What is your job?

I am interested to know what the other members do for work. What did you study and what are you doing today.
I have decided (10 years after finishing school) to finally study. I recently completed my N4 level for Draughting and will begin N5 tomorrow. Thereafter I will do N6 and then see what direction I will take.
Anybody else?

I think Mario must have the best job. Sorry to everyone Wink

Hi Rob,

My job and my hobby are identical. Zoologist.
I studied Biology, then specialized on Zoology and since I finished my studies at university I work as a zoologist, especially on ecology and ethology. My main subject are snakes, right now Vipera ammodytes and research about quality of habitat.

Cheers,
Rainer

Hey Rainer
That is excellent, congrats.
Can I ask what you mean by quality of habitat? Are you refering to the different habitat types which V. ammodytes inhabit?
Thanks

PS: Maybe Mario does not have the best job so easily here Smile

I used to work as an architect before I became a director in my own reptile zoo.
That wasn't only a change from high to low income, but from low to high satisfaction as well.
www.reptilienzoonockalm.at

Cheers
Peter

Peter I believe we work to live, we do not live to work. Well done taking that step, Im sure you are much happier.
Besides, if anything happened you always have architecture to fall back on.

I am working in a concrete-factory, producing fresh / ready mixed concrete. I am kind of "the spider in the web", keeping all contacts with customers, trucks, in and out deliverys and also in charge of the coffeemashine. Very Happy

Would like to have a job that goes more in line with my hobby, but it seems that I have to little education / school for it.

I have a little mechanical engineering company. We are a team of 13 people right now.
Besides that I teach a few hours a week "Database Technology" on the University of Applied Sciences in Upper Austria.

www.leitenbauer.at
www.fh-wels.at

I was workin for 10 years now as a car bodyworker and car painter! The problem was that i got much more frustrated so i decided to make another hobby of mine to my job so i started to make my own business as a piercer in the tattoostudio of my girlfriend!

The positive effect is that i got more time for the family and my animals and everyday is different so it never gets boring because i have to work with people!
No more crashed cars! :-) :-)

the negative effect: like peter wrote is the change in the income and the financial risk but i guess the change for peter was bigger then mine!

Best regards from austria!
Benny

Hehehe sounds funny in English - Upper Austria Laughing

To my job - I´m a graphic designer for print and web. Great job to work from home most of the time ...near my snake rooms

I study veterinary the first year, so I've got a long way to go, but it's really interesting...

cheers

I was working in a company which produces building insulation for over a year but now I'm finnishing my studys at University of Applied Sciences and I should graduate this spring as Bachelor's degree of fine arts or something what ever it is in english. Very Happy

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At the moment I'm working at newspaper as photographer.

Update
Last year after the newspaper I worked at google street view
Now I'm back doing insulation at Paroc..crappy job but salary is great.

Sami

Hi Rob,

I think Mario and Peter as well have the best jobs. And so do I and I think some other people in this forum too. Like Peter writes, it is a matter of personal satisfaction. I too had a job for several years with a very high salary. I knew I would only use it as a start for being able to work independently and make a living upon interesting things that I love to do. I earn much less money now but I am absolutely happy because I can live in a way that I always have wanted.
My work about V.ammod. and habitat have (almost) nothing to do with each other. Most of my "work" with V. amm. is not payed for.
Reserch about habitat means that I have the part concerning ecology of Reptiles, Amphibians and humid biotopes in a group of several scientists (ornithologist, ichthyologist, 2 botanists, geologist, hydrologist) who work out certificates about habitats. Mostly this is needed for certain building-activities, whether they should be allowed or not or whether special steps should be taken to avoid negative impact upon valuable habitat. In one case a big area was taken under protection instead of building an industrial area there because we could show that it is important habitat surrounded by a big area of agricultural land. Now the villages in that area earn more money by ecotourism than they would have got from the industry that had been planned. This work is fascinating, interesting and often satisfying and it brings money for making my living, too.

Rainer

Hi Reiner,
you could be right if not the pressure exist to keep everything going. You´re depended on the money.
You only need a bad season, bad weather, bad situation or something else that causes no tourists or not enough CBs and than you have the same daily problems then everyone else that owns a company. And after that it doesn´t matter that you can do something that you love.

Regards
Jörg

Sorry to disagree, but the BEST job depends on the very person.
For me the criteria for the best job are when I am in a position that I like to get up in the morning and happily look forward to go to work (to be honest: this is not the case every day).

I love photography, but could not imagine to do this the whole day and take pictures of people, who select me (and not vice versa). So I am quite happy with my job and I am quite happy that it differs from my hobbies.

And I also understand people who are happy that they could make their hobby to their profession. Always a matter of personal taste. For gods sake all people differ. It would be a boring world otherwise.

If I win the euro millions ! First I buy a 4x4 and drive my entire country looking for snakes and taking photographs , this includes Cameroon/DRC where I look for Paranaja ! When I finish I fly to Australia , buy another 4x4 and do the same thing , including searching for the black headed A.wellsi.
Basically I will travel the world until death , searching for snakes and documenting the journey possibly also to release the book ''complete field-guide to the snakes of the universe'', when I need a rest from this , I breed the Paranaja and watch TV , maybe have a few bbq's with friends.

But until then I maintain and support computer networks for a I.T company.

Hello Guenter,you write, "the Best job depends on the person" - that is exactly what I mean and what I wanted to say with the start of my last post. It is the personal satisfaction that matters. Of course in every "job", even in the most interesting and satisfying one there are hard times too. But even with a job that one loves and that is the profession of your life - wouldn´t it be boring if everything would go like predicted?

Hello Jörg,
Maybe you misunderstood something in my last post. I do not work for tourists in that area. We made that research for another reason and got paid for our work. Looking at our results the communities in that area asked us to name the habitat "hot spots" for protecting them. What else they did was their matter, I have nothing more to do with that. But nevertheless I´m happy that I could contribute to the survival a some prime habitat for many rare species of plants and animals, including thousands of amphibians and reptiles that live there. Irrigation like it had been planned would have destroyed almost all possible breeding habitat for amphibians and apart from maybe Bufo bufo none of them would have survived in long term.
But you are right, you depend on the money, no matter whether you have a job in some company, own a company or work on your own. I too have to look for "customers", do high quality work (there are other people who might do that job too). This too means struggling but for me my job is satisfying and I love it even if sometimes it is really hard in any respect.
Regards,
Rainer

Rainer Fesser wrote:: Hi Rob,

I think Mario and Peter as well have the best jobs. .....

I refered to this statement. Mario and Peter depend on tourists and other customers to keep their projects running.

Jörg,you are right, concerning Peter I know about these problems. As he feels satisfied with what he does, it is ok. And you can be sure that he has support from my side.
Best regards,
Rainer

Quote :: maybe have a few bbq's with friends.

I love bbq's, Andrew, let me be Your friend!

Peter

Hi all...

interesting posting (thanks Rob).

first of all... i studied Law, well that might be out of field but you all know parents?!
i worked for many years as Business Consultant in a "well known" Consulting Company. Wildlife and their struggle was always, since i been a very young Boy, from enormous interest to me. because it is not suitable in germany to keep Big Cats, i needed to work with some smaller animals. well, reptilians was "small enough" for keeping them, even in the smallest apartment. having my first snake (Natrix natrix) when i was 5 years old, you can call my job today "Hobby out of control".

yes, i am very much satisfied with what i am doing today! but i cant say i am so happy after all. first, their is the struggles we have to maintain everything. living in a country like the philippines and running a conservation or/and wildlife rescue center is heavy enough. but the financial situations with projects like my is overwhelming frustrating. as we have no financial support what so ever, we have to think "around the corner" to finance everything. it starts all with big commitments to wildlife, but you will end up with responsibilities for your staff, your community and even for the country you work in. everybody, working in the field know, how rewarding this can be, but one now´s also how hard it is.

yes, you can stand up every morning, watching your face in the mirror and you honestly can tell to yourself that you have done everything in your power to help to change the world. but you have to accept, you cant sleep many times at night, because you dont know how to pay your bills the next day.

yin & yang i suppose?

cheers
Mario

Commitments for climate and environment: Yes
When it comes to the moment of payment: "Ahem, sorry, no budget at the moment ..."

Our politicians are the same, Mario. I think it is the same all over the planet.

I work in a laboratory of molecular biology and ecology. We work on interactions plants/insects. We analyze especially the odors of defense which the pantes produce on the aggressions of different insects. We also work on the phylogeography of plant and European insects.
But my principal interest is the work on the field. I had the chance during my studies and my work to travel to Ecuador, Italy, Norway..

But if I will be able to find a means of living of my passion which is the observation and photography on the ground I would be the happiest man in the world. Very Happy

Guest

Hello everyone...

I'm one of those who works for living... and therefore I do a job as an employee of the state in Switzerland. It isn't very interesting, but as far as I see, it is enough to pay my bills, and to be able to do my passion on the other side. It should change a day, but not now... one day I'll be able to turn around completely, but first, I took the decision to have some $$$... We'll see with the coming years how it will come! Rolling Eyes

Great thread...
I work as a socialworker, with marginalized children, age 0-23. To me, it's the best job on the planet Cool

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Working with our hobby, would seem like a dream for many people, but I dont think it would be anything for me. As much as I love keeping, breeding, photographing and reading about snakes, I think I would someday get "enough" and have to quit reptiles all together.
But luckily we are all different, and thank god, for people who dedicate their lives, to studying reptiles and working with them every day Very Happy