What do you do?

[MarkBarbieri]

What do you do (or did you do or do you plan to do) for a living? Any careerist photographers here?

I'm a computer guy. I'm in the process of moving out of one job (managing a business intelligence team) to a data architect role. My responsibility was to manage the team that gathered business data into one place (a data warehouse) and developed ways for users to access that information. My new role is to set direction on how we should manage our business data. My official title is "Data Advisor". I was hoping for "Data Whisperer".

I always wanted to be a mathematician as a kid (even as far back as first grade). I discovered computers in about 10th grade (that was back when computers were rare) and immediately switched career paths. I studied Computer Science at Texas A&M. I've worked in various forms as a software developer, database modeler, software/data architect, and IT manager ever since.

If I had to do it all over again, i'd still choose the same field. It's what I love to do.

I really enjoy photography, but I don't think I'd ever want to do it professionally (even if I could find people to pay me for my work).

 

[crazydadguy]

I am a senior field engineer for Lockheed Martin building/testing Navy DDG's. I work on computers and Signal Processors for the Radar systems. I go to school part time/half time when I can.

 

[WVDisGeek]

I manage the budget and insurance programs for a 900 bed hospital in WV. I started in accounting with a couple of the Big 8 (I am dating myslef here as I think there are only 4 left!), did healthcare consulting for one of the Big 8 and a regional firm and was the Chief Financial Officer of a small, rural hospital that was bought by my current employer.

I took up photography as a hobby in high school and did a few weddings for friends and family. That is why I don't think I could ever be a professional photographer....

I just recently got a DSLR and got back into photography as a hobby. Still have SO much to learn....

However, budget season at the hospital just wrapped up and I am going to have some free time to practice before our December trip to the World!!!

 

[DisneydaveCT]

Right now I am the director of development for a major performing arts group in Hartford, CT. So I spend my days raising money; not an easy task in this economy. Prior to this job, I spent 20 years in broadcasting and cable, primarily in senior management positions with an emphasis on public relations.

When I was a teenager I was very active in photography. I spent hours in the school's dark room working with B&W film. During my senior year, I was the Photo Editor of my yearbook. And then in college I drifted away from photography.

Several years ago I bought my first PnS digital camera, and later bought two more PnS's until I finally upgraded to a Pentax K100D so I could get to know my old lenses again.

 

[kenny]

Currently I manage a Billing Operations Department for a Telecommunications company. I switched over from IT to Operations about two years ago.

Previously held positions in software development, IT Project Management and IT Management. Unfortunately in the Telecom world companies get bought/sold all the time (my company was bought out 3 times in 5 years) so I have had to switched fields (IT/Operations) or risk being a causalty of merger layoffs.

Actually got my degree in Psychology from Syracuse University (went back for computers after under grad).

If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably have stayed with Psych and gotten my PHD. It still interests me and I find even though I am not a psychologist, I am still listening to peoples problems all day.


Always enjoyed photography and recently got back in to it with my DSLR purchase (D60). Can't wait to try it out next month in WDW!

 

[WVDisGeek]

Kenny,

You sound just like my brother. He is a programmer and I know his various companies have been bought/sold/merged it seems like a hundred times! He also got his bachelors in pyschology from Virginia Tech. He started out in computer science but ran into some problems with a few professors and switched majors shortly before he graduated. As a bachelors in psych wasn't getting him a lot of job offers, he fell into computing and now works with a company in Raleigh as their senior programmer. Just had to share due to the similar backgrounds!

 

[PhotobearSam]

I went to school for 2 years in photography (2 year course) and afterr graduation, I worked in various photolab until at the age of 24 became the photolab manager for a large chain of grocery stores. I loved working with customers but I hated that we had to rush through the printing because printing with an enlarger was my forte in college. So I would shoot weddings on weekends (not the bride and groom silhouted in the champagne glass style of the time but just honest portraits)

I hated my job because my supervisor hated me...It was 7 years of torture. When they offered me a buyout package I took it. It was 8 months before my 2002 wedding.

In 2003, we moved back to my hometown, (1/2 way across country for my DH) and we opened a motel and chalet business that deals mainly with tourists. www.shediac.com/gaudet/ (Getting a new web-site this winter...) We love it. I can't do weddings anymore because I work 7 days a week, 12 hrs a day from mid-may to mid-oct every year but we get the winters mostly off to travel. That is when I really get to love pictures again.

I have to get back into photography in a big way. Technology is passing me by....but I love it....

 

[CEK40]

Before I got married I worked as a police dispatcher in our town. After getting married 27 years ago this month I have been a stay at home wife and mom. All the children ages 33-19 are on their own and the youngest is in her junior year at college. I also took care of both my parents until they passed away four years ago a year apart. DH retired after 33 years on the police department (but he has gone back to work so he won't drive eith me or himself crazy)

I have always loved photographs and photography. I worked on our yearbook in highschool and always took pictures of family events. So my dad bought me my first camera a Canon AE1 when I was in high school (still have it). After graduation I took photography classes at our community college. I loved to be in the darkroom using B/W film. Then after I got married I stopped classes to raise my four children, but I never stopped taking photographs, hundreds of them. Then two years ago after becoming an "empty nester" I became a college student again at 50, taking a class a semister (my brain can't handle but so much at one time). WOW going back to school after 30 some years is that an experience, but so far I have passed all my classes with an A. Right now I am still using my film SLR (EOS Elan) and I have a digital P&S, but am researching Canon DSLR's, not sure what to go for.

I too never really wanted to be a "professional" wedding/studio photographer and deal with all the drama that comes with that, weddings especially. I am quite content to just shoot whatever I want, when I want to and how I choose. I know from what I have paid for wedding photographers for 2 of my children that the pay is quite good. But to me what you have to deal with just isn't worth it. I do take some of my photos have them framed and give them as gifts, and that is much more rewarding for me.

Oh, did I forget to mention that I LOVE WDW too? Isn't it amazing that no matter how many times you go you can take hundred's of photo and they are all different. DH and I going 10/25-11/02 for our first "by ourselves" trip, and celebrating our 27 anniversary. We are even going to MNSSHP.

Aside from my family, I love photography. The results of that are something that I can leave to them, a single moment frozen in time that they may or may not remember. How rewarding is that?

 

[bostran1]

I'm an Assistant District Attorney. I have always been interested in law but moreso litigation work. I enjoy being in a court room every day. Being able to speak for the victims of crime is truly an honor and responsibility I take very seriously. I am also the domestic violence designee in my office so I get the majority of domestic incidents. It certainly is harrowing and often disappointing but when we actually get thanked by someone it is extremely rewarding. Helping those without a voice is important to me.

Not mention, working in district court provides a fair amount of entertainment and every day is different!

I also have a second job at a flagship Apple Retail Store.

Photography is a hobby of mine but I would love to figure out a way to make something out of it but I don't think I have it in me at this point. It is a great escape from what can be a very trying job but it lets me be more creative.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Neat thread. Interesting to see what everyone does for work!

I'm a longtime cardiac nurse in a supervisory/leadership role one of Boston's major teaching hospitals. I've worked there for over two decades and it's still my passion, a big part of who I am. I love working with patients, and pride myself on the relationships I develop with them and the way I can help them understand their own health. I also get to do some other interesting things like teaching, council and project work, too. It was definitely a good career choice for me, and like bostran above, I consider it a privilege to do what I do.

I am also the mother of 11yo boy/girl twins and a big German Shepherd.

Photography is a hobby for me. Someday I'd love it if one of my photos won a ribbon at the local fair but I don't have aspirations much higher than that right now. I'll probably do some photos of my friends' kids/pets, but it will mainly be for fun and for free, at least for the forseeable future. I do want to keep learning and look forward to the day that it all becomes "easy" for me.

 

[Furgus]

As of Monday I will be a Senior Associate Engineer for CAT. I will be working with boBQuincy, again.... Before that is was an IT Analyst at CAT...yes we move a round a bit

 

[faerieprincess]

Hi i'm really new here.

i am a secretary for a funeral home. Mostly i do paperwork - reams and reams of paperwork (some of it on actual paper, some on the computer). i also do low-on-the-food-chain jobs such as stocking cupboards and answering endless ringing telephones. The two main qualifications for my job are sincerity and detachment - you have to mean it when you tell someone you're sorry for their loss, but you can't go around crying all the time. As a job it's really neither challenging nor especially rewarding.

When i started university i had no idea what i wanted to do with my life (i still don't). i started out in psychology, switched to history, and finally switched to a double major in Philosophy and Religious Studies, with a particular focus on religion and philosophy in popular culture (with classes such as "Religion in Film", "Religion in Literature", "The Philosophy of Sexuality"). i really enjoyed the program but due to some life issues dropped out in the middle of my last year - and have yet to go back and finish it.

i have worked in more jobs than i can remember (and i'm only 28). i have worked in call centres, a race track, a sports bar, and various offices. i also worked in a Sears Portrait Studio for a while.

i spent a year living in England trying to write a book.

i have been interested in photography for a relatively short time (about four years) but in that time have become known as the one always hiding behind the camera. At my best friend's wedding last year (in which i was the maid of honour) there is a photograph of me with a camera in my hand within one minute of the recessional!

My own camera is a Canon P&S but my father and i "share custody" of a Nikon D60 which i am completely in love with.

i'm new to the DIS (though i confess to lurking for a few weeks before joining) and i've only discovered this photography section today (at work, shh!), so i'm pleased to meet all of you!

 

[klmall]

Welcome faerieprincess! This is a great group.

I taught middle school social studies, headed a department, trained teachers at night then computers entered education and my world totally changed.

I progressed from piloting a program that gave principals their first computers to analyze their school data (using Macs) to eventually bringing up a Data Warehouse for our entire school system. We were one of the first in the whole nation to do so and it was amazing to learn so much in so few years it seems.

Well, my actual specialist job was eventually abolished due to post-9/11 cuts and I went back to supporting first year teachers in a high school before retiring in June '07. Hated my admininstration and wanted some life back, so I thought.......

And you may have read the postscript yesterday. I came out of retirement this week and took a Help Desk job with a federal education study for a few months. You just can't take the teacher out of me.....

 

[NostalgicDad]

First and foremost, I'm a dad to my 3 kiddos. So far, that's been a pretty tough job. But, to pay the bills, they call me a senior network engineer in the office. I manage local and remote wired and wireless data networks in a full Cisco environment. Routers, switches, and all that crap. We have about 150,000 employees worldwide and I'm in the corporate IT sector for North America. I enjoy it but I don't love it so something different is on the horizon for me. However, if someone knows what that is, please let me know.

I'm also a paramedic for nearly 20 years. That's a profession I do love. I don't work at it full time any more, though. And, it's the most under-rated group of individuals I've ever been around. I'm around people in the IT industry who think of things as life and death. All I can do is laugh it off. They have no idea what life and death is. Having experienced tons of that first-hand puts a whole different perspective on things.

 

[dbenlee]

When I started college in the mid 80's I was going into Computer Sciences (called computer programming back then). After dropping out and serving a few years in the Army, I went back to school to be an x-ray tech. I have been an x-ray tech for 14 years and am currently the CT supervisor for a small local hospital.

Photography has been an on again off again hobby for a while, but now it is more on and I am trying to find time and resources to learn as much as I can.

 

[DueyDooDah]

I'm the Technology & Information Systems Operations Manager for The Nature Conservancy in Washington. I am the sole IT guy for all aspects of technology in the state, including desktop support, WAN/LAN systems, security, VoIP, servers, backups, etc. I act as a consultant to the rest of the organization and guide the business in the direction that will fit the goals of the organization. I also act as liason to the corporate office (located in Virginia) on all IT matters, such as balancing organizational standards and end-user needs.

I started photography as a hobby when I was very young. After I joined the Navy, I took on the role of ship's photographer. This was interesting for awhile (periscope photography being the best) but quickly deteriorated due to extra demand on my time (I was a navagator by trade, so this was a collateral duty). When transferred, I quit photography until recently. My wife rekindled my passion for photos when she bought me the 30D.

 

[YesDear]

I have been in the insurance industry for the past 30 yrs. I was a speech communications major in college back before a communications degree was accepted as anything other than a cheap journalism degree.

I started working for Dun & Bradstreet. A horrible job but a good basic business education. I got a job working for an insurance company working as a loss control person. I then joined an agency and now own my own agency with a partner. I am considered an insurance geek. I am very much into the policy language and contract details. I also teach insurance to other agents. I teach regionally for several national designations. I am one of those people that get a rush out of standing in front of people performing. Teaching satisfies that need.

Interesting piece of trivia about me was the summer I worked as a singing gunfighter at a theme park. I was killed 23 times a day!

I started photography as an outgrowth of working for a TV station in high school. I have always been a very visual person. I moved from film to video as technology advanced. I remember walking around Disney with a framed backpack carrying a video recorder and a video camera sitting on my shoulder back in the eighties. I then moved to digital as technology gives me the chance to be creative as a photographer and not be limited by the cost to produce prints from film. I am excited as to where we can go with it.

I guess if I could do it again, i would go either of two directions. I would have either gone to Law school and become a lawyer, or gone to film school and tried to become a director.

I am very happy doing what I do but one can always wish what could have been.

 

[saturndb]

For the past 13 yrs I have been a car salesman for a local Saturn Store. never thought I would end up in Sales, but as a kid I was very shy and I thought this would get me out of my shell. I like what I do and enjoy meeting people.

photography has always been a passion of mine, don't get a lot of time to do it, but when I can it does relieve some tension...

And now My wife and I are off for a 9 day trip to Disney!

 

[Tuffcookie]

I'm the detective bureau secretary for our local police dept.

I have been there 17 years full-time, 2 part-time.

I love my job! It is always interesting and sometimes I am called upon to use my photography skills at work!

If we swear in new officers, or if there is a retirement, I'm asked to take pictures. If we have a female victim of a crime, they ask me to take the pictures of the injuries. I was able to take comp time and accompany the officers when Barbara Bush came to town. (That was before digital was available, so I got some really great shots of Barbara with my old Argus 35 mm, with telephoto lens). I was there when Rosalyn Carter visited our health dept. (this was a very close up visit). She is so caring and down to earth!

I have sold a few of my prints for money (nothing big-time! , although AT & T reimbursed me for using some pictures of mine on the cover of the local phone directory without my permission.

I love photography as a hobby, without the stress of making it a career.

TC

 

[photobob]

I am the Chief Photographer for a daily newspaper and have a photography business on the side, mainly wedding and senior portraits. I do this to kill time between my WDW visits! I've been with the same newspaper for 22 years and the sideline business has grown from freelance jobs here and there to something a bit more significant. I have a degree in commercial photography and feel very fortunate to be able to make a living in photography.

I just started a website a few weeks ago to try to help market myself especially in weddings. Check it out if you'd like, I'd love some feedback.
[/url]www.bobcrispphotography.com[/url]