So what does everyone here in the forum do for a living? (just very curious)

Cymbeline

^because he can :)

bandit778

It's actually been quite fun to read through although also saddening to see how many names have come and gone over the years.

pxchris

This is a thread resurrection I am most certainly OK with!

I am the lead product designer for a manufacturer of rock drilling tools headquartered in the USA. In addition to the design & engineering work I also manage our company's software systems and handle our internal IT among some other functions.

Lo1sJess

I work in program planning for legacy environmental cleanup - aka government worker 

mhe4

I'm an emergency physician, ie. "ER doctor".

rockethead26

I am a Senior Educator in the public program at Lowell Observatory, an astronomical research institute. My second job title is Public Program Telescope Technician and I manage all of the telescopes used in the program (not our large research telescopes). You can check out all the telescopes at Lowell.edu .

iwybs

I'm a grad student a few hours away from you ... Lowell Observatory would be a great place to work once I graduate .... If I graduate .....

ickis

I'm paid to be paranoid... I work in information/cyber security.

GrannyLEGO

ickis said:

I'm paid to be paranoid... I work in information/cyber security.

LOL ... reminds me of my now retired husband, also a professional paranoid h worked for the government in cyber stuff. I am also now old and retired here in Florida.

Diamondback_Six

Once upon a time I was briefly in Executive Protection... where paranoia isn't just paycheck but Survival Necessity for both yourself and the one you've committed to trade your life for theirs.

rockethead26

@iwybs U of A?

iwybs

On Planet Python, trying to work out a treaty with Planet Fortran about the mean plane of the Kuiper belt.

bpk2300

Lots of interesting occupations here. I run a payments company. We provide credit/debit card acceptance services to businesses across the country. 

Keilup

I'm a People Information Systems Consultant in People and Culture.  In other words, a Business/Systems Analyst in Human Resources.  Yes, HR is now known as People and Culture, at least in our organization.  Basically my team is responsible for supporting all the technology/systems/integrations used by HR and the company from an HR perspective.

ickis

Keilup said:

I'm a People Information Systems Consultant in People and Culture.  In other words, a Business/Systems Analyst in Human Resources.  Yes, HR is now known as People and Culture, at least in our organization.  Basically my team is responsible for supporting all the technology/systems/integrations used by HR and the company from an HR perspective.

And here I thought it might just be my org.  Our HR is People and Culture too!

sweetness34

Physical therapist for an acute care hospital primarily on the trauma unit. 

This is why I always hope for a hospital each year for the annual modular building.  

MorkMan

Brickfan50 said:

Why this resurrection of an 8 year old thread @MorkMan ?

Brickfan50 said:

Why this resurrection of an 8 year old thread @MorkMan ?

MorkMan

Brickfan50 said:

Why this resurrection of an 8 year old thread @MorkMan ?

Because it was one of the greatest ways to learn about our fellow Bricksetters. And I thought that since it was already here, why make a new one?

I was also perusing some of my old favorite threads and this caught my eye. With the looming End of The Forum, I got a bit nostalgic for the early days on here. 

1265

I'm unemployed, but I still by Lego.

BooTheMightyHamster

I spent 36 years in IT for a large UK retailer, but when I was made redundant, I decided to go back to my first love of writing.

*cough* theuncommonscribe.com *cough*

Spent a year writing for a Lego website that shall remain nameless - currently trying to revive my Lego blog, but open to offers.

:o)

Diamondback_Six

MorkMan said:

Brickfan50 said:

Why this resurrection of an 8 year old thread @MorkMan ?

Because it was one of the greatest ways to learn about our fellow Bricksetters. And I thought that since it was already here, why make a new one?

I was also perusing some of my old favorite threads and this caught my eye. With the looming End of The Forum, I got a bit nostalgic for the early days on here. 

Even then it doesn't HAVE to be The End if enough of us are willing to step up and open our wallets... even just each of us kicking in the cost of a Starbucks crap-o-cino or two a month could help. I also know of other sites that ask members who use their accounts for commercial purposes to chip in a monthly fee to use the place for advertising... if @Huw is willing to give us a chance I think we CAN cover the operating costs. The question is how many of us are WILLING to help do so.

What about it, Fearless Leader? Two things we need to know are what's the annual cost and how many of us are there to spread it among. Write off about half the membership off the top based on the normal patterns I see elsewhere on a variety of different subjects' forums...

gelkster

gelkster said:

Automation clerk, USPS in Eagan MN in a large new (2 yr old) facility so we aren't going anywhere soon.

Still doing this. 30 yrs senority this coming July.

Redbullgivesuwind

I think it is crazy how much life has changed since I posted what I did. I have changed jobs about four times. Learnt a lot about myself while working those jobs. And moved from the south to the north of England. As well as a whole host of personal changes. That is just since posting way back in 2012!

karrit

Guess I never answered this one back when I joined.  I'm 10+ years retired after a 32+ year career as a computer operator/IT specialist working for a county government.  As I was getting closer to minimum retirement age to get a decent pension the environment was changing rapidly and the higher-ups didn't want to invest in teaching us old dogs new tricks, not that I was that old compared to some.  They much preferred to go with the guns blazing, package software buying, younger generations who had no knowledge or experience in legacy systems and wanted nothing to do with old ways or how to make smooth transitions while preserving/archiving old data properly.

Diamondback_Six

karrit said:

Guess I never answered this one back when I joined.  I'm 10+ years retired after a 32+ year career as a computer operator/IT specialist working for a county government.  As I was getting closer to minimum retirement age to get a decent pension the environment was changing rapidly and the higher-ups didn't want to invest in teaching us old dogs new tricks, not that I was that old compared to some.  They much preferred to go with the guns blazing, package software buying, younger generations who had no knowledge or experience in legacy systems and wanted nothing to do with old ways or how to make smooth transitions while preserving/archiving old data properly.

That sounds suspiciously like the "changing of the guard" at a Fortune 100 I'll just call "Major Defense/Aerospace Contractor"... and they WONDER how disasters like 737 MAX happen.

karrit

Sometimes government work isn’t much different from the private sector especially when the new regime thinks they can run a massive government operation like a private company to further benefit of the stockholders (private donors) rather than actually working on the needs of the public they were elected to serve.  IT infrastructure was always a low priority because it isn't something the public sees so they don't understand that nothing functions smoothly without us.  They only notice what they consider excessive salaries when the newspaper does their annual listing of different departmental budgets including our salaries.  Going to get off my soapbox now.

Phoenixio

I'm a physicist, with a specialty in quantum optics.  This means lasers, teleportation, encryption, and everything related to the quantum computers and the quantum internet. 

As with every other academic job, it takes forever to get things going so I'm still early in my career, and hopefully it will lead to a lot of Lego down the line when I fully transition from forever student to established name in the field...

eMJeeNL

I'm a IT-contract manager for the largest Dutch public transport firm, mostly for the commercial (selling tickets) side of the company.

Nice job with a lot of freedom, and a Lego Store 100metres from my office...

Switchfoot55

I believe I've previously answered, but can't recall how long ago. 

I currently lead a team of investigators for car accidents through an insurance carrier. Just actually stepping back into this particular role after launching a new countrywide training department for our new hires over the past year. I'd love to move into more of a Design role in the future. 

May 13th will mark 10 years with the company. I was with my prior company for 10 years to the day, so May 14th will also mark the longest tenure I've had with a single employer. Considering I've only held those two positions (outside of volunteer work through my Church), I feel pretty good about that!

Bumblepants

I am a foot model.

mhe4

Bumblepants said:

I am a foot model.

LEGO must be a job hazard...don't want to step on an errant brick on the floor and ruin your career!

CaptainRogers

I work as a broker & financial advisor for a Fortune 500 company in the USA. I get to provide guidance and help in an oft-misunderstood field and help others accomplish their dreams. I love it! Plus it compensates me well enough to funny my Lego prob... My Lego hobby.  

Brickfan50

I'm the owner of a quite large and popular print shop in the 4th largest city of The Netherlands. Employing 6 people, serving about 100 customers per day.

I know a lot about printing in general and whenever there's a topic questioning whether TLG should include printed manuals or not, my answer will come as no surprise: app's come and go, prints will still be there over 200 years :-)

Bumblepants

Bumblepants said:

I am a foot model.

I am disappointed no one took the bait and asked for photos. I am not a foot model.

Lo1sJess

@Bumblepants I was going to comment on how the webbing (based on your avatar) must be an asset…..

iwybs

Bumblepants said:

Bumblepants said:

I am a foot model.

I am disappointed no one took the bait and asked for photos. I am not a foot model.

You must be a shoemaker then. Or a top-flight shoe designer for Adidas or Nike. Or a billionaire sneakerhead.

MaffyD

ickis said:

I'm paid to be paranoid... I work in information/cyber security.

I would say something similar, but I'm paranoid of revealing too much!

MaffyD

Phoenixio said:

I'm a physicist, with a specialty in quantum optics.  This means ... teleportation

Star Trek?

Phoenixio

MaffyD said:

Phoenixio said:

I'm a physicist, with a specialty in quantum optics.  This means ... teleportation

Star Trek?

Almost!  Teleportation actually already exists, just not in a form that is practical in the sense usually desired by the common of mortals.  To make it simple, let's say that we can teleport information between any two points where we can send light.

The issue with teleporting objects is that we're missing 2 key steps for teleportation: we can't make a full quantum measurement of an object (read here the destructive input), and we can't 3D print a human (or object) at the atomic level (therefore, the output).  Strangely, the middle part, the teleportation itself, we can already do!

That being said, considering the advances in 3D printing, where we can now print chicken nuggets, I'd say there is considerable progress and there might come a day sooner rather than later where we see teleportation of small quantum objects!

WesterBricks

So what you’re saying is… I can look forward to the day when McDonald’s will teleport chicken nuggets to my house.

MrJackson

Starting to wrap up my 16th year teaching beginning band. I also worked part time at my local LBR store for about 4 years to pay off student loans, etc.  Not to mention fund the hobby. Now that I'm taking out another loan to pay for a bathroom reno, there's a not-a-longshot possibility that I wind up back.

arathemis

Started as a software quality control engineer, climbed the corpo ladder to currently be a software delivery manager, 16 years later.
It can be satisfying depending on the type of software product you end up having to deliver, since we do it for all kinds of clients. 
Best experience: a mobile app that helps people with speaking disabilities express their thoughts (sort of what Stephen hawking's used to use when he was around). That project was really satisfying and seeing first hand such people being enthusiastic about what we developed and our future plans, was so emotional. 
Worst experience: Building a Car launch/preorder app for Nissan Arya. If Nissan builds their cars the way they manage and build their software, oh boy.... I said I would never ever buy a Nissan in my life no matter how cool and shinny it might be. 

Glacierfalls265

Office assistant for a university! Not the most glamorous but I'm able to do all the creative stuff I want (music, design, contests, etc...) outside of my main job, provided I still have the energy at the end of the day! 

KeithB

Chemistry professor at the state university here.  Would like to combine my chemistry expertise with Lego, but have not found a way yet!

560Heliport

KeithB said:

Chemistry professor at the state university here.  Would like to combine my chemistry expertise with Lego, but have not found a way yet!

Well, if you could tell us exactly what happens when using hydrogen peroxide to restore sun-faded bricks, that would be amazing!

KeithB

Sure, I'll give you my brief answer.

Lego bricks are made of ABS plastic.  ABS plastic is known to slowly "age" or degrade over time from exposure to UV light and due to inherent instability of the plastic itself.  The chemical product of this aging appears as a yellowing of the surface of ABS plastic.

Hydrogen peroxide (HOOH) is an oxidizing agent that can break down many molecules.  The oxygen-oxygen bond is not very strong and is where the peroxide will break apart during decomposition, creating OH molecules, which are very reactive.

I have not seen the reaction scheme, but I believe what is happening when you place yellowed ABS plastic in hydrogen peroxide is a reaction between the peroxide and the surface of the plastic.  In a real sense you are "removing" the surface layers of the plastic as the peroxide reacts with the plastic.  The methods I have seen on the net say you need to place the Lego parts in hydrogen peroxide solution in direct sunlight (outdoors), and that the method does not work in the absence of outdoor sunlight.  This makes sense.  The reaction between the peroxide and plastic is likely very slow.  Direct, outdoor sunlight has a small amount of UV radiation with high enough energy to break the oxygen-oxygen bond in hydrogen peroxide, which will speed up the peroxide-plastic reaction.  I've read people say the method does not work in the absence of sunlight.  I suspect it does, but the rate is much, much slower, such that it would take a very long time (days or longer) to get the same effect as placing the parts/solution in direct sunlight.  You would also see a reduction in the reaction rate if the parts/solution is placed by a window, inside since glass blocks most UV.

Hope that helps.  I looked into degradation of ABS plastic a number of years ago, but will dig some more to see what I can find!

560Heliport

Thanks! I have a blacklight bulb I have used to whiten Lego- it's a 13 watt compact fluorescent. I put it a few inches above the container of Lego and H2O2. It took more than 24 hours, but it worked.

KeithB

560Heliport said:

Thanks! I have a blacklight bulb I have used to whiten Lego- it's a 13 watt compact fluorescent. I put it a few inches above the container of Lego and H2O2. It took more than 24 hours, but it worked.

As the days of outdoor sunlight grow shorter, I'm wondering where you got your "black light" bulb from?  I may need to resort to that in the near future for whitening Lego.

560Heliport

@KeithB I think it was Walmart. But they don't seem to have the compact fluorescent type anymore. The LED blacklight bulb just doesn't seem as good- it's less intense.

KeithB

OK, thanks.  Yeah, everything seems to be shifting to LEDs.