Aerospace scientist, so yeah guilty as charged...

Before I discovered long distance hiking I was a responsible, upstanding, new construction plumber.
I have also been a forklift mechanic, commercial photo lab printer, garbage truck driver, centerless grinder operator, delivery driver, automotive drive shaft fabricator/ welder, and janitor.
I once worked at Mc Donalds just to save money up to move away with a girl.
I do well with any job, and particularly well in mechanical jobs.
The main issue i have is that I master the job and just get bored to tears.
About 2 years is as long as i can stand the pretense of secondary aims.
Although I did the plumbing thing for over 10 years until the big crash.
I am blue collar working trash.
Currently i am cleaning carpets for a major company and dreaming of the day i can save up enough to hike a long trail once again.
The PCT cost me 5 grand, the CDT about the same, the AT a little less. Basically my goal in life at this moment is to scrape another 5 grand together and take another long walk.
None of this is real. The job, the car, the bills.
Only what happens while walking is real.

Did spend 7 yrs in the army as an imagery analyst spying on other countries, shhhhhhh! After that got into the IT field and I'm now a SQL server and oracle database administrator for a large university here in pittsburgh pa. I'm jealous of anyone who works outdoors for a living

I / E

a.k.a. Instrument Technician / Electrician in a manufacturing plant.

It pays the bills so I can play in the hills. ;-)

Party On,

Newton

Used to be engineer

Now, just a bum : )

Museum Curator and Metal Artist

I think I'm breaking a major trend here, but I'm a full time student double majoring in Classical Studies and Molecular Biology with the hopes of going to medical school. I'm also currently for in a lab focusing on diabetes and obesity research.

I spent most of the last decade carrying heavy packs for a living. Had not thought about the irony so much until this thread appeared.

As of the last year though, even further from being a accountant or engineer, I'm a full time dad with two very small hiking partners.



The expedition Cook is in there, honest...

Edited by MrExplorerDouglas on 10/20/2011 22:14:18 MDT.

Actually hired gun, when I think about semi-seriously..

Edited by hknewman on 11/21/2011 17:47:01 MST.

Attorney. Father's a software engineer though, so its in the family.

I am amazed the the number of nerds! Congratulations, guys!

I run a PR/Marketing firm in the wine business...

"Dan,

Out of curiosity, does your wife/significant other (I can't remember from your Yosemite report) live with you up on the top of the globe?"

No...I wish my wife did...then we'd really be saving money and it would be nice to not be apart. I just started working here this spring and then plan is to do it for one more year and then go back to school (M.Sc. Wildlife Biology) next January. She doesn't like saying goodbye, but she loves when I come home for 3 weeks and we're out hiking/biking/skiing non-stop.

IT Monkey of one sort or another for the past not-quite-15 yrs.

And to think I studied history in college...but doing the computer gigs allowed me to quit work, hike and find another job after. :)

But, that's what I do to pay the bills.

What I do for a LIVING is cook, read, hike, ski, climb and grab beer with friends. ;)

Edited by PaulMags on 10/20/2011 22:35:57 MDT.

I am a social worker.

My latest incarnation in the working world is a Mac engineer/programmer/software support guy. I am also living totally on the cheap to save money for one-way bus ticket to Montana where a new job in accounting is waiting.
Living out of a duffel bag and a ULA CDT pack for the last 18 months has been a real education. I love it.

M.S. Student in Geoscience/Hydrology about to graduate this winter. So pretty much.... on the job hunt!

Hi Dan,

Interesting. What kind of geology work are you doing? What was your undergrad major? Environmental science? Geology? How did you end up in the job you are in now?

The reason I ask is that I am considering transitioning into a similar type of work. Life's too short to work a desk job! A job or career that combines science with the outdoors is pretty much what I'm looking for. And I'm willing to go back to school if need be.

Thanks...

Edited by NightMarcher on 10/21/2011 00:51:50 MDT.

Credit analyst, commercial finance... Accounting related

Squash babies heads. (Yeah really)

Rod, you're always trying to get a leg up on everyone, right Mate? :)

(Rod is a prosthetist, literally helping the lame to walk.)