occupations

Mint said:
I'm a bit late to this thread but here goes:

When I was working ;):whistle: I worked in various roles within Telecommunications mainly for BT or the GPO as it was when I joined.

After my three year apprenticeship I was involved with the fault diagnosis of the National Trunk Network in the good old analogue days.

Then I moved over into the data environment in the mid '70s, working in the test centre and accepting faults and initial diagnosis of problems with early modems. Earned promotion and was a field engineer/electronics repair for a couple of years before becoming full time field based for 8 years.

Having become a bit fed up of driving down the same roads to the same customers with the same faults I decided to take a role in the training environment. Initially delivering basic data courses but in time moving into much more technical courses such as protocol analysis in the X25 Packet Switching days. Then I progressed to the LAN/WAN Internetworking arena specialising in Cisco Routers.

I was then poached to join the Global Team involving designing and delivering technical training to very tight timescales all over the world. This was definitely my best role, combining face to face training with travelling the world, what's not to like. When that came to an end I spent a few years designing courses, some of which were online and also running a team of trainers. The company then offered me some money to leave early........I couldn't refuse and that was nearly ten years ago, pretty much the same as my Zed ownership. I got my Zed in September and retired in November. I’ve never looked back.:thumbsup:
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Back in the day, when STD meant something completely different eh?=))

Tony.
 
Worked I nightclubs/footy stadiums when I left school for beer money while at college.
Joined Royal navy at 19; trained as aircraft engineer on Harrier GR9 and Sea King mk4 serving in Afghanistan 🇦🇫 with the latter.
Got my class 2 license when I left for some reason I wanted to drive lorries, that lasted 3 weeks and I quit on the spot.
Got a job as a regional engineer for a mobility company for 4 years.
Started as a train driver for LNER this January which I plan on doing till I retire in 27 years at the ripe age of 60 😃 driving the new azuma class 800 trains. Fun fun!
 
Robert Wiles said:
The first company I worked for was AMP. Even 40 years ago it was all about the numbers.....
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40 years ago for me as well cannot remember exactly but I was Field Sales Engineer for 3M, AMP, Thomas & Betts 1979-1995 ish. AMP I think was 1982-83 ish
 
Chris Hunter said:
What a mottly crew. All we need is the man who makes foo foo valves for Boggle Scrudgers, then we have. A full set.😃
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As it happens @t-tony has that very thing planned for next week at the Zedshed (Midlands) =))
 
Started out at agricultural college in the late 70’s, gave up on farming and started in car sales with Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo for a couple of years, anybody remember Motorist Discount Centres? Shop then area manager from 82 onwards. Worked with an IBM dealer installing sales, parts and accounting computer systems Into the motor trade. Then Fedex in late 80’s and moved into medical devices (sales) in 1991 and been in the industry ever since. Started my own manufacturing company in 2005, now in the process of selling the company in readiness for early retirement🙂
 
Civi apprentice at Bovington, fixing tank and personal radios, when they had valves.
Then with Eastern Gas doing the same but transistorised in their vans, telemetry, microwave and instrumentation too. A little time with Xerox fixing sh%%ty photocopiers, then back to British gas, sold out to ICL but picked up network and telephony skills installing and maintaining both. made redundant and did allsorts, delivering Jags and Astons, site manager, installing mezzanine Floors, then a final stint in comms keeping the rozzers radios and portable kit working. Now retired and never been so busy!!!
 
Redline said:
Set out doing software for telephone exchanges, developed the first combined voice and data terminal (all the stuff you can do on your computer and even your phone now, my mate did one of the first voice mail systems), some secret stuff I can’t tell you about, managed customer Indirect Access data (131) for Mercury Comms, managed the data on 100s of UK telephone exchanges including code changes and 999 services, account manager to the largest ISPs (AOL, Demon Internet, UUNET Pipex and others) when dial-up was starting implementing 100,000s of phones each month, and finally went on to manage system, process and service model data for the UK TV and radio broadcast networks (c3,000 tv and 4,000 radio transmitters around the UK and all the associated IT and power systems that support them). A good mix. Now retired.
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Did you know Trevor Baker and Rod Wilkinson plus a few escapees from Eastern gas?
 
MartinN said:
Did you know Trevor Baker and Rod Wilkinson plus a few escapees from Eastern gas?
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Afraid not. Had little contact with the Gas networks guys. Telcos tended to keep away from Gas networks sites because of the more onerous safety requirements I guess. Have come across a few BR networks guys over the years though.:thumbsup:
 
I worked in a second hand car dealer when I left school at 15. Worked on Triumph Stags and Jags........Built my first Stag engine at 16 and changed many many head gaskets and timing chains!!.......Got into construction when I was 18 and drove excavators.......Lots of groundworks and railway contracts.....2009 company went so retrained as a Party Wall Surveyor, still going strong.
 
D R Oldfield said:
Hi always find it fascinating how people from so many diverse backgrounds are united by one common intrest
I started in 1981 at 16 years old as an apprentice electrician at Vickers shipyard Barrow in furness at the end of my apprenticeship I was employed to do electrical / instrumentation testing and commissioning on board submarines and surface ships and at one point was based at Campletown on the end of the Mull Of KIntyre
At 24 i joined North west water/ Unitied Utilities as mobile electrical/instrumentation engineer covering primary south cumbria lake district but could end up any were in the north west and southern scotland , i have been doing the same job for 33 years and looking forward to retirement at 60

I also own a Dosmestic Appliance repair company which has been trading for in excess of 30 years which my wife calls a very profitable hobby were i have maintence and repair contracts for the majority of the letting companies in south cumbria and several insurance companies
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I am one of the lucky one just retired at 58 with a defined benefit pension using rule of 85 from my years in the water industry , know spending 3 days a week fixing washing machines , cookers etc
 
Got a CSE grade 3 in maths at school and a grade E in computer studies.

Have worked in IT for 30 years currently surrounded by actuaries administering modelling software.

A lot of pressure is put on kids nowadays along the lines that qualifications are everything, actually they are nothing.
 
I got a CSE in metalwork and another in veterinary science, so if your dog needs welding, I'm your man
 
I wouldn't want to bore people with a history of my career in Education, but basically I was a teacher. When people ask me what I taught I usually reply 'Not a lot' .😁 I left teaching in 1998 and being a keen cyclist took a job selling bikes. Retired in 2004 and went to live in Spain.Cycling in the sun beats cold wet UK roads hands down. Returned to the UK in 2012 as we now have four grand children.😊
 
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