Jobs - A little bit about what you do and perks

Soldato
Joined
13 Oct 2004
Posts
13,177
Location
South Shields
Right every few weeks I see a lot of people on here saying they don't know what to do with their lives or what direction to take so I am starting this thread for members to write down what they do, the company they work for and a little bit of information about their job, most of the threads in the past have included money which you get people BS'in about and trying to willy wave with no information about what they actually do.

Ok Ill start:

Job

I am a Structural Design Engineer

Company

I work for a company called Saipem (www.saipem.eni.it) which is the construction contractor of Eni (www.Eni.it), it is an Italian based construction company who mainly deals with the oil and gas trade but does work outside of this when they see fit.

Day to day

At the moment I am assigned to a project which is laying a pipeline from Spain to Algeria for a 3rd party company called MedGaz, the team I am working with is responsible for all of the prelay survey, installation of cable crossings at a depth of 2000m and also the post lay trenching using a system called Beluga (24" Pipe).

This means I have to produce ancillary structures for winches, contingency structures incase anything goes wrong, access platforms for Beluga (60Te piece of kit) also over see other engineers who we have doing other pieces of kit, I am one of two permanent structural engineers on this project so my responsibility is quite high on it.

Overall Job

My work can see me travel to some 'lovely' places but it is always to work, so far in the past year I have been to Egypt, Malta, Cyprus and Almeria, it can see me working on very different projects as we deal mainly with subsea problems it is normally ROV based or if it is shallow Diver based.

Perks

As staff I have quite a few perks at this company, Health Care, Dental Care, Life Insurance, Gym Membership, and Pension etc.

The other big perk is the traveling I get to go to places not many people would think of, we have a few large projects starting in Russia and the Caspian (big one in Russia is Nord Stream) which will see me add up more miles.

Downsides

Traveling, as much as I love going to the new places it is always through loads of different airports and stop over’s, flying into places for stops with just a bag and 24hr travel arrangements.

24hr job, you can be called anytime of day to go anywhere to work, you are really at the disposable of the project.

Education?

I did my degree in Aerospace Engineering at Manchester Uni, I was doing my MSc in Mechnical Engineering at Newcastle Uni when i was offered this job so I took it as I wasn't enjoying the MSc.

Do you like your job?

Yup I love it.

Right that’s mine, you can use the same template if you want or make your own, hopefully this will get some good responses and not the typical "I work in a bar, I get paid crap for serving drinks" but actual jobs with career progression.

KaHn
 
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Soldato
OP
Joined
13 Oct 2004
Posts
13,177
Location
South Shields
Excuse me?
That is my perks. I give myself what i want as long as it betters me and / or lowers my corporation tax bill.

So where is the little bit about what you do? I don't care that you are contract, you seem to think that it's the only thing in your life, every post you seem to make is about how contractors make so much money.

Why don't you actually sit down and tell people how you got to be contractor and what you do?

KaHn
 
Caporegime
Joined
7 Mar 2003
Posts
28,189
Location
Krispy Kreme drive thru
I have posted what i do plenty of times thanks, it will be in the numerous threads where people ask 'What do you do?'

I am sat down.

Go search my posts, i bet less than 1% of my posts are regarding being a contractor and i would hope that 100% of those are in relevant threads regarding work / pay / contracting.
 
Don
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
41,777
Location
Notts
Job

Harware engineer on enterprise servers ( proper ones not blades/windows etc ;) ) and SAN storage , also team leader for Midlands region

Company

I work for a small IT manufacturer called Hewlett Packard

Day to day

Customer support calls, installations , upgrades, dealing with customer issues, a lot of day to day operational stuff and covering for regional managers

Overall Job

As above, based at home but mostly mobile, also out of hours cover

Perks

Usual stuff, pension, healthcare etc

Downsides

Out of hours work, huge swings in workload

Education?

Just my A levels ( back in the days when you didn't get them with a box of cornflakes ;) ) , that's a joke btw I realise many work hard for theirs too these days )

Do you like your job?

Most of the time, gets very stressful though
 
Soldato
Joined
28 Mar 2005
Posts
9,217
*slowly back out of the thread.


*forgot to add my bit



Job

Estate Agent

Company

I work for a small local Estate Agents with 2 offices in the north devon area.

Day to day


When i get in the first thing to go is make a brew! they sit down, and get my diary for the day up. Depending what appointments i have thoughout the day will depend on what i then do.

Usually (at the moment) i am ringing through the applicant list to cut it down, asking people if they are still looking for property and if there circumstances have changed. If they have i update the system if not they stay the same, if they are no longer looking get them deleted. Some days i will have more appointments than overs.

Appointments include:
Taking Pics
Valuations
General Viewing
General Meeting with the Vendor to discuss the sale / reasons the house is not getting interest.
Putting Boards up
etc

other things throughout the day will include, answering the phones, dealing with people off the streets etc.


Overall Job

Generally i see a lot of places, from expensive £1million + properties, to £80k holiday chalets. Very interesting to see all different properties etc.

Perks

Nothing i would really count as a great perk at the moment, apart from ALL Petrol costs are covered :D
and obviously getting to meet a lot of people, and seeing a lot of beautiful places.

Downsides

Being Labled so badly, as such a bad person! the stick that i get from people (including on here lol)

Education?

I have 9 GCSE's all C and above, and i got E's in my A-Levels as i was offered this as a full time positions whilst i still had a few months left, i was failing the course but still did the exams and coursework, and some how still managed a grade :D

Do you like your job?


Yes. I do really enjoy it, however i would love it to be busier at the moment, when i first started i was getting 8+ Completions a month = loadsaofmoney! but now its quiet its not so great.
 
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Soldato
Joined
22 Oct 2004
Posts
13,403
JOB
Warehouse Operative

Company
Argos Warehouse

Day To Day
Riding around the warehouse picking up stock and putting it into a cage to be put onto a lorry.

Perks
Money is good for what i do, pension, sharesave scheme, good people to work with.

Downfalls
Soul destroyingly boring, not making a difference.

Do You Like Your Job
Yes, and no, its the people at work that makes it fun, as for the job itself ive had enough.
 

Zip

Zip

Soldato
Joined
26 Jun 2005
Posts
20,224
Location
Australia
Job

I work in a Quarry

Day to day/Overall Job

I Drive a 70 ton Dump truck down into the quarry pit, Jump out and load it up with the big Escavator and drive it back up and tip the rock into a crusher.

With maintanence when its windy or raining.

Occasionaly helping with the Detination of a shot to break off more rock:cool:



Perks

Driving big things, blowing up things:cool:

Downsides

Very early morning, things braking on machines,
Bloody god damm Greese guns!:mad:

Education?

Nothing for this job, Training was all on site after i impressed my boss with my hard working when helping my older brother do a job and i got full pay+training offered a month later.
It took me only a week or two to know what and how i need to do thing

Do you like your job?

Yeah its one of the better ones i have.
Although i wont be completly happy and settled in a job until i join the amry
 
Caporegime
Joined
9 May 2004
Posts
28,597
Location
Leafy outskirts of London
Job: Project Analyst

Company: Prefer not to say

Day to day: Statistical analysis, process mapping, implementation of cost reducing practices.

Overall job: Save the company money and show this via various reports.

Perks: Employee discounts, associate company discounts, company matched health insurance scheme, birthday counts as an additional holiday.

Downsides: Periods of inactivity, economic climate not boding well for the company (many lay-offs in recent months), no defined career progression.

Education: A levels and a diploma in programming which I haven't used in 6 years.

Do you like your job: It's easy enough, with no take-home work or stress, but pays accordingly. People I work with are great though!
 
Man of Honour
Joined
28 Nov 2007
Posts
12,736
Job: Management Consultant (leisure and tourism real estate economics, theme parks, resorts, attractions, stadia etc.)

Company: My own

Day to day: Visit new sites / market, market analysis, financial modelling, advising clients, reporting / presentations

Overall job: Selling my expertise to clients to make them money

Perks: none of the usual stuff but plenty of travel and work from home, holiday as much as i like

Downsides: uncertainty

Education: Economics and Sociology joint hons and MBA

Do you like your job: yes
 
Soldato
Joined
10 Nov 2003
Posts
14,034
Location
Surrey, by the river
Job

I am a Business Analyst

Company

I work for myself as a contractor, but in the last few years I've worked for Amex, Sky and the BBC. I'm now working for one of the magic circle of law firms.

Day to day

I'm working on documenting a number of proposed infrastructure projects, essentially selling them to the board for approval. If I do a good job then the projects will get budget assigned and work will start on them.

I'm also working on an approved project relating to infrastructure security, helping the security and infrastructure teams define their policies and procedures.

Overall Job

I work with a lot of different companies in a lot of different industries and I'm always learning. My job is essentially, to become a proxy expert in what the business does and consequently what it wants, pass that info to the developers and then evaluation their produce to make sure it eets the requirements.

Perks

Perks? Apart from enjoying my job I usually get to define my own hours and I choose where I want to work. However, these things aren't specific to being a BA, but more to IT contracting.

At the moment I get access to the free gym and there are also physio and massage services on site.

Downsides

None I've found yet, other then the constant risk of being out of work.

Education?

I've got a Bsc in Physics and a BA in Business Studies. The Bsc is redundant. I also have to maintain professional qualification such as ITIL, Prince2 and Six Sigma. I've got to pay for these myself and they aren't cheap.

Do you like your job?

Yup I love it.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
11 Mar 2004
Posts
76,634
Job
Rail Recovery (scrap recovery)

Company
Network Rail


Day to day

1) walk track in the south west territory and wright down what scrap rail is about and what sizes. Do a few bits of paper work. You have to set up safe system of work and have some tickets(training under your belt)
2) Go back to the site at night, with on track machines and prep scrap rail for collection. Placing it in a certain area and cutting it (flame cut) in to certain sizes. Several jobs here. Machine controller(MC), Engineering supervisor(ES), cutter, measurer.
Only 3 of us in a team, so we swap it about.
3) go back again with the train and actually collect the rail, This is often the easiest night as the train is fully staffed, so we only need to have an Engineering supervisor and a controller of site safety.


Perks

Good pension scheme
£20 a shift when you are Engineering supervisor or Machine controller
Lots of over time, due to travelling all over the place.
Lots of training to get all your tickets which are needed. This helps me loads if I want to change jobs in the future. More tickets easier it is to get other jobs on the rail way.

Downsides

2 out of 3 weeks of nights sometimes more. 8 out of 13 weekends, however we are working 12 out of 13 weekends at the minute. Until they hire more staff.
Driving back at 6 in the morning some times 2hours+ after a 10hour shift.

Education?

None needed, but you will start at a lower level. Probably in permanent way, which is not good.

Do you like your job?

Yup I love it.
However I can't wait for them to hire more staff so I can have some weekends of.

Salary
£21,592
+ overtime
+ 10% shift allowances for nights and weekends
+ £20 a shift for ES/MC (but only when you do it)

Should be around 27k this year. Hopefully.
 
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Associate
Joined
24 Nov 2005
Posts
2,240
Location
Skelton in Cleveland
Job
Technical Manager

Company
Sarabec


Day to day

1) Log into outlook, reply to emails, finish up anything paperwork related that i couldnt be arsed with the day before.

2) Kick the living crap out of my 2 apprentice technicians for not finishing the jobs they were supposed to.

3)Morning meeting with MD, discuss new product, some product training, discuss website stats etc etc.

4) Log all return items and categorise into return for refund or repair.

5) Pass all return for refund equipment to office staff for processing.

6) Carry out repairs as necessary (from PCB to Enclosure) contact customers with quotes/estimates or BER information.

7) Provide technical support for all products throught the course of the day

8) Calibration/PAT Testing/Product verification as required.


Perks

Excellent rate of pay for hours involved (8 hrs per day mon-fri) (28K+ per year)
Left to manage own workload etc

Downsides

The MD is a fool
Dealing with elderly and Deaf/Hard of Hearing people all of the time.

Education?

City and Guilds Electronic servicing
HND Electrical Engineering
17th edition
PAT testing Quals

Do you like your job?

Yep love it.
 
Associate
Joined
22 Apr 2007
Posts
253
Job: Account Management/Service Management

Company: Vodafone

Day to day: Taking customer service calls, taking payments, advising customers how too use their phones and services etc..

Overall job: Doing what Vodafone says I have too....

Perks: Phone contract not a lot else...Bonuses for hitting targets

Downsides: Everytime I log into my phone I die a little inside

Education: None required for the job any shmuck can do it

Do you like your job: Like my friends there, the job isnt great
 
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