• Welcome to the DeeperBlue.com Forums, the largest online community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing. To gain full access to the DeeperBlue.com Forums you must register for a free account. As a registered member you will be able to:

    • Join over 44,280+ fellow diving enthusiasts from around the world on this forum
    • Participate in and browse from over 516,210+ posts.
    • Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
    • Post your own photos or view from 7,441+ user submitted images.
    • All this and much more...

    You can gain access to all this absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!

Work - what do you do for a living ?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
Graduate Lawyer doing Master in International Bus. Law. and when im not hounded by assignments or papers I likewise have my existential bouts. Ed im throwing some Dante Alighieri your way

"Should natural disposition find itself
not in accord with Fortune, then it must
fail as a seed in alien soil must die.

If men on earth were to pay greater heed
to the foundation Nature has laid down,
and build on that, they would build greater men.

But those men bent to wear the sword you twist
into the priesthood, and you make a king
out of a man whose calling was to preach:

you find yourselves on roads not meant for you."

The Divine Comedy: Paradise, Canto VIII, Verses 139-147

What is the "lost coast" of our destiny? Is it a place we once were or do we strive in hope of seeing it for the first time? Should one accept social compromise or does one return irrevocably to oneself?

We are condemned to choose, as the Philosopher puts it, in a universe of endless possibilities. There is no escape from that, in this life or the next. Freedom comes from how you choose; if you weigh "have to do" against "dont have to do" or employ "this I like" and "this I do not like" as your measure. In the first, one is always a prisoner of circumstances while in the second a prisoner of oneself. I prefer the latter. Better alone but on your own path than burdened with other people's madness, as the Greek saying goes.

And so the journey continues. We shall see.
 
always followed head rather than heart when it comes to paid employment - worked first in a book store, then for several years in the music business doing various buying/marketing/sales jobs for Virgin. Nutz lifestyle, far too much alcohol and celebrity involved and fun for a few years but ultimately not that satisfying. Kicked it in in 2000 (millenium crisis big styley) and became a full time diver - worked 3 1/2 years as a full time scuba instructor in the UK, Red Sea and Maldives and now work full time for PADI in Sales teaching freediving on the weekends.... had some career counselling last year when I went through a patch of wanting a proper job and proper money - none of the options inspired me in the least and the counsellor praised me for staying with what I love rather than selling my soul... so I thought I would keep it that way...

ultimately though I am still in an office four days a week and would rather not be... but hey at least I get to talk diving all day

S
 
  • Like
Reactions: flyboy748
I am studying to be a network administrator...

This is because I have tried for years to find a job that I like, but I finally had to admit defeat.

I don't regret anything... I have done some unusual jobs:

Greengrocer
Garden centre assistant
Catering assistant (never again...the stress, the heat, the awful food)
Zookeeper (voluntary - it's almost impossible to get a paid job working with animals)

I studied music for a while, and I have always been interested in nature.

It is very difficult to find a balance between work and enjoyment. For now, I just want a job that pays for the things I like. If an opportunity comes up that involves freediving, nature, music etc then I will drop everything and take it.

Lucia
 
  • Like
Reactions: spaghetti
Chalk up another one for defence pilots - for me though, I'm Aussie Air Force. It's a great life, if you can stand the training. The first few years are pretty rough, but after that there seems to be an over abundance of 5 star hotels and exotic travel oppurtunities... :) The pay's not crash hot, but there's always the option of joining a major airline at the end.


Brad
 
I might have a job interview tomorrow. A new dollar store is opening up near me and is looking for workers. Seems like more of a "Mom and Pop" store, which is good, because im sick of corperate retail...
 
I've really enjoyed reading the replies to your question. Especially the person who quoted Dante (I knew this was a good group!).

I own an insurance agency in Reno, NV so I guess you could say that I'm a business owner however most days it's just a glorified "job." It's nice to be able to delegate responsibilities for a day to go out diving or maybe get my haircut...

I'd have to say that the most important thing I do all day is to figure out how to spend more quality time with my wife and daughter. I've made more money working other jobs but at least in this business I get to go home at night!

Good luck in your decision making process and remember just to do good works and the rest will follow.
 
Aerospace engineer but still in school working on PhD. School is getting really old and being a broke student sucks badly.
 
Another US Marine pilot here, only I fly helicopters. Spent most of my time stationed in California, but Marines are almost always near an ocean. Crossed the Pacific by US Navy amphibious ships six times, lucky to have visited most of Asia, numerous locales in Australia, a lot of the Middle East, and some of Africa. Again, Marines are never far from water. Currently, I'm stationed in Okinawa, Japan, and dive 2-3 times per week. We have some awesome fish out here.
I'm closing in on 22 years and looking to retire in three more. No intent to work again as we plan to retire to our house in Mexico. Somehow my wife, who has much more foresight than me, managed to talk me into buying a house on the beach on a little island called Isla Mujeres; we spear fish and catch lobsters right out in front of the house. I'm thinking about brewing beer and buying a boat - not to be used simultaneously, of course, once we get down there full time. A career in the Marine Corps is often characterized as a calling - I can tell you that it's the young men and women who keep you energized, they are really amazing.
 
Maintenance engineer-but on the sick right now, smacked my hand with a hammer. my hand looks like a football :rcard :waterwork
 
Originally I am a geological engineer, after finishing the school I did an MBA.... now, I am the turkish guy at an international gambling company!

Life is really strange somethimes..
 
Same trade as me Sharky. Word of advice, hold the hammer with both hands. Than you aint got one left to hit.
 
I run the software QA/Testing department, and also Spanish Section of the same international gaming company memo mentions above.
 
I am working as a Sysadmin at Carinthian Tech Research in Villach (Austria).

Before I worked more than ten years as a shop assistant (Foto/Hifi/Cellphones) but that wasn't right for me anymore. To get so much money out of the customers as possible and earning not very much on the other side did frustrate me and so I decided to change this point of my life.

I visited some trainings and studied at home and after 1 1/2 years I got my new job and now I am happy with it (and I get a more money for less work :) ). And not to forget - office working gives me more possibility to go diving because I do not have to work on saturday.
 
Very interesting thread folks!

Let's see - when at school and university I had numerous odd jobs including being a senior sales advisor (they had some funky name which I can't remember now) at the Crown Jeweler Garrards & Co. Then I worked as an assistant manager in a Pub.

I then spent 18 months working in the Banking section on some cross between IT and Finance (very boring, far too stressful and virtually zero pay - the wrong part of the banking sector).

Settled into a career as a Senior Consultant for a US Software House (based in their London office).

Of course, all the time i've been doing "real jobs" I go home and switch into my superhero outfit and "hey-presto" i'm the CEO of DeeperBlue.net! 9 years now so that's probably my longest stint working! This is by far the most rewarding and satisfying part of my life at the moment.
 
I spent 6 years at UBC getting a BASc in Engineering Physics, Electrical Engineering option (5-yr program but courseload was too much for me to finish in 5 years).

Then I worked as a software engineer for almost 2 years at Brooks Automation Software, 8hrs+ per day in front of a PC, not my cup of tea. Nonetheless, it was what I was good at. During that time I also used the income from that job to develop the fluid goggles (an investment I will never recover).

Then I quit that job and got a job as a software/hardware engineer at a startup company which folded in 3 weeks. Then I worked for 3.5 years at Ultrasonix Medical Corporation, which makes clinical diagnostic ultrasound machines. Again I did software development. During this job I began working on my own time on all sorts of diving related projects, including a near infrared spectrophotometer in 2002 (to measure O2 saturation in working muscles). I asked a lot of questions to the hardware engineers there, and learned a ton.

Then, still working at Ultrasonix, in March 2003 I began (in my spare time) working on a new freediving safety system, and I dumped another $15K into that project. My mind was always elsewhere (working on my own projects), and my productivity was obviously dropping at Ultrasonix. I knew I would be laid off or fired eventually, so I began saving money hoping to start my own company. I also learned a ton about machining metals, and learned a lot from the mechanical engineers at ultrasonix.

It finally happened Sept. 20, 2004, when I was laid off for lack of productivity. I realized the freediving safety system was not going to pay my bills, so I aborted that project at 75% complete, and began working on the Liquivision F1 freediving computer, and I essentially 'bet the farm' on the device.

So here I am, 5.5 months later, with one working prototype, no income and no money left for further development. Maybe I'll end up living in an alley somewhere, beggin' for food. But I'd rather be doing that, compared to doing computer work 8hrs a day for some boss. At times during the last 5 months, I was so low on money that I was living off of pasta with olive oil (all the money I had needed to be spent for rent, as well as R&D on the F1). I remember discovering an old tub of protein powder at one point. I was so happy! The powder kept me alive for weeks! I also remember selling a pair of fluid goggles at one point, and that evening I had a steak (a wonderful treat). Funny how things you used to take for granted suddenly seem like big luxuries! The recent CAFA competition was pretty humbling. Obviously I had no money to pay the entry fee ($60), and obviously on my crappy diet I was in no shape to compete anyway. Nonetheless I wanted to watch, but that entailed using my car (which needs repair but there's no money to fix it). Not only is UBC a long way (gas $$), but parking is $3.50 per day, and the competition was 3 days. Of course, at the end of each day everyone went out for food, but I had to go home, no money to eat out. Despite this poor-man's lifestyle, I'm 1000 times happier doing what I love and what I want, than I was making big bucks as a software developer. Every night I go to bed, I appreciate that I can sleep in, and that I'll be doing something I look forward to the next day. Plus, I'm blessed with an incredible girlfriend who is also broke but starting her own business doing what she loves.

Ironically, if I look at all the money I made from 1999-2004 working as a software developer, I dumped most of it into my own projects. I spent $15K-$20K on the fluid goggles, $15K on the spectrophotometer, $15K on the safety system, and another $15K-$20K on the F1. How much have I made back? A couple of $K on the fluid goggles (grand total GROSS for all sales ever made)....

Anyone know a warm, cozy alley with lots of generous passerbys?

Despite my dire situation my advice is straightforward; better to starve and die, doing what your heart desires, than live a life of clay, doing something you hate.
 
I've held many distinguished postitions:

Age:
-.75 - 0: internal parasite
0-1: external parasite
1-2: pet rock
2-5: wind-up toy
5-10: levi's product tester
10-14: punching bag
14-18: chemistry experiment
18-25: primate researcher
25-current: fish squeezer

on the horizon:
- seed planter
- mass collector
- worm farmer
 
Last edited:
Good point Johnny !

I have just been seeing where this goes and reading it each evening. I very much appreciate everyones response.

Anyway - I am a software engineer - Java etc

When I was younger -Worked in a postoffice, on a sandeel trawler, in the hospital, selling stuff door to door, in the greenhouses...

At 18 onwards- Trained as an archaeologist, worked in Hokkaido teaching English for 2 yrs, worked in the UK in IT recruitment for 8 months (too long), crosstrained as a software engineer for a year, painted houses in London for 6 months, worked in Guernsey for 2 yrs in web dev., currently work for a large organisation using Java as a software engineer... voila !
 
DeeperBlue.com - The Worlds Largest Community Dedicated To Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing

ABOUT US

ISSN 1469-865X | Copyright © 1996 - 2024 deeperblue.net limited.

DeeperBlue.com is the World's Largest Community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving, Ocean Advocacy and Diving Travel.

We've been dedicated to bringing you the freshest news, features and discussions from around the underwater world since 1996.

ADVERT