How did you choose a profession/trade when you left school?

[p38arover]

A thread on this subject came to mind from navydiver's username/job. I was going to ask him how he got that job/muster in the RAN. Does one say "I want to be a diver" or is one chosen (perhaps unwillingly)?

In my case, I finished 6th Form (Year 12) when I was 16 and tried to join the RAAF. I was already in the RAAF Air Cadets. However, I was very short-sighted and failed the medical. The Commonwealth Medical Officer (CMO) told me my sight wasn't good enough even for the army. (Amazing how that changed a few years later when my birthday came up in the conscription lottery during the Vietnam war. Fortunately, I failed that medical but for different reasons.)

Anyway... I applied for and won 4 primary school teachers' scholarships in different States. They paid about 4 pounds 10 shillings per week for 2 years at teachers' college.

I also applied for an apprenticeship fitter and turner (machinist for those not from Aus) with Joy Engineering at Mascot. Noting I lived at St Marys (NSW) travel to work would have been a hassle. Joy offered a starting wage of 5 pounds a week for a 5-year apprenticeship.

Then Dad noticed an advert from the Overseas Telecommunications Commission (Australia) - (aka OTC) seeking trainee radio technicians. Dad was a mechanical engineer who dabbled in electronics so I had a tiny bit of knowledge. I applied, got an interview, answered all the trick questions about tools and a little about electricity and radio. They sent me off to the CMO and I passed that medical. :) Then they offered me a traineeship where I went to tech full time for 3 years with a starting wage of 10 pounds a week!

After finishing tech in 1967, I began working as a technician at Moree Satellite Earth Station in January 1968.

I ended up working for OTC for 37 years, finishing as a Principal Technical Officer. I could have worked longer but by then OTC had been ruined by the merger with Telecom to become Telstra. (You all understand, don't you?)

Me in the doorway to the antenna equipment room at Moree:

181132

EDIT: Oh, I didn't stay a tech all that time. I did restoration planning, facility manager in Sydney and Norfolk Island, submarine cableship contracts, submarine cable protection, a short stint in Saudi Arabia as an Expert Advisor to Saudi Telecom.

[jonesfam]

Sort of fell into it.
While at Boarding school I worked for my Uncle in a Menswear shop during school holidays.
On leaving school (year 12) I applied to join the Army, passed all the tests & medicals but the next intake was 6 weeks or longer away.
Being broke & bored I thought I thought I would get a job for 6 weeks then join the Army. So I got a job as a Screen Printing Hand, the pay was bad, the owner was Hitler on steroids' but it would do.
During that 6 weeks I discovered Girls & dunger old V8's, at about the same time the Screen Printers offered me an traineeship so I decided not to join the Army.
4 years later just after finishing the traineeship I put my motorcycle into a tree at a great rate of knots & subsequently did major damage to my shoulder along with other bits & could no longer comfortably pull a squeegee.
So, I went & sold Menswear for the next 9 years. On day SWMBO said I want to move back bush (we were both born in small towns) & next thing I know we are in Blackall managing a small Supermarket & having no clue what I was doing.
Then on to Karumba & a larger Supermarket for 3 years. Then I saw an ad in the paper for an assistant manager on big money on an Aboriginal Community, been doing that except managing ever since, though with a few changes of jobs along the way.
I am more "BUSH" than originally intended, been on Communities longer than intended & mainly quite happy about it.
Jonesfam

[loanrangie]

I went to a tech school as i loved working with my hands, we did the usual woodwork,sheet metal work, automotive, electrical and cooking.
I ended up doing a chefs apprenticeship because i considered the other jobs dirty and i worked on cars and bikes in my spare time so didn't want to do it as a profession.
I wished i had stayed on to a science based subject or electronics but my job as a chef took me all over the world so i cant complain - plus i never went hungry :)

[p38arover]

I'd be no good as a chef - I hate cooking. In fact, I can't cook, not even eggs as you can see:

181133

When I was single, I ate out every night or my landlady cooked for me.

[loanrangie]

Fitting and turning i loved at school but glad i didn't take that up.

[JDNSW]

Finishing high school, with my best subject being physics, I started Science at Sydney on a Commonwealth Scholarship, intending to major in Physics. One of my school friends, also starting science, but on a teaching scholarship, pointed out that we needed to do an extra subject in addition to first year Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics (which were compulsory for the degree). This could be any other first year science subject, or, indeed, virtually any other first year course offered by the university provided you could get the timetable to work. He wanted to do geology, as he was interested in it, and talked me into doing it as well.

I found geology sufficiently interesting that by the end of the year I had decided to major in it. In the event, I ended up majoring in "Advanced Geology and Geophysics, double subject", which combined my physics interest as well.

It was a good time to graduate in earth sciences. I did interviews with the NSW Water Supply and Irrigation Commission (I think I got the name right), and also got an interview with an American geophysical contractor, Geo Prospectors. The first offered a job at ₤21week, based in an office in Sydney, the second ₤120/month working in the bush on a basis of six weeks on, six weeks off. Needless to say, I took the second offer, starting work in Brisbane for a few weeks until the field crew was assembled. My job title was "Computer". In the event, since I had done a year's surveying at uni, and they could not get a surveyor, my first job was to train a surveyor! (Got lost on the first day in the field!)

[Tombie]

Was a Navy cadet during my school years, left and became a Muppet doing ATWL and ATC at Narimba.

Applied for early discharge to join my Father in his Hydraulics company and did that for over 12 years, doing Hydraulics/Pneumatics courses, engineering design courses etc.

Sea change 17 years ago saw me move to Whyalla and did a stint in the same field before moving into Steel making as a Scheduler.

Flicked over to Shutdown planning, MRP controlling (SAP) and into Grade Control in Mining. I’ve done RTO, project controlling on some big projects here. Ran haulage fleets and C&S sites.

Since started a few other projects, closed a few others down, rehabilitation management and now I’m Manager of the Supply Chain for our Mining arm.

None beyond joining the RAN we’re ever in the scope!

[Xtreme]

.............................................
It was a good time to graduate in earth sciences. I did interviews with the NSW Water Supply and Irrigation Commission (I think I got the name right), and also got an interview with an American geophysical contractor, Geo Prospectors. .................................................. .

Pretty close John, It would have been the NSW Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission (WC&IC)

[Tote]

I had decided that there was little benefit in me proceeding beyond year 10 at school so applied for a plant mechanic job whilst still there and was unsuccessful. I did work experience as a sparkie and spent a couple of weeks crawling under houses and in roofs with one interesting job where I learned about three phase pump wiring but decided that wasn't for me either. The parental ultimatum of "if you cant get a job then you'll be off to TAFE kicked in and I did a year of Farm Technology at Orange Tafe. At the end of an eventful year I once more applied for the plant mechanic job with the Soil Conservation Service (and was unsuccessful again) as well as a jackaroo job with Twynam which I got, along with the apprenticeship intake for NSW govt where I was successful in getting both a plumbers apprenticeship and a radio mechanic apprenticeship. With the words of "electronics is the future, you'll never be out of a job" ringing in my ears I took the Radio Mechanic job with NSW Govt Stores.
3 Years of block release TAFE in Mayfield, Newcastle and a year of working later I got my trade and spent over 10 years until Govt Stores was eventually privatised and went broke, by which time I was pretty much a photocopier tech. I took the opportunity to work for Osborne computers until they went bust and did a couple of years working for a local computer place in Dubbo who did all the regional work for the multinational computer companies. That business was sold off and was starting to fail when the Canberra based boss of Digital Computer Corp asked me if I would consider moving there (for a substantial salary increase). I spent just under 10 years working for Digital/Compaq/HP before moving to the public service where I am today.
Its been an interesting career and I smile a bit when the pundits say that in the future careers will change every couple of years, I reckon mine has been continually evolving since I left school......
My very wise boss in Dubbo once told me that my future lay with government because they were the only ones who could afford to keep me trained, I reckon he might have been right :-)

Less than useful skills I have from my training:
I am a certified Artificial Inseminator (of cattle)
I can still time a Gestetner ink duplicator and replace the bands (a week in the workshop until I learned that one has indelibly impressed it in my memory)
I know how to repair an IBM3624 ATM (they were the ones with the one line display that you moved up and down so you could read it.)
I did a woolclassing certificate but never bothered to get my stencil. SWMBO is the classer these days as she did the course when TAFE told me my 20 year old training was no good for credit. I do what I'm told in the shed :-)


Regards,
Tote

[TasD90]

As "hippies" did in the early 70's, I went to Uni and majored in Philosophy and Psychology. I loved every day of Uni, so stimulating in those days and free! I'd always played guitar and performed at concerts so when a job as a guitar teacher came up at a local private teaching college I applied and got the job.
A few years later a few of us teachers went out on our own and started our own teaching school.
After 30 years I was the last of the initial partners but with a number of staff.

After 42 years of teaching 70 private students a week, everything from Miley Cyrus to Metallica, I semi retired 5 years ago and now teach part time 2 days a week at age 70. Pretty lucky to have had one career for my entire working life and enjoyed every minute of it (almost!)

A side income was playing in a rock band every Saturday night at the one hotel for nine years!
That paid for my house!



Peter

[NavyDiver]

A thread on this subject came to mind from navydiver's username/job. I was going to ask him how he got that job/muster in the RAN. Does one say "I want to be a diver" or is one chosen (perhaps unwillingly)?



Cool career Sir and interesting chat Gents!

Boarding school in Ballarat in year nine. I was in the Army cadets and also a bicycle Recyling volunteer cannibalizing old bike to assemble enough for entire dormitories or classes to go for rides.
had a 2 hour per night study session. No books other than school ones and if you finished early boredom ruled The only other books in the rooms were C.E.S Caree guides which were in the year 11 rooms I was stuck in.

Really only one job to apply for at 15 years old was RAN Navy Junior recruits [bigwhistle] Passed out from HMAS Leeuwin and off to seamanship school Cerberus - It felt colder than Ballarat to me[biggrin]

HMAS Watson for Underwater Control anti submarine sonar .... I had done a civilian Diving Course while at HMAS Leeuwin and Volunteered for Ships Diver training. I was thinking of going the extreme side of the diving as a Clearance Diver or considered changing to the dark side SAS [bigrolf] That bit might have been due to abseiling the cliffs on South Head and reading to many silly books.

Got very busy swapping ships to the most amazing trips for years+ which was only interrupted by a year back to shore at Watson. I was volunteered by the Executive Office to handle the front of his RAN sail racing- We Won everything[bigrolf] I was with Demolitions training for a bit ashore. Thing that go BANG was fun. I could not see any wars or good trips coming up so I applied for a voluntary discharge. I left with two fishing rods. Gear sack and one kit bag on a BMW K100rs and took the long way back to Perth - My civilian Diving gear was stolen while i was Over seas [bawl]

Shark Bay Pearl farm, Australian Government Publish Service then poached by Tax office. Moved to a Tax role in Warrnabool due to family illness then to Melbourne as that little place shut down.
Rolled out GST and as I am a yarp was put in front of large Medical Groups for some reason and trips every where demonstrating GST account software and book keeping tool. I Fell into Forensic or reconstructive accounting as some who I just could do it when most of them could not and also tripped over and was put with the big guys (very large business)

A recruited private sector gent and I did not agree so I left rather than punch the very rude sod [biggrin] Started the Medical Practice at that point-

Silly me! It's a bit of a PITA now as I owe myself Long Service leave for the first time despite working almost 100% of the time for the last 40 years [biggrin] I am much too tight to pay myself that[bigrolf]

[WhiteD3]

Primary school friend of mine's father was an electrical trades school teacher at Essendon Tech. My mate chose to go there so I did too. Later moved to Queensland but that dye was cast. With dads help at grade 11 got an apprenticeship at SEQEB but that all ended in disaster in '85 with the strike. Did electrical work on the tools for a few years but was never what you'd call a skilled tradesman. Drifted around for a bit and somehow found my way to BMS....some 30 years later those electrical skills still help as a project manager.

Retiring next year. Time's a weird thing.....

[scarry]

Worked at the local Cut Price Store on weekends,first job,also in last year of school worked on holidays with the guy next door,Refrigeration mechanic,self employed,bloody wild guy,didnt mind a good punch up,and here is me,still in school,wondering,is this what work is all about?[bighmmm][biggrin]

End of grade 12,applied for the Army,as mechanic, medical records reported migraine headaches,so that was the end of that.

Ended being accepted for two Ref & AC apprenticeships,the old man said take the Govt job which i did.Good training,worked on almost every type of equipment,but they were a lazy bunch,couldnt wait to get out of the place.Spent two yrs in Gladstone with Airco,then back to Brisbane,started with A E Smith & Sons,one of the biggest mechanical services companies in the country.Great lot to work with and for,had a great group of guys that knew what they were doing.Had our own sheetmetal shop,mech plumbers,welders,AC techs,great project managers,estimators,etc.Only thing we subbied out was the electrical,and on occasions BMS.Did the biggest jobs in the state,chilled water reticulation was their main game,and large DX plants,all AC.Had their own BMS guys as well for a while.I did 5 yrs in service,then 5yrs in commisioning.
Then in '91,started working for myself.Stayed small,had 8 guys for a while,then gradually dropped back to just three.
Still have many customers we have had for over 25yrs,including some Govt service contracts,Supply Offer Arrangements,etc.The Govt contracts are the cream on top,good consistent work.We do heaps of other work,cafes,supermarkets,Stadiums,pubs,clubs,Restau rants,on it goes.
We slowly gave AC away,and now virtually only do commercial refrigeration,which has sort of evolved into a specialist field.
Margins are also much higher than AC work.We have no shortage of work,with over 700 cold/freezer rooms that we service,plus ice machines,cabinets,etc,etc.
Both my own sons are back with us,i am almost retired,dont do as much as i used to.But i do still enjoy being out helping on jobs.
SWMBO still helps part time in the office,without her we would never of had the business.
The boys will fully take it over sometime soon,there is not much they cant sort out without my help now,and their partners/wives already do some of the office work.
So hopefully we will be out of it in the not too distant future.

[1950landy]

I was always interested in cars & had lots of Dinky Cars. When I was in grade 8 in primary school my father had a steel fabrication business & they had a 1932 Studebaker Ute that was getting past it's use by date & was replaced by a International Ute. The Studebaker was left down the back yard & my brother I would drive it around the yard until the fuel pump broke out of the side of the block. It was time to dismantle it to go to the dump. As the mechanical components (gearbox, diff & engine) were remove, I would pull them apart to see how they worked & put them back together, somehow, I managed to do this without a workshop manual or adult supervision. I wasn't interested is sports once I went to high school, I joined any club that was going (fishing club & motor mechanics club) to get out of sports. once I finished grade 10 the man two houses from us worked at UK Motors a BMC dealer in Brisbane & they were looking for an apprentice motor mechanic. The only problem was the job was on the North side at Chermside & I lived at Darra in the Southwest, this meant a train trip to the Valley then Tram to Chermside taking around 1 1/2hrs each way if I was lucky & things were running on time. I did this for a year & a half until I got my licence & a car & that saved me 1/2hr. After finishing my apprenticeship, I went to work for another BMC dealer that was only 1/2hr from home & stayed there through BMC, Leyland & JRA as well as Daihatsu becoming leading hand after 2 years & service manager 2 years later. After 8 years with them I left taking a job with our family business looking after the fleet of vehicles & servicing & repairing workshop equipment & overhead cranes I also got my electrical Test & Tag licence to be able to test & tag all our electrical equipment. Once we started getting bigger trucks, I took over the role of transport / maintenance manager & doing site work in power substations all over Qld until I retired some 38 years later. Over the last 60 years I have restored many cars all bar one being British, I should have known better than mucking around with British cars.[bighmmm]

[Arapiles]

I grew up on a farm in the Wimmera which we'd had since the 1880s and my dad also worked off-farm as a PMG (i.e., Testra) tech. So naturally, with that background in farming and electronics, I ended up with an Arts degree and various post-grad options. I started a post-graduate degree in Art Museums Management and was working part-time as a curator when I was offered a place to study in my current profession. Have now been doing this for over 25 years and it's taken me all over the world - I've spent long stretches living and studying in Japan and England, but travelled a lot for work while based in those countries so also spent quite a bit of time in Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing and various parts of Europe. Learnt Japanese while living in Tokyo so I went OS monolingual and came back bilingual.

Edit: also boarded in Ballarat .....

Edit: ironically, whilst working at the Uni's employment agency we had a guy come in who was a pipe-line welder doing a big job in the Tanami desert - he'd had issues with multiple apprentices, so thought that a Uni student he could train up might be a better option - might've been a fun job.

[RANDLOVER]

I'd be no good as a chef - I hate cooking. In fact, I can't cook, not even eggs as you can see:

181133

When I was single, I ate out every night or my landlady cooked for me.

Me too, I can't even boil a steak properly. I also hate cooking, actually even hate eating, if I could take a pill that was equivalent to a roast chicken dinner, etc. I would.

My Dad was well known in the electrical industry so he talked me into becoming an electrician, but those were the days of boom and bust, so I would try to find an apprenticeship, (not using my Dad's influence), for a few months to no avail and then would go back to college for a few months, rinse and repeat, so I ended up with an Assoc Dip Elec Eng. Did an accelerated apprenticeship and qualified with distinction in two years, been an electrician, foreman/supervisor, technician since, but I am getting tired of it, mostly of dealing with silly people, so I'm thinking of retiring early.

[WhiteD3]

but I am getting tired of it, mostly of dealing with silly people, so I'm thinking of retiring early.

Exactly. The silly, the ignorant, the lazy, the psychopaths (building industry seems to attract them) and the crooked. Get me outta here!

[drfish]

My early 1960s 2a 88 started life with the NSW Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission. Currently undergoing a full restoration…


Pretty close John, It would have been the NSW Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission (WC&IC)

[grey_ghost]

In 1980 my Dad came home with a new device called a “computer”. It was a Sinclair ZX-80 with a massive 1kb of memory. Wow.

Dad said “this is the future” and he was basically correct.

I was 9 and started to learn how to program in BASIC (beginners all symbolic instruction code).

In high school I enrolled in computer classes in year 7, 8, 9 and 10… BUT I never got into any classes as they were too popular and over subscribed.

I went to the Year 10 co-ordinator and expressed my frustrations as I wanted to do computer programming as a job. He said that he couldn’t promise me that I would get into a class, so I quit school on the spot.

Mum and Dad weren’t too happy when I told them that…

For a year I worked in a local milk bar - earning $4 an hour. No sick pay, no holiday pay, no super. Lol - I wonder how that would go today?

Anyway after a year of that I got a job interview at Billy Guyatts (similar to Harvey Norman) “we will trial you for 2 weeks. No pay. If you are any good then we will put you on as a junior in the EDP department”

I got the job - started programming in BASIC at the age of 16 as a profession..

I continued programming in BASIC on a commercial level until about 8 years ago…

I am now an IT manager and have been working in IT for about 35 years.

No official courses or training. All on the job learning or self taught.

I have lived/worked in Hobart, Kalgoorlie, Brisbane, Auckland, Singapore, Malaysia, England (the Cotswalds).

IT used to be a passion - almost an obsession, but now it’s just a job.

Work has taken me places (see above) plus Italy, Germany, UK.

I still dabble in programming but not as much as I used to.

Then I found Land Rovers as a hobby..!

[drfish]

I was a little to ambitious with my University course selections in year 12 and ended up only getting offered my 4th selection which was a place in a BSc Biotechnology degree at UNSW; I had no idea what that was but commenced anyway. I wasn’t engaged so transferred to a more general BSc Advanced Science with a major in biochemistry/molecular genetics. Finished that and did an honours research degree in marine science and delivered a thesis on bottlenose dolphins. While asking myself “what now” got offered an Aus Govt Industry scholarship with UNSW and NSW Fisheries and completed a PhD. Won an Aus Govt Industry post-doc fellowship with UNSW and NSW Fisheries, and then landed a Lectureship in marine ecology with UNSW. Got a bit sick of academia, and ended up as a Principal Research Scientist with the Department of Primary Industries, where I still am today, specialising in a number of areas. Unlike many other posts here I am still quite a few decades away from retirement though. But it is a challenging, engaging and rewarding job which I really enjoy, so that doesn’t bother me.

[scarry]

Exactly. The silly, the ignorant, the lazy, the psychopaths (building industry seems to attract them) and the crooked. Get me outta here!

In 31 years of business,we are yet to do a job on a building site,no thats a lie,we did one,four cold and one freezer room at a Golf Club,but it was done and paid for by the owner,we had very little to do with the builder or any of his staff.The only reason we did it was because the owner wanted us to,no one else quoted the job.We could then use the best gear and do the job properly,not cut corners.
Ten years on not a single repair or breakdown.

[Arapiles]

I was a little to ambitious with my University course selections in year 12 and ended up only getting offered my 4th selection which was a place in a BSc Biotechnology degree at UNSW; I had no idea what that was but commenced anyway. I wasn’t engaged so transferred to a more general BSc Advanced Science with a major in biochemistry/molecular genetics. Finished that and did an honours research degree in marine science and delivered a thesis on bottlenose dolphins. While asking myself “what now” got offered an Aus Govt Industry scholarship with UNSW and NSW Fisheries and completed a PhD. Won an Aus Govt Industry post-doc fellowship with UNSW and NSW Fisheries, and then landed a Lectureship in marine ecology with UNSW. Got a bit sick of academia, and ended up as a Principal Research Scientist with the Department of Primary Industries, where I still am today, specialising in a number of areas. Unlike many other posts here I am still quite a few decades away from retirement though. But it is a challenging, engaging and rewarding job which I really enjoy, so that doesn’t bother me.

"Dr Fish" indeed. I'm about a decade away from retirement, so somewhere in between.

[jonesfam]

I have no intention of retiring until I am physically or mentally unable to work.
I would be bored stupid, I don't have any hobbies except yelling at our kids & I "Usually" enjoy what I do.
I must admit that now I am well into my 60's I have slowed down a bit & try to take more time off. Where possible I only work a 5 day week now & take every 3rd or 4th week off to see the family.
Not always possible, staff away, **** happens & I am on call 24/7 but according to my time sheets I am working about 10 hours less a week.
Also terrified that if I retire I will die!
Jonesfam

[Arapiles]

I have no intention of retiring until I am physically or mentally unable to work.
I would be bored stupid, I don't have any hobbies except yelling at our kids & I "Usually" enjoy what I do.
I must admit that now I am well into my 60's I have slowed down a bit & try to take more time off. Where possible I only work a 5 day week now & take every 3rd or 4th week off to see the family.
Not always possible, staff away, **** happens & I am on call 24/7 but according to my time sheets I am working about 10 hours less a week.
Also terrified that if I retire I will die!
Jonesfam

Well, given that I've still got youngish kids I was telling my employers the other day that I intended to work until I was 70 - they were ..... surprised.

[vnx205]

I grew up in quite a small town on the North coast of NSW. My father completed the Intermediate Certificate and my mother never went to secondary school.
I started school when I was less than four and a half and was consistently second in primary school exams. I guess it is pretty easy to be a big fish in a very small pond.
My parents and probably most of the townspeople considered that the absolute pinnacle of professions was a school teacher, so it was assumed even when I was still in Primary School that I would become a teacher.,
The only way I could have a tertiary education was to get a Teacher's Scholarship, so after getting an Arts Degree and a Diploma of Education, I became a secondary school teacher.
I did work at other part time jobs while I was at Uni and during school holidays. I worked on a dairy farm, and on other farms, in a timber yard, as a cotton chipper and tractor driving on a cotton farm, and driving wheat trucks.
It seemed that there was never any doubt in anyone's mind that I would become a teacher.
Even though it seems I never made a conscious choice of career, I think it was the right career for me.

[BMKal]

With a couple of interruptions, I eventually followed my father's profession as a metallurgist in the mining industry. As a kid, we moved around a lot, living in different mining towns. During school holidays, I would often find work as a labourer in the processing plant or in the laboratory - worked at Moline (NT) Silver / Lead / Zinc plant, Ardlethan Tin mine in NSW and King Island Scheelite mine in Tas.

Parents eventually enrolled me in Bendigo School of Mines, where I studied Metallurgy. I had a falling out with the family and dropped out of this course after a year, and ended up working at an auto brake specialist in Adelaide, where I completed training at Adelaide TAFE and qualified as a brake mechanic.

After a few more years in various jobs, including working as a mechanic on farming equipment in WA and a stint on the railways, I ended up back in the mining industry, initially running an assay laboratory at a gold mine in WA. Ended up at The Granites Gold Mine in NT where I started out running the lab, before they put me through the final 3 years of my metallurgy degree at WA School of Mines in Kalgoorlie. Did most of that course by correspondence, with two trips to Kalgoorlie required each year for "practicals" and exams. During this period, I worked as Plant Metallurgist and then Mill Superintendent at The Granites. Left the NT in 1991 and moved to Kalgoorlie to work in the mines.

Other than a short break for a couple of years when I got out of the mining game and worked as a sub-contractor in heavy haulage, firstly with my own pilot vehicles and later driving trucks pulling oversize loads throughout WA / NT / Qld - I have worked in the mining game since. Had roles including metallurgist / mill superintendent and mine manager in a number of gold mines, and then moved to iron ore. Was mine manager at Cockatoo Island iron ore mine for a while when it re-opened, and have worked there twice since in advisory / consulting roles for different contractors. Worked as national processing manager for two of the larger mining contractors in the country at the time - both companies have since been either taken over or merged into other entities since. Most recent jobs have been more in process engineering / design areas for new / smaller companies, mostly in iron ore in both WA and SA. I have long since given up any desire to ever work for large companies again - they are not my cup of tea at all.

Recently retired, largely due to health issues, I now spend my time at home tinkering with cars and enjoying my hobby of woodwork. I love working with timber & epoxy resins and will have a crack at just about anything that I've got the equipment etc required to do the job. Not sure how long we will stay here in Kalgoorlie for. The wife has just gone back to work full time - but we will probably sell up here and move to Tassie in the longer term. Have a house virtually on the water at the mouth of the Derwent River about half hour's drive from the centre of Hobart with a decent size shed for my woodworking gear

[Tombie]

Well, given that I've still got youngish kids I was telling my employers the other day that I intended to work until I was 70 - they were ..... surprised.

I have no intention of working beyond 60.
Wife and I were empty nesters by 40 (our kids are 27 & 28 and we have 1 Grandkid with another in the oven.

I have 10 years to set retirement up [emoji41]

[RANDLOVER]

Well, given that I've still got youngish kids I was telling my employers the other day that I intended to work until I was 70 - they were ..... surprised.

I hope that is not because they weren't even thinking of inviting you to the Xmas party!:eek2:

[Saitch]

My first, post-school employment was chosen for me, by monetary necessity. [smilebigeye]

[philandmickey]

School was not for me (Dyslexia) and so left at 15.
Worked in boats. Became a boat mechanic and then assistant manager of a Marina, also traveled the world as took many winters off.
Became a Fire Fighter, moved to Australia and continued being a Fire Fighter both paid and volunteer, which I'm still doing and love.

[Graeme]

I have no intention of retiring until I am physically or mentally unable to work.
I would be bored stupid...I'm the same - 60 then 70 came and went and still upgrading machinery to make life easier.

[scarry]

I have no intention of working beyond 60.[emoji41]

See what happens when that comes around[biggrin][smilebigeye]

I thought the same,now 61,but still ticking along sort of half running the show.But i do a lot less than i used to do,a bit of paperwork,ordering and Quotes, that is about it.I still enjoy it,though,particularly on the odd occasion being out in the field helping one of the boys on a job.
Although being from the younger generation they do things differently.

I think when SWMBO moves out of the business completely,thats when we will both go,which will be in the next year or so.
Its no good one being in it and not the other.

We dont need the business,if it wasnt for the boys it would have been sold years ago.

I am a bit worried about being bored,but i think that will sort itself out,once we stop working.
There is always work around the properties we own,as well,and travelling,grandkids,touring,etc,etc.

We need to travel more,as well, before we get too old,or have medical issues,etc.

[Max Headroom 2.3m]

When I finished school, I really knew what I wanted to do. I had a burning desire to build beautiful timber yachts and managed to score a shipwright apprenticeship with a true craftsman…….that would start in eight months’ time. So my “plan” was to hone my skills at surfing, sailing and camping until the apprenticeship started. This didn’t sit too well with the old folks who wanted me to study something useful. So the “agreement” was I would start a uni degree in Digital Systems Design i.e. learn to build computers from scratch!...not my choice. Turns out I wasn’t terribly well suited to this field of endeavour and promptly failed along with 75% of all the other students who had enrolled in this course. The following year it was only offered as a post grad masters. In the meantime, my shipwright craftsman proved to be not much of a business man and had gone bankrupt. Not to be dissuaded, I knocked on about a hundred doors and finally managed to score another shipwright apprenticeship, this time with an old Yugoslav traditional cray boat builder. I really enjoyed the work but as time went by I developed allergies to nearly every timber in the boat yard to the point where I would spend more time sneezing than working and this was in the days way before PPE was even a thing.

So that was that and with my limited skill set I could only get a job working in a bank. This was definitely the most mind numbing thing I had ever done. Apparently, humour and practical jokes are not a thing in the bank and yes it was time to leave. I went on to study Physics and Biology at the end of which I was offered a position at the WA Dept of Agriculture in the Brucellosis Eradication programme. I took the job as there was a recession on and government positions were gold. Turned out to be way better than I expected as I got to work out in the field as well as in the lab, playing with lots of fancy machines. Over the next 30 years I was fortunate to work with amazing people in immunology research, developing veterinary diagnostic test and vaccines for exotic diseases…as well as getting long service leave every 7 years! As a guvo worka, I could take my long service at half pay and tack on my annual leave at each end, allowing me the time to restore two old cars, as well as build a house and a yacht of my own (with PPE!).

However, a mid-life crisis saw me go back to uni to do a degree in Mech Eng after which I was offered a position at JP Kenny working at the sharp end in the subsea oil and gas industry. Once again I was very fortunate to work with truly amazing people on some of the most challenging projects in the world and spend eye watering amounts of other people’s money on big wiggly pipes and yellow boxes that sit on the ocean floor. That was fun until the oil price fell through the floor at which time I was encouraged to take a self-funded sabbatical which I have chosen to continue to this day. The notion of retirement doesn’t scare me as I never learned how to be bored. There is still way too much to do, you just don’t get paid to do it but it is still fun and I get to spend a lot more time with my family and friends.

[Arapiles]

I hope that is not because they weren't even thinking of inviting you to the Xmas party!:eek2:

Well ..... that may be what they're thinking, but either way I'll still be working in 12 years time.

Edit: our roles now range from hybrid to completely WFH - when an ex-colleague recently resigned my old employer advertised the job as completely hybrid, as in, they didn't care where you were working from: you may, at most, have had to go to one of the offices once a month. Our group had always been decentralised so this is just the logical next step, particularly since the lockdowns proved that with the tech we had we didn't need to be in the office or logged on 9 to 5, so long as we met timetables and targets. Our productivity went up 20% during COVID and we also saw more of our families. I'm thinking of moving back to the country in a couple of years and with a good internet connection I will be working full time but still able to run a small farm. Or at least have a few chooks and veggies.

[Tombie]

See what happens when that comes around[biggrin][smilebigeye]

I thought the same,now 61,but still ticking along sort of half running the show.But i do a lot less than i used to do,a bit of paperwork,ordering and Quotes, that is about it.I still enjoy it,though,particularly on the odd occasion being out in the field helping one of the boys on a job.
Although being from the younger generation they do things differently.

I think when SWMBO moves out of the business completely,thats when we will both go,which will be in the next year or so.
Its no good one being in it and not the other.

We dont need the business,if it wasnt for the boys it would have been sold years ago.

I am a bit worried about being bored,but i think that will sort itself out,once we stop working.
There is always work around the properties we own,as well,and travelling,grandkids,touring,etc,etc.

We need to travel more,as well, before we get too old,or have medical issues,etc.

I hear what you’re saying!

If I’d kept the business in Adelaide I would have retired at 45.
Instead sold it and moved onto other things. I was bored!

We (me and Mrs Tombie) are well and truly comfortable and our investments have us able to have the life we want at 60.
Intention is to live 50% of the time in our house in Hua Hin Thailand and the rest back here fishing and relaxing and catching up with the Grandkids.

Will see where my hobbies take us, they’re rather expensive at the moment!

[Tombie]

What this thread demonstrates is the huge depth/breadth of experiences and expertise/talent on this forum.

All brought together by a common passion for Green Oval products.

[Barraman]

1) I grew up as a city kid with some distant connections to the land.
2) At high school I decided to do medicine, make a bunch of $$ and buy a cattle station. By Yr12 I had scrapped that idea for doing vet science, making a bunch of $$ and buying a cattle station.
3) Did vet science and went to work for a large beef cattle company.
4) After the beef crash of the mid-70s I left the company and started a private vet practice. Made a good living but never enough to buy a cattle station.
5) Sold the practice and went overseas to a position in academia.
6) Returned to Oz to complete postgraduate studies and remained in academia/research for 35 yrs.
7) Had a part-time 'parallel' career as a charter pilot.
8) Took a 'package' and tried retirement - but it didn't take!
9) Set up as a consultant working when and where I feel like it.
10) Chase barramundi around northern Australia in my spare time!

[DiscoMick]

Some very interesting stories.
I grew up on a dairy and banana farm, which is where I got to know old Land Rovers.
I wanted to become a train driver, but the parents had other ideas.
I won a scholarship to university, but was also offered a cadetship on the local newspaper, which the old man reckoned was a better idea as I would get paid and not be burden on the farm, where money was tight.
I spent over 30 years working in rural and regional newspapers in NSW and Qld, which was interesting, but the writing was on the wall as News Corp bought, stripped and sold or closed newspapers, so it was time to get out.
I had done a BA externally at Uni NE while working. Smartest thing I did was put an extra $50pw into super for all those years.
The wife and I did some CELTA training at UQ and then moved to Thailand to train uni students in English language. I also did a M. Ed. (TESOL) from Uni Wollongong.
After three years we came back, worked at an international language school in Brisbane and then at a big non-government school training students, refugees and locals, in English for work. I veered into doing a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.
I delayed retiring for a year because I was the only person among 1500 staff at the group of 12 schools who was qualified to assess students in a particular course we offered.
Now happily retired.

[JDNSW]

Since others have outlined their career after getting into their field, I'll add a bit to my post above. After working in the field on surveys in the Bowen Basin, and the gulf Country and then working out of Roma, all in Qld, for three and a bit years, I was put in charge of a field crew working in the middle of the Simpson for the next nearly two years. Encountering light aircraft in this operation, I started learning to fly.

Then back to Roma for a year or two, and bought an Auster aeroplane. And while in the Simpson, my brother had got me to go shares with him in a 30ft yacht, located in Brisbane. after various small jobs in Qld, including the first geophysical exploration for coal in Australia, I was put in charge of a crew starting work in PNG, where I spent the next two years. Assessing the Auster as unsuitable for operations there i traded it on a Cessna 180.

After this contract was completed, I was laid off, but the company found me a job in Melbourne with the Big Australian. I remained there for the next 22 years, working mainly all over Australia, on and offshore, but also PNG, Myanmar, UK, USA, and bringing the company into the computer age, as well as working with learned societies and helping to run conferences etc. This ended when the company decided they did not need a chief geophysicist. Shortly after my move to Melbourne, my brother moved overseas, and we sold the yacht, replacing it with a new 37 foot schooner built in Melbourne. Also, having moved to Melbourne, with rental aircraft readily available, I sold the Cessna.

With retirement age approaching, we had already planned to retire here and build a house, so we did. At the same time I accepted an honorary position as editor of a learned journal, and also did occasional consulting jobs, including several months in the USA. We moved into the house in 1995, and in the next year my wife was diagnosed with Primary Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, a rare, progressive, and almost untreatable disease with a prognosis at the time of 2.8 years from diagnosis. She died in 1999, just after the birth of our. first grandchild, while waiting for a lung transplant.

[ramblingboy42]

I failed application to the RAAF when I was 15 and accepted a fitter/machinist apprentice that same year.

A 4 yr apprenticeship I completed while I was still 19.

I was told I was not their favourite boy and proceeded to Adelaide to find a job where most employers would not believe I was a tradesman.

Wages and work conditions were pretty bad compared to what I was apprenticed to. My training was done in heavy mining maintenance/engineering/construction and there was little of that in Adelaide. A move to NT found my niche and i was able to dictate my terms of employment rather than have them dictated to me. An 8 yr spell in the military changed my perspectives and I slid back into the very well paid heavy engineering and construction game , short contract , fifo , type work until I retired at 60.

[Reddirt204]

After growing up on a dairy farm and having no love of cows and hating school I managed to get an apprenticeship as a boiler maker/welder specializing in Stainless and Ali. As I completed my time my parents decided to relocate the farm to the outside of Margaret River (3 times the land) I agreed to build a new dairy (I had already revamped the first one) and stay for 2 years to help set up the new farm, this was a massive shock to dad as up until that point I had never even put on a set of cups on a cow...

13 years , 1 wife and 2 kids plus 2 more dairies later (including a 50 stand rotary) the dairy industry basically imploded early 2000's. I ran my own farm repair business, plenty of work but no money in it. I ended up doing a bit of FIFO work. We moved to Tom Price and was there for 7.5 years while I was a fixed plant maintainer, kids loved it, my wife struggled with it but it was the right place at the time. As the kids came up to high school, the opportunity for me to return to FIFO came up so we relocated back to the south west. The site I was at went to custard, run by muppets who had no idea and I left Rio after nearly 11 years. I stuck with FIFO working across the Pilbara ending up as a project supervisor doing some very interesting stuff (including first Cat Minestar remote controlled D11 dozer for BHP) Just recently I have returned to Rio as a supervisor over seeing comms and IT projects, apparently I don't need to know how the team does the job, just make sure they do it safely....

During this time we also returned to the farm that is now growing trees so have plenty to do, that along with a certain D2a means I won't be retiring for a long time [biggrin]

Some very interesting stories on these pages and amazing how a green oval badge is the common thread that ties them together

cheers

Redd

[ATH]

A couple of years ago I thought it would be a good idea to o a spreadsheet showing everywhere I'd worked up until retirement some 13 years ago. I started with my first job as an apprentice motor mechanic at a garage flogging BMC vehicles but left due to constantly getting the blame for everything that went wrong.
They even tied to blame me for a front left wheel coming off a combie van when it was going down a 1 in 10 into Chatham a major town in Kent. Luckily the wheel didn't run right down and cause havoc at the bottom. I hadn't been anywhere near the thing but that didn't stop the bullying idiots making me the scapegoat.
I got my own back by reversing a new Morris Minor in the showroom into another car gently and denting a door badly which wasn't discovered for a while and by that time I'd already left. :)
Got another apprenticeship as a fitter and turner which I stuck for the full 5 years and they were good employers who put up with my bad teen behaviour. Dad had died not long before I left school at 15 and they reckon this had had a bad upsetting influence on me and it had. :(
Anyway, after detailing what one could only term a "varied career" here and in the UK and reaching 50 plus positions over the 50 years of "work", I gave the spreadsheet idea away as some places I did short spells at I couldn't even remember their names.
Both brothers have gone on to make their fortunes by hard work after doing apprenticeships but I never could be bothered that much and played golf, drunk beer and chased bar maids instead. Much more enjoyable. :)
Mortgage paid off 30 years ago so debts and no worries apart from those from owning a D4 with an engine which may destroy itself so life's not bad at all.
AlanH.