Welcome to the all new Geo Metro Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit.You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are features you can't use and images you can't see. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: Join our community! |
| Your Careers; Why did you choose it? | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 8 2010, 06:14 PM (2,613 Views) | |
| bogs | Sep 9 2010, 02:50 AM Post #16 |
|
Duct tape heals all wounds
![]()
|
I've never had a career, just a hundred jobs. All of the jobs came from curiousity. When I was curious about cars, I got a job in a wrecking yard, then a body shop, then a garage/body shop. I had started tearing down carbs with my grandfather on his 32 BB self made tow truck. He was a self made business man, started 4 garages that I know of, ran at least 2 of them during the depression. And worked in the WPA while his sons worked the garages. I enlisted before I even completed HS and kicked around the world generally causing trouble till my term was up. When I was interested in driving and seeing more of the area around me, I took jobs in courier companies. When I was curious about shipping I took a job on a riverboat. I've worked on farms, machine shops, cabinetry mills, corrugated shops, was an artist for a while, taught myself enough about computers and networking to land 2 jobs doing that, did construction to learn framing, foundations, did finish carpentry as well. I've worked in the food industry too. I've yet to find a career, but maybe someday I will make a career out of retiring
|
![]() |
|
| metroschultz | Sep 9 2010, 09:35 AM Post #17 |
|
Please just call me; "Schultz"
![]()
|
I started building bikes for the kids in the neighborhood when I was 10. I pulled the motor from my dads 1966 VW Bug when I was 12. He didn't want the motor out so he proceeded to punish me substantially. That Saturday he took me to Sears and got me my first tool box. That summer he made a deal with the garbage men to bring us all the motorized equipment they picked up. I rebuilt lawn mowers and weed eaters and all manner of stuff. Then we sold it on the corner by our house. After I paid my dad back for the mowers and parts I had earned $1200 in the summer of 1973. Later I learned that in those 3 1/2 months I made more than mom. When I was 16 I went to work for a Saab dealer in Richmond. He went out of business due to poor management. I knew he was in trouble when the owner gave me the keys to the business one Friday and said he was taking the rest of the employees out on his boat for the weekend so I was in charge. I worked @ 4 different Dealers after that and couldn't find one I liked.so I joined the US Army. The Army gave me training in Small Engines Electrical power Distribution HVAC Light Wheels (Jeeps and small trucks) Heavy Wheels (Large trucks and diesels) Tracked vehicles After the Army I worked for the corner gas station. I liked that a lot, I stayed with the Shell station for 6 years before one of my friends talked me into going back to a dealer. I still don't like working for a dealer so I was only there for 8 months. Back to a gas station for me. Then my own shop, where I learned I am not a business owner. Then a different friend asked me to come work for him. He owns an independent shop. Now I work for the US Post Office. Decent pay, Incredible benefits. I have; Baptism Certificate ASE Master Certified certificate (expired) NAPA Automotive school certificate (current) MACS (current) I have taken breaks in between jobs to try my hand at other things. I have managed a Multiplex theater. Sold Timeshares Sold Cars Assistant manager of a drug store Clerk for a hotel Valet Bouncer Truck Driver But I always come back to repairing Cars and trucks. |
![]() |
|
| Bad Bent | Sep 9 2010, 07:38 PM Post #18 |
|
Facetious Educated Donkey
![]()
|
Got home this afternoon and got the death notice e-mail; I did not get the beer tap job because of the job I have now might conflict with scheduling cleaning taps. However, I was doing my job this morning, which I like actually, it's the management right metroschultz, everyone? ...I digress, sorry. Talking with one manager of this convenience store and she says her friend drives up from Boise to clean beer taps in her Geo Metro. No ! I gave the manager the forum address to give to her friend and invited her friend to join us for any help she may need to keep her Geo going. We will see.
|
![]() |
|
| billy508 | Sep 9 2010, 08:37 PM Post #19 |
|
billy508
![]()
|
Bent Says.....I gave the manager the forum address to give to her friend and invited her friend to join us for any help she may need to keep her Geo going. We will see. Hummmmmmmm The plot thickens. Bad Bent "helps" the lady with the Geo. All of a sudden her car quits running. Bad Bent gets the job by default as the lady cant get to work. hummmmmm
|
![]() |
|
| Turbo Dan-O | Sep 9 2010, 08:42 PM Post #20 |
|
Obsessive Car Detailer
![]()
|
All my jobs have been car jobs. Body shops, parts, mechanic, detailing, rebuilding, and building new cars from the factory. But now I take it easy and work for myself. I have always loved street racing and drag racing so I make/sell parts for and work on the cars I love. I do coustom fab and welding and almost any kind of work on fast street cars. I am hooked! When I am not doing that, I am in the caribbean somewhere living it up. Dan-O |
![]() |
|
| Turbo Dan-O | Sep 9 2010, 08:47 PM Post #21 |
|
Obsessive Car Detailer
![]()
|
metroschultz FTW!!!!!! Dan-O |
![]() |
|
| Car Nut | Sep 9 2010, 09:54 PM Post #22 |
![]()
|
Hey Metroschultz, My story is very similar to yours. A buddy & I would ride our bikes around the neighborhood the evening before the city picked up the trash. Used to score bikes, lawn mowers, etc & fix them up to resell. We made chopper bikes, chopper minibikes, whatever. Got my drivers license & started buying minibikes, mowers & riding mowers out of the Tidewater Trading Post paper. I'd work on them & and they'd be for sale again next week in the trader. Took auto mech in community college & got a job at a Kmart as an oil change specialist. Yessiree. Stayed there a couple years & learned brakes, exhaust, tuneups, front end & alignment work. Ended up being head mechanic by the time I left. Got a job at the marine terminals working on forklifts, trucks, etc & subbed as a truck driver pulling 40ft shipping containers. Back them all you had to do use sign a form saying you have driven a rig for at least 500 miles & you got your license. Probably drove one for 10 mi when I got my CDL. Later on started my own small time shop working on cars & small engines & equipment. Did that a few years till one day the wife saw an ad for a sales rep with Chilton book company. Applied & got it. Started selling repair manuals to shops & ended up selling info on CDs & via the internet. I've sold for Chilton, Mitchell, & Motor, including Mitchell on Demand & Alldata. After 8 yrs with Motor & the economy tanking I got canned. Said I wasn't selling enough. No S... None of the shops had money to buy anything. Opened a carlot 18 months ago thinking it might be a good thing. Wrong. Bad timing. Everybodys broke after losing their job too. It's really sad all the hard luck stories I hear from people that pop in. Can't find enough decent cars to resell since Cash for Clunkers wiped out so many good used cars. Actually paying a $1,000 to $1500 more for the same car at auction as a year or two ago. Anyways, I wasn't trying to put on a pity party or anything. Sorry. That's my story & I'm sticking to it. N E X T!! |
![]() |
|
| metroschultz | Sep 10 2010, 09:27 AM Post #23 |
|
Please just call me; "Schultz"
![]()
|
O.K. Dan-O, I give up. What'd I do that is so worthy of your praise. Car Nut, When I was building bikes in the 70's, it seemed as if all the more affluent types had choppers. So, I cut the forks off a frame I didn't need and beat them on my bike. Added a smaller wheel from another bike and, !!Voila!! Chopper. Later I went to pull a wheelie and one of the fork extensions fell off. (I didn't know how to weld when I was 12) Probably one of the most incredible wipe outs I ever had. I tried to keep it wheel up till I could jump off, BUT, !!!Noo!!! down and sideways and instant stop. Ouch! |
![]() |
|
| bogs | Sep 10 2010, 11:40 AM Post #24 |
|
Duct tape heals all wounds
![]()
|
Been there done that with a few bikes. We eventually figured out that if you drill a hole and bolt the extended forks on, you were less likely to kill yourself by accident. For some reason, that took us over a year to figure out. I never said we were the brightest kids around, we also used to jump out of barn loft windows and off roofs ![]() Life is really interesting until you learn about things like physics, gravity, etc
|
![]() |
|
| metroschultz | Sep 10 2010, 05:01 PM Post #25 |
|
Please just call me; "Schultz"
![]()
|
Gee and up until now I thought my brothers and I were terminally unique. |
![]() |
|
| Ryan | Sep 10 2010, 05:11 PM Post #26 |
|
Ryan
![]()
|
I should share my "story", but I'm going to wait a day or two... |
![]() |
|
| beachbummm | Sep 10 2010, 05:42 PM Post #27 |
|
Elite Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I made my first million on E Bay and lost 3 million in real estate, but its only money and none of the hitmen looking for me will ever expect me to be driving a Geo, so Im safe for now...Never sell a strip club to the Russian mob where all the women weigh 200 pounds and up and I mean WAY UP, on the plus side they can stick the dollars in the fat rolls |
![]() |
|
| ShallowShannon | Sep 10 2010, 07:07 PM Post #28 |
|
Advanced Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I've been working for AKIRA WOOD ( http://www.akirawood.com/ )for 10+ years. I have been running a large CNC (5'X12' table) for 6+ years. Great company to work for, everyone takes pride in what they do. Worked odd jobs here and there before that, nothing interesting but have learned something from each one. Found a cheezy vid of the machine I run. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zq4FuLmzRY Turn the volume down the music will get to you. The thing will do what ever you tell it to. That can be good and bad. I can do a lot of programing my self but the majority is done by a computer geek who is pretty good with the different soft ware we use. The shop is small but puts out a good product. The owner puts a lot of money back into the company therefor we have top of the line tools and machinery to work with. IMHO You don't have to pay big bills in order to enjoy life. |
![]() |
|
| Memphis metro | Sep 10 2010, 07:26 PM Post #29 |
![]()
|
Amazing what computers can do! Is it your job as well to maintain and replace the drilling bits and cutters? I only seen one thing I didnt like in that video. I am sick of particle board furniture! What happened to solid wood projects? Thanks for sharing. |
![]() |
|
| JoeBob | Sep 10 2010, 07:51 PM Post #30 |
|
Why you Mutt!
![]()
|
When I was a kid, I wanted to either be a doctor or lawyer, seeing that they made lots of money. My parents talked me out of both career choices. I thought being a mechanic might be a good career choice, but since my sister's first husband was one, I was talked out of that as well. Then I decided I wanted to buy and sell coins and other collectibles. Didn't get very far with that, either. When I was 16, I worked as a janitor in a convalescent hospital. Learned various things from the people there, both the patients and workers. Learned from the administrator to always carry a pen to an interview. Was "laid off" a few months later (actually, I think she hired a couple undocumented workers). Then worked for about a year as a Fuller Brush Man. Yes, they really did have Fuller Brush Men. I actually did go door to door selling household cleaning products. Wearing shoulder length hair and no tie. Looking back on it, I am amazed that I actually sold anything looking like that, but it was the early '70s, and lots of guys looked like that. Worked at a guitar amplifier factory. This was in the waning days of amplifiers with tubes (1974). Left there a few months later (conflict with college schedule). Had several short-term jobs (gathering leads for an awning company at a swap meet, process server, etc.). Spent about six months stacking 85 lb. bags of roofing rock that came off a conveyor belt onto pallets. Probably the best physical shape I have ever been in, or ever will be in. Left that job to go into retail sales for a major home electronics retailer. Stayed with them for the next quarter century. Did well most of the time, but late in my career with them we butted heads regarding what was important about running a store...I felt sales and profits were the most important goal, they wanted credit card applications, extended warranties and sales in certain item categories, profits and sales gains be damned. We eventually parted company. Next I went to work for a company you've all heard of, in a then little known area of that company, building electric generating equipment. Our little part of that company was probably the only part of that company that made anything tangible at all, and didn't fit in with their business model. When that company went belly up, our little manufacturing plant was purchased by another major corporation, who owns us to this day, and has expanded production of our product to several more plants. Been there 10 years now. I started working toward my associates degree when I was 18. Got most of the way through, only needed 12 units. Then life intervened, every time I tried to go back to school, something came up. 35 years later, started taking some evening classes. I'm now down to my last Intermediate Algebra class. Then I'll take this two year degree and see if it will get me anything besides a three-dollar cup of coffee (along with three dollars), and see if I can work on a four-year degree. |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · The Geo Metro Lounge · Next Topic » |


Welcome to the all new Geo Metro Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit.






job I have now might conflict with scheduling cleaning taps.
...I digress, sorry. Talking with one manager of this convenience store and she says her friend drives up from Boise to clean beer taps in her Geo Metro. No
Bad Bent "helps" the lady with the Geo. All of a sudden her car quits running.
Bad Bent gets the job by default as the lady cant get to work.
hummmmmm



![]](http://z3.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)
1:59 PM Jul 11