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06-21-2021, 05:43 AM   #61
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QuoteOriginally posted by dlhawes Quote
And as to Mao's ideas being "wrong", I would point out that he was an awfully good historian, if his political and economic conclusions were, shall we say, inappropriate for export.
Anything inspired by socialism but limited to a single country risks loosing the comparison game, and leads to keeping the inequalities in place.

QuoteOriginally posted by dlhawes Quote
I think Marx was right as to some aspects of his analysis.
Certainly about there being an imbalance between the classes, particularly in his era. That imbalance is still there, but probably less dramatic than at this time.

QuoteOriginally posted by dlhawes Quote
My dentist is a member of a particular religious organization of which I am not. He takes the notion (erroneously) that I must be allied with other organizations, and often prefaces his lectures (while I'm sitting there with all sorts of machinery in my mouth) with "Well, YOU people believe...", which is invariably hogwash. My standard response is to tell him that I don't think his organization has got it ALL wrong, just because some aspects of their belief system based on intellectual whackiness.
That would potentially annoy me enough to change dentists

QuoteOriginally posted by timb64 Quote
I feel it is giving something back to the community.
Amen to that. Volunteer work is always rewarding.

06-21-2021, 06:25 AM - 2 Likes   #62
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QuoteOriginally posted by hadi Quote
curious what got you folks into the career choice that you ended up in? was it location? education? familial responsibilities? just happened to be in the right place right time?
if you could do it again, what would you rather do?
Q1: none of the above - pure chance, I'd say
Q2: I cannot un-remember/un-think the past 37 years so I really have no idea

The long story is that I got out of my mandatory IDF service (I lived in Israel at the time) as a combat engineer with a prior botched university career in physics - not really good skills for civilian success TBH. I frequented a job office for discharged soldiers and this really old, almost-dead, guy (he must have been at least 50 then, I'm 63 now!!) would go through these index cards - one by one, and sloooooooowly. He'd read a card, look at me, shake his head. Rinse & repeat about 20 times and he'd send me home to try again in two weeks.

After many sessions over a 2-month period (with unemployment pay not really covering my basic needs) I asked him if I could take a look at those cards myself. He shook his head at this literally unheard-of proposal (who would need civil servants if everyone would read their own cards, right?) but still let me grab the box of cards, quite certain I would find nothing.

I lifted out one card and said "how about this?". He told me it was for the Customs authorities over at the Lebanese border. He also said I would have to control a gate where some trucks would be wanting to pass on a daily basis (mostly UNIFIL). He explained I would have to walk out, check the documents, verify an unbroken seal on the container, stamp the document, open the gate, let the truck through, close the gate. (horribly exciting, I know!)

I told him I thought I could do that but getting back and forth to the "office" which was 35 km away might be an issue. He told me a Customs authorities patrol car would pick me up in the morning at a major crossroads near my home and drop me off there again at the end of the day. Sweet! I took the job.

That was 37 years ago this year. In the meantime, I have grown from opening and closing gates on the Israeli border to being an EMEA/Global Customs and Trade Compliance director for respectively US, Japanese and UK multinational industrial giants operating out of Amsterdam as well as chairing international conferences on Customs cooperation and technology. On the side, I teach a bit on subjects such as free trade agreement rules of origin, harmonized commodity coding and WTO valuation processes.

Looking back, I can safely say I had no ***** idea what I was getting into but it was worth it. My partial physics education helps me out now and then, knowing how to lay mines or defuse bombs regretfully does not...
06-24-2021, 06:54 PM - 2 Likes   #63
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I was always an introvert (maybe even Aspergers, if that existed then), so when I discovered computers at age 12 or 13, it was magic. Of course, computers back then didn't do anything, you had to program them yourself using BASIC. A good friend and myself taught ourselves programming from a couple manuals and spent hours and hours doing that, before starting a computer class. So it was kind of natural that I would go into computer engineering/computer science.

But there were options - I grew up on a farm and loved being outside and in a rural area, whereas engineering jobs are in the city. I could have stayed on the farm, but the paychecks seemed too variable. I also loved maps and could have gone into cartography if I knew there was a job in it. Then during college I got a summer job working as a surveyors assistant - that checked the boxes for rural opportunities and working with maps. But I was already two years into college and figured it was too late to change. And my college didn't offer civil engineering. Besides, I do like programming. I do some volunteer work on habitat restoration, so that gets me outside in open space.

I've lived in 6 states, worked on things like military spy stuff, satellite TV, heart defibrillators, and railroad equipment. It's been interesting.

According to dlhawes, I'm a peasant, but my salary feels better than that.
07-01-2021, 10:15 PM   #64
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QuoteOriginally posted by hadi Quote
curious what got you folks into the career choice that you ended up in? was it location? education? familial responsibilities? just happened to be in the right place right time?
if you could do it again, what would you rather do?

for me, i ended up in Anti Money Laundering. I ended up in it after learning about human trafficking in university, and that deeply disturbed me. I wanted to put some sort of an impact in that world, and thus aimed my goals towards it. took me a while, but i'm here.

Though, thinking it over, i forced myself into business school. Ive always excelled in arts of any sort. Now a days its photography, but art and i have always excelled. Given that art isn't as well respected, or easy to earn a living, i was forced into business school to cover it. Its 'fine' for what it is, but if i was to do it again, i would have put myself further into photography. Maybe go towards fashion or portrait, or travel photography. Even dedicate myself towards wedding photography.

curious to know how you got into your work
Do you work for FINTRAC?

07-02-2021, 05:05 AM - 2 Likes   #65
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One of my earliest memories was taking a clock to pieces, and then crying when I could not get it back together. I must have been about 4yo, and from back then there was never any question of wanting to be anything but an engineer. Then in my teens I read every sea story by Joseph Conrad, starting with "Youth" about being shipwrecked in the Far East, so my first job was as a junior ship's engineer in the Far East.
07-02-2021, 10:51 AM   #66
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QuoteOriginally posted by newmikey Quote
Q1: none of the above - pure chance, I'd say
:
:
Looking back, I can safely say I had no ***** idea what I was getting into but it was worth it. My partial physics education helps me out now and then, knowing how to lay mines or defuse bombs regretfully does not...
I wouldn't regret it. I think it would be a bad sign if that particular set of skills were still needed... :0
The rest of your skills sound worthwhile.
09-04-2021, 08:05 AM - 3 Likes   #67
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My ex-father-in-law was a curator at the National Museum in Ottawa. His love of hand tools and precision inspired me. I spent lots of time out in his shop, where he in his spare time restored antiques for some of Canada's wealthiest. That got me into cabinet making. When my kids got big enough to travel, I wanted the summers off, so I got into teaching.

My year at Ryerson politech in photography seemed wasted, until 23 years later I started teaching photography, which I taught for my last 15 years. My first 10 years teaching I taught wood shop, based on my cabinet making career. Just goes to show, getting an education in something you love doing, never ends up being wasted, even if it takes a while.


Last edited by normhead; 09-20-2021 at 11:03 AM.
10-08-2022, 07:57 AM   #68
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I wanted to answer this question not only for the users of this forum but also for myself to not forget why I started it all and to keep me motivated. So my story begins with working for a photography company where I had commercial shootings and weddings. It was very overwhelming, and I was paid little. When I bumped into some articles on business themes, especially this full article, I understood I need to act. I quit and bought a new camera with all the money I had and started searching for clients and projects by myself. Well, now it's a pretty profitable business I love.

Last edited by HuistonPhill; 10-23-2022 at 10:05 AM.
10-08-2022, 06:17 PM - 1 Like   #69
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Never really had a career, just a selection of jobs - some legit and boring, some on the edge and far more fun !
10-18-2022, 11:59 AM - 1 Like   #70
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I was born into a family of doctors, so it was always assumed that I would follow in their footsteps. And for a while, that's exactly what I did. I went to medical school and did my residency, just like they did. But the more I learned about medicine, the less certain I became about it being the right career for me. I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else out there that I was meant to do. So, after a lot of soul-searching, I finally decided to leave medicine and pursue my true passion: writing. It hasn't been an easy transition, but it's definitely been worth it. Now, I wake up every day excited to start working on my latest project. And that's something I could never say about being a doctor.
10-18-2022, 03:33 PM - 1 Like   #71
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QuoteOriginally posted by lilyflowest Quote
I finally decided to leave medicine and pursue my true passion: writing.
Unless you hit the big time like Anthony Horowitz or J K Rowling, or get on the staff of a newspaper or major website, can you make a living from purely writing? I imagine it is somewhat like painting or sport - unless you are exceptionally good combined with a lot of luck, it is best enjoyed as an amateur.

As an amateur I like writing both prose and poetry, and I have some websites that involve writing and graphical layout. But my career as an engineer has involved a great deal of technical writing, some of it rather legal and contractural for specifications, reports, and public enquiries, and I have enjoyed both that and the practical aspects - such as dealing with cracks found in critical structures. Among other things, I have written part of the formal report on a train crash, and designed the chassis re-inforcement for a fleet of a certain type of London bus which were otherwise going to break in the middle after a couple of year's use


PS: I didn't use that emoji at work though!
10-18-2022, 07:06 PM   #72
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QuoteOriginally posted by Lord Lucan Quote
Unless you hit the big time like Anthony Horowitz or J K Rowling, or get on the staff of a newspaper or major website, can you make a living from purely writing? I imagine it is somewhat like painting or sport - unless you are exceptionally good combined with a lot of luck, it is best enjoyed as an amateur.

As an amateur I like writing both prose and poetry, and I have some websites that involve writing and graphical layout. But my career as an engineer has involved a great deal of technical writing, some of it rather legal and contractural for specifications, reports, and public enquiries, and I have enjoyed both that and the practical aspects - such as dealing with cracks found in critical structures. Among other things, I have written part of the formal report on a train crash, and designed the chassis re-inforcement for a fleet of a certain type of London bus which were otherwise going to break in the middle after a couple of year's use


PS: I didn't use that emoji at work though!
Hopefully Vancouver universities are different than in the U.S. as medical school bills and a writing income could be a very bad move financially!

I am decent at English & writing, but as an engineer, the people around me treat writing as a means to an end. Spelling errors and minor grammar errors are common and tolerated in everything but sales documents. If I point out errors, that's typically seen as being "nitpicky", and I should only focus on the technical content of the document. It's frustrating.

Last edited by bogwalker; 10-18-2022 at 07:14 PM.
10-19-2022, 11:05 AM   #73
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QuoteOriginally posted by bogwalker Quote
<snip>

Spelling errors and minor grammar errors were common and tolerated in everything. If I point out errors, that's typically seen as being "nitpicky", and I should only focus on the technical content of the document. It's frustrating.
Been there, done that, in LG, even in correspondence with voters. No wonder there is so much dissatisfaction with Public Services.
10-19-2022, 12:09 PM - 1 Like   #74
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Curiosity brought me to study physics, rather quickly going into 'theoretical' physics - the part that's less descriptive, but more concerned with the fundamental principles. I continued in research after my degree, but at some point got tired of working for the bookshelf, felt that I had studied major fields to a degree that I understood what the boundaries of knowledge of the world were at that point and was not looking forward to become a science nomad dragging the family along, which would have been the next science career move.

That would have been incompatible with my wife's academic career as well, so I moved into commercial software instead, rather seamlessly with the background of a lot of programming and years of sysadmin work in science. My major career jumps happened very quickly, so that I'm almost doing the same job now as 20 years ago. The excitement has worn off a bit, but I like my freedom, the ability to work on strategic long-term projects, while still being employed and not having to worry about getting enough billable hours together every month.

QuoteOriginally posted by bogwalker Quote
I am decent at English & writing, but as an engineer, the people around me treat writing as a means to an end. Spelling errors and minor grammar errors are common and tolerated in everything but sales documents. If I point out errors, that's typically seen as being "nitpicky", and I should only focus on the technical content of the document. It's frustrating.
Moving from academia with a perfectionist professor into commercial software, I also had to lower my standards a lot. I'm still trying, even as a non-native English speaker, to maintan a decent level of attention in everyday communication.
11-27-2022, 06:58 AM   #75
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This is a really interesting question. I am a industrial hygienist, moved from Puerto Rico to Arizona to complete my doctoral studies and after 5 years moved again to Illinois. Hopefully this will be the last time I have to move across the country. I am 31 years old and ready to grow roots and have a family of my own. Photography is a hobby that I started 15 years ago, my first camera was a Minolta XE-7 which I still use to this day. I still shoot film but for slides I rather use the maxxum 9. Got my first dslr in 2017 ( k-70) and later moved to a KP. What's funny about the hobby is that really helped me to take good images during inspections.
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