Simple enough topic: post your current means of employment. Feel free to get into detail on how you acquired it, your pros and cons, and how you plan to advance/move from it, if applicable. I think reading what other people are currently doing will help bring me some perspective on where to go next in life. Or it'll be a distraction from work to help pass the hours away. Either way, here goes.
My current job is a Digital Court Reporter for a local courthouse, state job. Despite the title, I'm not actually a DCR, but more of a Tier 1 Help/Maintenence guy for that department: my tasks mainly revolve around monitoring and maintaining both the court reporters as well as the equipment they use (microphones, computers, etc). If there's a problem, I do an initial diagnosis and offer a solution if possible (9 times out of 10 the solution is "restart the PC"). If it's out of my hands, I send a service request to the Tier 2 department.
Pros: Mostly a laid-back job with little stress or activity. I spend most of the time sitting at my desk, where I'm free to do stuff like make this thread. Most people hate downtime in their jobs, but not me. I'm flat-footed, which makes any long-term standing painful for me, and I welcome the breathing room to help myself learn new things through my iPad....or just watch YouTube LPs. Whatever works. I also get a ton of benefits, including more time off than I know what to do with: in addition to paid holidays, I accumulate both sick and leave time separately, which adds an additional 8 hours to both every month. Basically, I almost never have a problem getting time off, though I try to make sure I'm doing something beneficial with the time instead of just using it to play games or whatever (though I also get a personal holiday that expires every June, so I'll be using that to watch Sony's E3 conference at my theater).
Cons: It's the standard 8-5 shift, and I hate hate hate HATE mornings. The commute is nightmarish, often requiring 45-50 minutes going in and out. There are no raises nor advancements in the job, meaning I don't get promotions. If I want to move up in the courthouse, I have to look laterally and apply for new positions like everyone else. Much as I love the benefits and ease of the job, it's not enough to pay for a house or apartment, or even a new car. I want to move up and make more money, but considering how many years I spent waiting to get ANY government job, I don't expect to get something else right away with this field...or ever.
Also the elevators have turned me into a mild claustrophobe. They're tiny and almost constantly packed with people.
My current job is a Digital Court Reporter for a local courthouse, state job. Despite the title, I'm not actually a DCR, but more of a Tier 1 Help/Maintenence guy for that department: my tasks mainly revolve around monitoring and maintaining both the court reporters as well as the equipment they use (microphones, computers, etc). If there's a problem, I do an initial diagnosis and offer a solution if possible (9 times out of 10 the solution is "restart the PC"). If it's out of my hands, I send a service request to the Tier 2 department.
Pros: Mostly a laid-back job with little stress or activity. I spend most of the time sitting at my desk, where I'm free to do stuff like make this thread. Most people hate downtime in their jobs, but not me. I'm flat-footed, which makes any long-term standing painful for me, and I welcome the breathing room to help myself learn new things through my iPad....or just watch YouTube LPs. Whatever works. I also get a ton of benefits, including more time off than I know what to do with: in addition to paid holidays, I accumulate both sick and leave time separately, which adds an additional 8 hours to both every month. Basically, I almost never have a problem getting time off, though I try to make sure I'm doing something beneficial with the time instead of just using it to play games or whatever (though I also get a personal holiday that expires every June, so I'll be using that to watch Sony's E3 conference at my theater).
Cons: It's the standard 8-5 shift, and I hate hate hate HATE mornings. The commute is nightmarish, often requiring 45-50 minutes going in and out. There are no raises nor advancements in the job, meaning I don't get promotions. If I want to move up in the courthouse, I have to look laterally and apply for new positions like everyone else. Much as I love the benefits and ease of the job, it's not enough to pay for a house or apartment, or even a new car. I want to move up and make more money, but considering how many years I spent waiting to get ANY government job, I don't expect to get something else right away with this field...or ever.
Also the elevators have turned me into a mild claustrophobe. They're tiny and almost constantly packed with people.
