of one year where I left the security industry, I have either been an MP, cop or security professional for 39 of my 58 years.  

Basically all but one year of my adult life…

[Tizeye]

5 hours ago, Bikeguy said:

That's kind of an exact recollection. 

So did you get time off for good conduct?  Or did you like the Air Force?  

I loved the Air Force and intended to stay 20. Unfortunately, with more Captains than the sum total of all other officer ranks, it is the personnel crunch point for the military to manage retirement. Promote to Major and guaranteed 20 years (assuming you don't screw up), not promoted from Captain to Major, involuntary honorable discharge with severance. I hit the Major board at a bad time with an overall reduction in force in place, and normal selection rate of 80% dropped the 65%. Also, receiving severance prohibited backdoor to retirement through the Reserves or switching to a different branch of the military. Ironically, with my specialty had one possible alternative switching to a commissioned position with the National Public Health Service, but that essentially meant providing services on remote Indian Reservations and wasn't going to subject my family to that. The irony is that wouldn't have gotten out at 20 years. Being the first entry class of the new fiscal year, my 20 year anniversary was October 4, 2001...three weeks after 9/11. All retirements were cancelled, so would probably look at the 25 year mark.

There was one other possible avenue to Major...and would have loved to see the look on the Coronel's face as the first Social Worker ever to receive a Presidential override (Selection committee report not official until POTUS signs it, or overrides with strike through certain names). I was pissed at not selected and when my uncle asked me if I would like for him to have a word with the President, I said "No." Now wonder what would have happened if I had said "Yes." While he was quiet about what he did (probably classified) and flipped between the State Department and DoD, officially, he had the position of Under Secretary and head of all foreign and domestic property leases - Embassy, military, etc He personally briefed the POTUS (five of them) biweekly on conditions, risks, etc. He was so quiet that at one point he has taken hostage in the Middle East and wouldn't talk about the experience even to his wife other than a 45 held to his head and not knowing is that was going to be his last breath.  In retrospect, I strongly suspect I would have received a Presidential override if I had given him permission to proceed. One of those life events that you now say "what if."

8 years, 9 months and 22 days. It is not that I was counting. A very important document - even today - is the DD214 which is a summary of your entire military history - including the number of years, months and days between entry and discharge.

[Parsnip Totin Jack ★]

23 hours ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said:

Yep. Same here. Having worked retail, I also treat  cashiers and such like they're actual people, not self-checkouts. I think I may have gotten that from my dad, because my sister does it too. She told me when she'd chat with a cashier, my ( then teen) niece would be mortified "Moooom, you're embarrassing me..." Later on, said niece got a job as a cashier and her tune changed. "Mom, I wish more people like you would come in - it's so BORING..."

Same here. I make a point to call them by name at least once. Retail and Service industries suck because most of the public sucks. It doesn’t cost me anything to be kind and treat them as genuine human beans. 

[Parsnip Totin Jack ★]

Pool maintenance manager (because my Dad told me to)

golf caddy

dishwasher and busboy at a restaurant. Bellhop in same hotel. 
Department store clerk

Credit union #1, 31 years: Records, Share Withdrawal, Account Audit, Supervisor, Internal Audit 

credit union#2, 4 years: Internal Audit

credit union #3, 3 years: Risk Management 

credit union #4, 4 years so far: Risk Management 

683 days to second retirement. 
 

[MickinMD ★]

On 4/16/2024 at 9:54 AM, Wilbur said:

..did you have during your working career?  

When I was 12 years-old, I announced to everyone I wanted to be a chemist.

I became a research chemist then a chemistry teacher.

I worked my way to a bachelor's in chemistry at UMBC, where I also coauthored research papers and gave a talk at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.

I got a full scholarship and teaching assistantship to IIT, coauthored research and got my graduate degree there, completing my last semester's research at U. of Toronto.

I got a research chemist job at a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, was promoted to chief chemist, but when I returned to running I realized I could literally taste the chemicals I had been working with during the week.

I switched to teaching high school chemistry and physics at Maryland's largest high school and retired from there.