What do you do for a living?

[Aerodynamic]

I got some bad news from the college, looks like i failed first year of HnD by 2 units so i cant go do the next year :rolleyes:
So now I have to get some sort of job and I'm lookin for some ideas so I thought some of you could help me.

What do you gamers do to earn money?
What hours do you work?
What qualifications did you need?
Fun/Boring/Stressful?

Feel free to add more :)

[Mingtea]

I'm a Web Technician/Network Engineer/Telephone technical support (rofl) for a company that specialise in haulage software.

I'm paid 12k a year which is far too little for what I do.

Job is cool, the people are nice, although i'd rather be doing the creavtive stuff than the support. I work with my 2 best friends so that helps.

[Joolz]

I'm a senior software engineer for a company that develops software which drives machines that treat cancer using radiation (yep, they let me write software for such things... brings aimbot to a whole new level :)).

I left college with a national diploma. I didn't do the whole uni thing. However, where I work supposedly requires you to have a degree... Ho hum. Proves you can do it without one :)

I'm paid "more than enough to get by". Job is stressful, but the pay compensates it.

I supposedly work a 8:30 - 5:00 day... however, I stroll in around 9 and leave around 4:30ish to beat the traffic :)

[Nivek]

as little as possible, its called the parent hax

[Mastacheif]

Retail customer Service (which is really bad stay away)
Work 35hrs a week inc bank hols and boxing day etc

earned just under £12500 last year

Get shouted at most of the day by highrate customers which sucks but i give as good as i get.

Did my A-levels got a BBC

Did 2 years of a software engineering degree but after 2years i came to the decision that it really wasnt for me and droped out.

Currently dieting and going to the gym with the aim of being fit enough to apply for the police force.

I'd suggest a trade such as electrician pays really well and compared to the computer/software/web market contains less stress

[Silk75]

I'm a department manager for ASDA, job title is speciality manager, which means I am responsible for the Opticians, Photo and Pharmacy departments.

As in all retail, I am responsible for sales, wages and the like, but I also have to weigh the ethical issues for Optical and Pharmacy against pure sales.

I am part of the GM (General Merchandise) team within store, other teams being Replenishment, Admin, Customer Service, Fresh food.

The store takes in excess of £1.3M per week ex VAT, and is the biggest of its kind in the company in Europe.

Qualifications: Well personally I am a qualified dispensing optician, but that is not necessary, just a good positive attitude and a willingness to get things done.

Hours: Managers all work 45 hours per week, so on an early shift that would be 0730-1700 or on a late 1330-2230. We also work 3 out of 4 saturdays, and 1 out of 4 sundays minimum.

Salary: Never seems enough sometimes, but is quite good.

Prospects: Great, time in job requires a minimum stay of 2 christmases or 18 months, then move on and up to other avenues.


At the end of the day it is retail, so not very sociable hours considering supermarkets open so much throughout the week, and we are there when the place is closed to the public as well.
Stress, you bet there is, constantly working within limits, be they financial, or customer service based, or just time constraints. It is hugely fulfilling though.
Boring? Never. Well if it is, you need to move job.

Hope it helps

[Silk75]

Originally posted by ajwilso5
I'd suggest a trade such as electrician pays really well and compared to the computer/software/web market contains less stress

Seconded

Take the time (modern apprenticeships?) to learn a good trade, either plasterer or sparky, and then branch out on your own.

That way you work for yourself, only take on the jobs you want to, maintain your own standards, and if you need some extra money, unlimited overtime for you.

Good tradespeople, either decorators, sparkies, plumbers, or plasterers are like gold dust in big cities, and probably elsewhere too. If you are good and time served, you will not even need to advertise as people will refer customers onto you.

[andyf]

I tease small cats until they beg




honest. look, here's the one I'm currently working on...




http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~ajfogg/media/cat_beg.jpg

[Silk75]

lol

/me calls Equity and the RSPCA

[andyf]

Sure, why not:


What do you gamers do to earn money?

I work for EDS (http://www.eds.com) as a Systems Administrator. I work on the DWP contract as part of the Software Delivery and Configuration Team. It is a mix of second-line support, incident-resolution (90%), and importing pre-packaged applications into a tiered Radia software system and replicating it to the lower tiers (10%).

What hours do you work?

Hours worked for the standard contract are 9am to 5pm with a half-hour lunch break. A lot of people, myself included, work on a shift rota, as it pays 12% more. In this case, we alternate between 7.30am-3.30pm, 9am-5pm, and 12.30pm-8.30pm

What qualifications did you need?

Experience of Windows 2000 support, working within a team, and Radia experience, which my manager confirmed as being the highlight of my CV that got me an interview and thus the job.

Fun/Boring/Stressful?

Damn these public forums ;) Read from that what you will, but I'm going for an interview in London next week...

[KingDaveRa]

What do you gamers do to earn money?

I'm not really a gamer, but for the sake of this thread, I'll answer anyway. I work for Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College (http://www.bcuc.ac.uk) in High Wycombe. I started there about two years ago as a Computer Support Officer. What this meant was I ran around fixing PCs, and doing other general PC stuff. I recently moved up slightly to become the IT Security Officer. Its a totally new post, but my remit is basically Virus protection, system patching, PC control (ZenWorks - its Novell software incase you don't know), and various other little odds and sods I end up doing. Most jobs in the Uni tend to be multi-angled, so its enjoyable but interesting.

What hours do you work?

08:30 - 17:00, 16:30 on Fridays. I actually get to work at 08:00 to beat the traffic into Wycombe as the roads are god awful in that town. I usually sit and browse the web during that early 30 minutes. Its damn useful to be in that early to go reboot servers or fiddle with the network though.

What qualifications did you need?

Nothing specific. Other than GCSEs I'm sans qualifications. I had relevant experience which was the main thing. Plus now they know I'm such a Jack-of-all-trades I can turn my hand to anything. Even if I don't know how to do something, I will usually work it out.

Fun/Boring/Stressful?

Fun, yes. Boring, sometimes. Stressful, usually only during summer. All hell breaks loose as the students aren't around, so we go mad bunging in new stuff during the holidays. Clearing can be hectic but I keep out of the way during that! At the moment we're deplying about 150 new PCs for student use using Windows XP and Zenworks 4.0.1; we previously used Windows 2000 and Zenworks 3.2, which has their own problems, now XP and 4.0.1 have completely new ones! Talk about relearn stuff!

[Hg]

Im a Toolmaker and CNC CAD/CAM Tech
Just finishing 2nd year of my 4 Year MA

[Nes]

Im a first line support engineer for an IT consultancy company (fwcs.co.uk (http://www.fwcs.co.uk))
I just answer peens problems like why their printers and mail wont work then i try them using desktop streaming programs :)

Im paid 9k/annum for the first 3 months and then that should move up to 10/11k after my "probation" period.

I literally also just completed an national certificate at college but they seemed more interest in what experience rather then what id learnt at college.

[Zenith]

Originally posted by Aerodynamic
I got some bad news from the college, looks like i failed first year of HnD by 2 units so i cant go do the next year :rolleyes: First things first. This is NOT necessarily the end of your course. If you have failed 2 units, that means you've passed 4. I got onto a HND by using previous credit from a HNC. THe HNC wiped out 4 units from the first year, leaving me with 8 units to go (2 from year one, 6 from year two). I spoke with the course co-ordinator and they allowed me to do all 8 units in one fulltime year.
Yes, it was bloody hard work (doing 33% more work than everyone else).
Yes, it was very stressful (33% more assignments to get done).
Yes, I passed all 8 units and got the HND. :D
Originally posted by Aerodynamic
So now I have to get some sort of job and I'm lookin for some ideas so I thought some of you could help me.

What do you gamers do to earn money?I'm a field service engineer for an IT support company. We repair and fix till EPOS systems for a number of retail companies, back office servers and the associated networking. I typically drive between 100-200 miles a day all over my area.
Originally posted by Aerodynamic
What hours do you work?9am-5pm, 5 days a week. I work one weekend in three, and I work lates (12pm-8pm) one week in five.
Overtime is freely available if the work is there. For instance this weekend is one of my "off" weekends. I worked yesterday (Saturday) because work needed someone to take on some of the overflow. 9am-5pm at time and a half. :)
Originally posted by Aerodynamic
What qualifications did you need?HNC/HND in an IT or electrical subject. Experience is more important than qualifications. My job description says:
Skills Required: EPOS, NT 4, NT, printer, Hardware Support, UNIX, WAN, Windows Support, TCP/IP, PC Build
As you can guess, I didn't have all of them, but I had enough experience behind me to convince them I was good for the job.
Originally posted by Aerodynamic
Fun/Boring/Stressful?
The job includes a company vehicle, fuel card, mobile phone, pension, health plan etc etc. so it has some appeal already.
I am based from home, so I call up work at 9.00am each morning to get my worklist for the day. It also means that I don't have the regular daily commute to work, nor do I have my manager breathing down my neck every second of every day. I drive to a number of different shops in different towns so no two days are ever exactly the same. The variety that comes with the job is something I really like.

Fun: Yes. The variety makes the job interesting.
Boring: No. When I'm driving, I'm driving through some of the best country and scenery in the UK. There is also the radio.
Stressful: Only when I have to drive 100 miles to the next job and it is 3.00pm on a Friday. :rolleyes:

I don't think I've ever been so happy with my work. :)

In fact there are two vacancies in the company atm.
UK Wide: http://www.syntaxnet.com/view_job_details.php?id=759
Cumbria: http://www.syntaxnet.com/view_job_details.php?id=1084

[Aerodynamic]

I doubt many of those places will take me on since i have little experience with certain computer systems and servers... Does anybody know if its possible for me to get a modern apprenticeship in that field or does it have to be self taught? (Bear in mind i dont have buckets of cash for a course)

[Aardvark]

Holy monkey, an actual decent IT job in Cumbria! Shame I have absolutely zero experience to bring to bear really :(

[high_towe]

Originally posted by Aerodynamic


What do you gamers do to earn money?
What hours do you work?
What qualifications did you need?
Fun/Boring/Stressful?



Work for Zhardoum, out here in ibiza. Work on the till taking money, build computers, repair computers. Help customers, shout at the server whenever it crashes, that kinda stuff.

40 hours a week, Full day being 10am-2pm then 4.30pm-10.30pm. Working Monday, Tues morning, Wed, Thurs and sunday afternoon. (atm)

Errmmmm, computer knowledge, and the fact I had alevels and 2years worth of a degree helped.

Fun, great fun, it has its moments. Can get boring, but then I have the whole internet to browse and learn from. Stressful, yea 40 spanish kids shouting at you whilst the server reboots cos some1 printed a 70 print document for the 4th time. I would like to stay here as long as possible :D

[Zeuseh]

IM in 3 jobs atm (on just for 2months)

kk to start

Im a A&R Scout for A&R Worldwide (www.anrworldwide.com), basicalluy i go to gigs and find new talent. all fun

I manage an artist called Sarah Leanne Palmer and i am currently chating to labels.

I work in a factory over the summer for sum extra pennys. £160pw

Manging is best then scouting and the factory work is a laugh at times.

[Freelancer]

work in a call center selling holidays for thomas cook :) i work roughly 42 hours a week, and get paid about 1.5k a month. i work a 4 week rolling rotation (first week 8 - 4.30, second week 12-8.30 and so on) its a easy and non stressfull job :)

[Shazz]

Working for Renishaw for a 8 week temp/ summer job... programming in Java... getting 500 quid a week

/me flees

[malariaboy]

i work as a contract supervisor for a mechanical services company (commercial and industrial heating and ventilation) . have coded welding ticket and gas and waterboard certificates. jobs good as i travel around and never in one place for too long. pay is ok about 30 to 35 k year. but pay isnt everything . as others have said though get a trade cause the skill shortage is getting worse. which means more money :)). Plus if you want to work and live abroad you have a good chance of a visa with a trade . Australia beckons for me (hopefully)

[Nexus]

Well I work for the School of Medicine for the University of Southampton (but actually based at the local hospital as its a teaching hospital).

My job title is IT Systems Officer, basically keeping a bunch of servers running (6 x 2003 and 2 x NT4), Anti Virus deployment, patch management, security incident analysis/response and lots of innovative things to help with making our users lives easier so a bit of creative programming/scripting to detect stuff like new viruses not actually detected by the anti virus software we use.

Also have to help with user support in special cases/cover for when IT Support peeps are away.

Hours technically are 9.00 - 5.00 but is very flexible, 8.00-4.00 or 10.00-6.00 range, plus can make up the time during the week etc. Also get 30 days full paid annual leave plus 12 days including bank holidays etc which the university dictates.

And the pay is not too bad either, for an academic institution, currently £25K, with automatic increments each year of about £1100 plus cost of living as negotiated by the union.

And if we want to do courses which are related to our job work will pay anywhere from 50-100% of the cost (so long as its applicable).

I'd recommend Universities to anyone looking for experience as they are a much nicer environment than the commercial world which I also happen to have worked in as a programmer, and received lower pay, less leave and no job security.

I can claim up to 6 months full pay on sick leave, and the pension scheme is one of the best in the UK.

So I'm happy :-)

[Baz]

What do you gamers do to earn money?

Im a "sales consultant" for a major high street phone retailer. When your phone doesnt work or you need that upgrade? im the one that sorts it out. Im also my stores resident techie which means when peens can't get headsets to work or cant connect thier phone to their PC, im the guy that helps them out. This generally involves entering the same 5 IP's about 20 times a day

What hours do you work?

8.45 - 5.45 5 days a week (inc. weekends and bank holidays), all for which i get 12k a year basic + commisions, so more towards the 16k mark if your good and in a busy store.

What qualifications did you need?

5 GCSEs, although i have colleages ranging from degree holders, to people with less than this. The job is more about personality and "gift of the gab", as well a basic understanding of how mobile phones work

Fun/Boring/Stressful?

All 3 really - can be fun, on quiet days its very boring, and on very busy days it can be very stressful. I do get to play with the latest phones though ("New Toys!" is a regular cry)

[Ruth]

Originally posted by Silk75

Take the time (modern apprenticeships?) to learn a good trade, either plasterer or sparky, and then branch out on your own.

Good tradespeople, either decorators, sparkies, plumbers, or plasterers are like gold dust in big cities, and probably elsewhere too. If you are good and time served, you will not even need to advertise as people will refer customers onto you.

I know someone who is doing a modern apprenticeship in electrical engineering, and he is 20 and on the same wage as his trainers who have been in the trade for years and he is only 2 years into the course. He gets regular wage increases and to be fair, when he's finished his apprenticeship he can pick and choose who and where he works because its true that big cities are calling out for trained workmen. Not only big cities, but countries abroad, Holland and Canada and apparently Australia are "crying out" for skilled tradesmen.

A few months back, a couple of PAT Testers came into our site to check our electrics. All they had was a little box and they plugged into all our sockets to check they were safe. And it took about...4 hours? But they stayed for 2 days.Just because they could. I saw one of them leaning on a bench and i said "bloody hell, divnt work too hard ye might sprain something" and he said "i dont need to work, im getting paid £15 an hour to do this". He got free coffee and free food and he got a million tab-breaks and just perved over all the ladies on the site and then they were gone.

£15 an hour to sit on his bum looking at girls? Lucky bugger. I told this story to my engineer friend and he has recetly decided to do his PAT Testing course next year. :rolleyes:

So i was thnking of becoming a plumber. Would anyone here hire a female plumber?

[Jez_Gafys]

my official title is IT Systems Analyst. The Job entails Cisco and 3Com Management, Oracle db production and software development, plus offering a full UK mainland IT support.

My hours are 8 til 4 with 1hour lunch, I am expected to do overtime if and when needed (eg a major system goes down, I dont go home until its fixed).

Pay: my pay is very good, im getting over double it looks like than the vast majority of ppl posting in thios thread now. I used to get good overtime (even though im on salary) but last August this was removed and we agreed on a 15% rise ... evidently we all also stopped doing the 30 hours of overtime a month, cause there was no icentive anymore ;).

The job is fairly easy, if there are no system problems the only other part of the job is the software development, of cause the bosses dont understand this side of the job so ifs its going to take like a week to create the software you tell them 3 weeks you then get a very relexed atmospher working more at your own pace ... with enough time to play trackmania (cheers rockenight :), quake3 and savage ... :D


Qualifications needed:

Cisco: CCNA, CCNP, CCIE (or equivelant)
Oracle: Developers Cert
Access: Developers Cert
MS: Something like a MCSE in Windows Networking.

I also have 3com Network thingy. I also have a few web dev certs under me belt plus a thermal printer maintenance engineer cert.

I also (but not required) have an RSA Dimploma which I received at high school (RSA1, 2, 3, Medical, Audio)

[Elbonio]

What do you gamers do to earn money?

Im a student during term time. However at christmas/easter/summer i work for the government, the Dept for work and pensions (http://www.dwp.gov.uk), or rather the Pension service to be more precise.


What hours do you work?


38 hours a week (full time) on flexi time. I can stroll in any time i want, leave any time i want, take as long or short a lunch as i want. bloody brilliant it is.



What qualifications did you need?

not a lot. The civil service will take you so long as you've got common sense and competence and no prejudices. Though i have to say i dont know how some people i know slipped through the net :rolleyes:


Fun/Boring/Stressful?

Quite boring but with some interesting moments thrown in. Talking/dealing with old people brings a few surprises sometimes :rolleyes:



my advice would be if you want job security, *very* flexible working hours and a pretty cushi job but dont mind giving up high wages (the pay isnt *bad* but i'd probably be bgetting at least 20% more in the private sector)


you can often come home at the end of the day feeling you've done something good to help someone, or often you can also come home frustrated with the way we run the country :rolleyes:


but its ok for some cash on the side for me....

[zhardoum]

Originally posted by Aerodynamic

What do you gamers do to earn money?
What hours do you work?
What qualifications did you need?
Fun/Boring/Stressful?



I own a ciber cafe, specialising in Lan & internat gaming in Ibiza.

However, previously I worked as a Network Engineer for Compaq/Microsft, and as Enginner for heaps of companies and as an I.T. manager at various ccompanies for the last few years until deciding I wanted to work for myself.

Hours I work?
Well, as I own the shop, i work longer hours than my staff, they get the legal hours, I get to work when they are sick, on hols etc etc, usually averages around 70 hours a week, sometimes over 100, and if i am very lucky, occasionally I work 15 hours, depends on cash flow and staff numbers etc ect.

Qualifications.?
None.

But you need to be experienced in all sorts of areas, from hardware, software, networks, staff issues, accountancy, business accumen, advertising, you name it you will need to know a bit about all of it.

Fun Boring Stressful?

Err yeah, all of it, its fun and boring, stressful yet rewarding, interesting yet dull. You will run the whole gauntlet of emotiuons, usually within a day.

Am I happy ?

You betcha :)

[Silk75]

Originally posted by Rooth
So i was thnking of becoming a plumber. Would anyone here hire a female plumber?

Considering how many people now live by themselves, a female plumber would be far more trusted by women (and men) than some male plumbers.

[Anim]

What do you gamers do to earn money?
I'm working for the government this summer (Atomic Weapons Establishment (http://www.awe.co.uk)), not entirely sure what my job title is but i'm doing some webdesign for now. If i told you any more, of if you asked about any more, i'd officially have to report you to the security here and there'd be an investigation on you ... Although there really aint anything to do with nuclear things where i work.

What Hours do you work?
Umm, 37 hour week. My line manager is pretty relaxed about when i turn up/go as long as i do my 37 hours its all good.

What qualifications did you need?
Ummm, not a huge amount. I just mentioned that i've just finished 1st year at uni learning java and networking/communications. Although you have to have clearance to work here which is usually a 6 week process of checking your background etc.

Fun/Boring/Stressful?
Generally its none of them, sometimes the guys in the office are a good laugh, other times it can be pretty boring. But overall its a case of, theres nothing really to complain about so its a pretty good job.

lastly, heres hoping i'm allowed to publicly say all that :E

[TimmyNoShoes]

Originally posted by Anim
What do you gamers do to earn money?
I'm working for the government this summer (Atomic Weapons Establishment (http://www.awe.co.uk)), not entirely sure what my job title is but i'm doing some webdesign for now. If i told you any more, of if you asked about any more, i'd officially have to report you to the security here and there'd be an investigation on you ...


That made me chuckel the government launching an investigation of every MPUK forum user, hehehe :)

[Catachan]

What do you gamers do to earn money?
I work as a Network Security Manager for ExxonMobil (company that owns Esso, among others).

What hours do you work?
7.5 Hours per day, can start anywhere from 7AM to 9AM, as long as I'm in the office each day for those number of hours.

What qualifications did you need?
I used my experience with Multiplay UK (about 3 years worth) to get me the job, along with a nice reference from Wizzo. :)

Fun/Boring/Stressful?
Yes, yes and yes. As with any job, there will be things you love, things you hate and things you aren't sure about.

It can be fun because it's what I enjoy doing. It's also boring because sometimes it can just be the same thing day after day for long periods (ie. network installations for a week, or security tests for 4 days straight, etc).

It can also be stressful, as my job, with 5 other managers is to control the entire WAN of ExxonMobil across Europe, Asia, the USA and Australasia (Can you imagine if a major pipeline goes down between sections? So far it hasn't happened on my shift, but I'm just waiting...)

[chluke]

What do you gamers do to earn money?

I'm in a partnership with my sister together we own and run a care home for for up to 28 residents. My side of things is keeping the business running.... Accounts, payroll, admin, building maintanance, billing, banking, staff training, recruitment etc.

What hours do you work?
I can make my own hours but i try to get into work for 9-30am and leave about 4pm. However when there is staffing problems i have to fill in. Ontop of work hours i'll do the accounts at home where i can get some peace...

What qualifications did you need?
None howver I must have a registered manager with an nvq lvl 4 however both my sister and i have degree's mine been in busines and my sisters in nursing.

Fun/Boring/Stressful?
It can be fun, never boring however at times it can be severely stressfull staffing problems been a major one.

Benefits of owning a care home......

All my computer kit is bought by work:) Getting a new car ...mazda rx8

[WroawMinidisk]

I'd suggest a trade such as electrician pays really well and compared to the computer/software/web market contains less stress

electrician here,

(ps, plumbers suck horse lengh)

[chluke]

I h8 plumbers, i don't have enough fingers to count the times i've been let down by them.

[Zenith]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I got my job mainly because of my experience from Multiplay and a shiny reference from Wizzo. :)

[Squeeb]

I work at Aria technology. (Now called Aria PC .. [yeesh. ... so bad])..
I am part of the technical team which test goods sent in under RMA or brought in by the customer..

Common scenarios are;
CS Kiddies who can't build PC's,
CS Kiddies who crush CPU Cores and blame it on staff at Aria,
CS Kiddies who try and use Linux
Kiddies who try and play CS and then overclock their CPU beyond hell..
Old women who think they have viriii..

I work from 8:30 till 5:30 ..

I hate work

I get paid a measly 12k a year

[Ruth]

So, people distrust plumbers, and that makes me not want to be a plumber.

I cant be an electrician or an engineer because theres so much maths and equations my head melts at the thought.

What else can i do as a tradesman that pays me well?

[zhardoum]

Originally posted by Rooth
What else can i do as a tradesman that pays me well?

The answer isn't in looking for the cash...

The answer is for you to do something you really enjoy doing, and I mean really enjoy, that way no matter what you will always be happy working because its what you love.

people will notice that you enjoy your work, and the cash will follow eventually, but to look for something just because it might pay well is not the answer, in years to come you will end up in a job you hate, unable to leave because you wont get paid in anything else.

Stick to what you enjoy most, and try to make a living at that.

Simple questions..
You would like to be inside or outside ?
You want to work with your hands or your head or both?
You want to travel or stay in and around 1 area?
Want to work on your own or be around people?

Answer those simple questions and you will find a whole list of jobs appearing...

Don't forget if you cant make your mind up, you can always get a temporary job that will help you in later life.. ever considered working for someone like thompsons holidays.. maybe working abroad for a summer..? Now is the time to apply by the way, for the season starting 2005, winter work with holiday companies always goes to the best summer workers, and jobs are v scarce, but summer jobs are plentiful..

[Jez_Gafys]

Originally posted by squeeb

Old women who think they have viriii..



http://forums.multiplay.co.uk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21544&highlight=virii

[andyf]

Originally posted by zhardoum
The answer isn't in looking for the cash...


It's ALLLL about the cash :D

[Murray-Mint]

What do you gamers do to earn money?
In term time, I'm a first year computer science student (Restarted my first year due to family problems) but in the holidays I normally work at UGC Cinema, Gloucester, as a 'Team Member' but specialising in Box Office Ticket Sales but can do any task.

Normally it's just sitting at a computer in the box office selling tickets to the general public, answering the phone, retrieving messages on the public phone number, returning calls and general ticket computer trouble shooting. As with most UK chains, the computer runs the Pacer Cats software which is installed as a replacement shell for windows and is solely keyboard operated. Solitaire can be played if really desired but with keyboard it's difficult.

The other areas I could work are Kiosk, which is the selling of food, drink and sweets to punters, which requires a bit more training. I have a basic hygiene certificate and I am allowed to work in the kiosk but again, it's agreed that I don't.

And finally there's working on the 'Floor' which is taking tickets at the ticket barrier, cleaning screens, foyer, outdoors, showing punters to seats, performing toilet checks and general work. This is sometimes my job, but not often.

What hours do you work?
Contracted for 20 hours per work, but by mutual agreement I tend to work for anything up to 48 hours per week. This is at £4.85 per hour. We are open every day of the year except Christmas day, with bank holidays paid at 1.5x normal rate. Hours can be any shift of nearly any length, between 9AM and Midnight.

What qualifications did you need?
To be honest, the job merits very few. Decent GCSEs are preferred but they are not required. No experience is neccesary as training is given, but it is preferred. This was my first proper job and I had no prior cash handling skills but it's easy to pick up.

Fun/Boring/Stressful?
I like films and the film industry a lot, so it's great for me. Yes, I do get to see all the films when they are released if I want to. Boredom does happen, But normally there's either customers to server or colleagues to talk to, there's the radio to listen to, the endless memos to sign, phone messages to check, and Empire magazine is near essential reading for Box Office staff since we always get the storyline of films or upcoming films.

Fun comes with watching the films. winding up members of staff, the best though, is from kicking out underage kids, oh god does that feel good. then argueing with the customers about it, them asking for a manager and the manager argueing with them :)

Stress comes on a busy Friday night, when the queue is stretching round the building and the ticket printer breaks. Although there is some kind of strange fun I found in serving a huge queue of customers and getting to the end of them. Sad, but true.

It's a great temporary job, but don't make a career out of it.

[RTO]

I'm a student, so I earn -£££'s a day.

While I'm trying to scramle back out of debt I get paid FAR TOO MUCH (£7.80/hr) to sit on my arse and watch sky TV. Umm... I mean work at a very quite bar. It's nice as I generally just get to piss around and do what I like :)

Oh, and I also work 'on the streets' for MPUK and get paid in the left over sweets from the front desk of the i-series ;)

[malariaboy]

rooth if you think plumbing requires less intelligence than an electrician then i suggest you do forget it. the mathematics and equations in the acops/corgi exams are far from idiot material.
and as someone said earlier in the post go for a job your going to like.

[bvark]

i earn some money for doing a job I enjoy most of the time, and can reassure you that obscene wages do not compensate for enjoying what you do at any stage other than the most venal at the beginning of your career.

at some point you will have you enjoy what you do, learn to do a great job anyway, or earn enough to not care either way. I recommend the first.

[Limi]

What do you gamers do to earn money?
In term time, I'm a second year computer student so im earning no money. In non-term time I work at LegoLand Windsor as a Ride Photo Engineer. It really means I sell the on-ride photos and fix the printers/computers/interfaces when they frequently go down. (Especially with this new Image+ system)

What hours do you work?
Far too many, can work anything from 9:45am > 9pm, depends on how busy the park is. I get paid at £5.20 per hour.

What qualifications did you need?
None, it's only a job for students really. I'd say probably a minimum of GCSE's that seems to be the intelligence level of the managers anyway :rolleyes:

Fun/Boring/Stressful?
The average day is generally all three. Park guests tend to the moaning/shouting stage far quicker than anywhere else. If you can handle high stress situations while still being able to keep the guests happy and have a smile on your face you'll do alright.

As Murray said, it's a great temporary job, but don't make a career out of it. [/B]

[Buffy]

I work for BT Yahoo Broadband.
Good Job, i do the night shift call 0845 600 7030 option 2 for after 9pm and ask for Robert Morley for 1337 support (if you have BT YAHOO).

[Elbonio]

do you get to browse the web whilst you work?

[Shazz]

Originally posted by Elbonio
do you get to browse the web whilst you work?
I wouldnt doubt it... seeing as Bt Broadband isn't even stable enough to load a web page :P

[Pharius]

I alternate between doing nothing and working as the grumpy weekend technician behind the desk at Stratford's premier (and indeed only) internet cafe. Ive gotta get a job next year though to fund my computer addiction (and my university course) as this one doesnt really offer me the hours I want/can do.

Its not too hard a job. Essentially dealing with endless streams of the elderly asking how to log onto hotmail and abrasive tourists demanding that we move all of our network equipment over to America so that we can log onto american sites faster.
We apparently offer lan gaming too although how ancient machines running doom legacy and quake 2 count as a modern gaming environment i'm not too sure.
Still it offers me the chance to play vice city on one of the faster machines and get paid for it in the quiet moments.

[Aerodynamic]

Thanks to all the helpful advice, though I am thinking of a career in the military. I'm academically able for alot of things but I would need to waste another 2 years of boring study which is never used irl :/
So the marines or SAS sound good to me :]

[Groodles]

What do you gamers do for a living?
My job title is Project Engineer for a small automation and test firm which build bespoke machines for assembly, test and general automation. In fact, I am a software and electrical systems control engineer. I write PLC and SCADA applications for the automation equipment we integrate into the solutions for our customer base. I'm also the only IT literate person on-site, so by default I'm also responsible for two domain controllers (2000 and NT4) and support of 50 or so desktop CAD stations.

What hours do you work?
Standard hours are 40 per week. 8:30am to 5pm with 1/2 hour for lunch. The nature of the job means that my involvement with the majority of projects is at the end (after the mechanical engineers have used up all the budget and time) so overtime is freely available and I can literally do as much as I like. An average week is about 50 hours.

What qualifications did you need?
A minimum would be an HNC in some sort of electrical course with 3 years experience.

I personally hold a 2nd class BEng (Hons) degree in Electrical and Applied Electronics and have worked in the automation industry for a little over 10 years.

Fun / Boring / Stressful
Fun: Can be at times. I get to play with a lot of expensive kit ranging from vision systems to 6 axis industrial robots (like the Citron Xsara advert)
Boring: Like any job it has it's moments. But on the whole I'm too busy to have time to be bored.
Stressful: Depends how you manage it. I work better when I know there's a deadline. Besides, the feeling I get when the job is done and the customer is smiling makes it all worth the hassle.

[JeRkY]

[B]What do you gamers do for a living?
Design Engineer, for a small firm based in a tiny town in north yorkshire. We design make and install bespoke architectual fittings for the obscenely wealthy. both in the UK and europe. (/me faxes wizzo a brochure). My job involves taking a brief and working it through concept stages to fully resolved CAD models and drawings.
What hours do you work?
Start at 8am finish at 5pm, with 45 mins lunch and 2x15 min breaks but often have to work over to get things done. (small company rellies on jobs being done not strict start/finish times) +i have a 100 mile round trip to get to it per day. (the money makes it worth it, although only just)
What qualifications did you need?
The main one would be extensive knowledge of the particular CAD packages we use. Personally that came with my 2nd class BSc hons in Product design and engineering. + also had experience of other systems used in the company.
Fun / Boring / Stressful
as a lot of people have said, yes/yes/yes.

Fun, its great getting to look around exclusive propertys , and the people at work help lighten the load. the table footy is great too :P
Fun doing surveys and getting out of the office.
Boring, can be tedious and repetitive when things dont go to plan straight away.
stressfull, can be very, as a small buissness, it is very evident that everything you do has a direct and measurable knock on affect to some one else. and many many deadlines to meet which can change dramatically from one minute to the next.

My plan is to use this job as a springboard, 18months here to gather experience then seek new employment.

Incidently this is my 1st job after leaving uni, took some time to get it and my savings took a hit, but financially ive done relatively well after speaking to some of my uni mates.