I am a funeral service arranger, surprisingly to a lot of people i actually love my job.

I have always worked in retail management but haven't worked for nearly 8 years as I've been a stay at home mam. I did have my own shop when I was younger and think maybe in a few years time when my baby is at school I'll prehaps look into another business .

tillyandangel one of our friends is a funeral director and he loves his job , our 7 year old son is convinced he wants to follow in his footsteps as he has been to work with him before and finds it very interesting !!!
He says there's always money to be made even during a recession because you can't stop people popping their clogs!

Interesting thread!

I work in social housing for a regional housing authority. I have done various roles in my 11 and a half years so far, having started out in front-line housing services then moved to a specialist post as Accommodation Officer for the Irish Traveller community for 4 and a half years.  Now I am a policy officer, developing and implementing policy and strategy in the field of supported housing for vulnerable people.

Ah ShaynLola, that was the exact job area I tried to get into after leaving Uni....ended up being a Recruitment consultant, then worked in HR (recruitment mainly) and have been a Civil Servant for last 9yrs.  Intending to set up by myself in business over the next few years ....fed up of office politics :-)

>I would be polite to you Sue <img alt=":-)" src="/images/default/sml_pos.png" class="sml" /> <img alt=":-D" src="/images/default/sml_lol.png" class="sml" />

Too right, or there will be trouble Mrs!!! :-P

I left school at 16, heartbroken because I was desperate to stay on and do "A" levels - parents were too poor. Worked in the Rates Office of a council, and quickly became bored. I became a cadet nurse at 17 - in 1960....went on to do SRN training, and then midwifery. I went to Bible College intending to be a missionary, but got married instead and lived in London's East End. I had 2 children, then trained as a Health Visitor, and moved to Northampton in 1980. I completed my degree with the OU in 2001. I retired in 2003. Since then I did some Pat Dog visiting, and now I go into the local school under the auspices of the Volunteer Reading Scheme, to help children with reading.

this is a very interesting topic...

I was trained as a  Telephonist with the post office remember 'number please' 'emergency which service' 'irish service' gosh that takes me back.. on loan from the PO to the inland revenue and social services for a few years so have done the rounds.. at that time to PO was regimented so left to go work for Merseyside Transport as a Information officer ..still on the phones... directing people around Merseyside on bus/rail.
Hubby still says I switch as soon as I answer the phone..LOL .Retiring on medical grounds so have been a housewife/mother  ever since , so plenty of time to look after my 4 beardies..who keep me sane. :)

I always wanted to go to drama school or work with animals but father thought that a waste of a good education,and daughters were expected to heed advice from wise parents,and so I went to work in a bank,and hated every minute.It was 1956 and we actually sat on high stools making hand written entries in large ledgers and on bank statements.We had an adding machine that you fed numbers in and pulled a lever to get the total,but even now I can add up a column of figures in my head faster that using a calculator.I eventually escaped the parental dominance, and went to work in a large hotel as a book keeper/receptionist,never a dull  moment there.I then had several office jobs in central London where my sister was training to be a nurseQuit work to marry and raise a family,and atlast was able to work with animals and start showing and breeding dogs,and have been self employed ever since.I had a boarding cattery,and a dog grooming business,then remarried and bought a country pub.Finally got back to dog grooming as a mobile ,working from home,which I could work round my youngest son.I also took over the management of a friendship club,and did voluntary work for the blind asociation on talking newspapers for a number of years.I am meant to be retired now,but until dogs stop growing hair,my friends and family will make sure I do not stop work altogether despite the arthritic hands.I am Rhona,never felt the need to use a different name.

Hi, Rhona, that's very interesting about the adding up. In the Rates Office, aged 16, I was the "posting clerk". This meant I had to write in by hand into enormous Rating Books every payment that was made. I wrote on a "posting strip", so ended up with a long strip of figures, which had to be added up and had to tally with the total amount payed in. This taught me the skill of  adding up quickly and accurately far more than "O" level maths had done!

The downside of all this was that if I accidentally "posted" in the wrong place, someone could be taken to court for non-payment of rates that they had actually paid.....rather a heavy responsibility to place on the shoulders of a teenager, don't you think?

There's so much variety on here, it's fascinating reading about all of the different jobs people have/have had.

I currenty have 4 1/2 jobs (!) - my main day job is for a large business consultancy, I work in project management looking after a number of people who provide support & training to various client sites. My other jobs are all self employed, I design, make & sell jewellery, run a large designer/maker exhibition once a year (although the planning takes up most of the year!) and have recently become involved in the set up of a new data marketing company too.

The half job is looking after the accounts & marketing for my OH's business, he does custom metalwork on motorbikes!

I've been working in my main job for just over 13 years now, jewellery for about 4-5 years, helping my OH for 7 years and I'm in the 3rd year of running the exhibition too!!!

Quite a variety, and it certainly keeps me busy, but unfortunately not rich, only the main day job actually pays a regular wage :-(

In the past I've worked in an event yard training horses, a short stint as a riding instructor, a Saturday job in a shoe shop (heaven to a shoe-aholic like me!), bar work, market research and as a waitress for half a night, I walked out after punching a customer who put his hand right up my skirt!!! :-o

Claire

dog groomer, cos I've had a titful of working with cliques, bitchy groups and managers who do not know what they are talking about.

I wonder if I will be the last person to post? love this thread,wow you are all a talented lot! im a dental nurse and have been for 20 years,which is hard to believe.I only work part time which means more time for dogs,worked in gortty practices,very posh ones and kings college hospital,where,if it snows,the waiting room fills up with people who have fallen over and have broken teeth and faces.
I now work in a dental implant practice and have done for 10 years,i lover my job,get to go to conferences mostly in america,last one florida I didnt complain,this year italy.
I feel very lucky to have the job that I do,I did not do so well at school,only came away with 3 o levels, mostly as I didn't bother to go.When you find somthing that really grabs your interest its all different,always new things to learn and new people to meet.
I did actually attend art college when I left school.It did me no good atall,glad I changed my mind! Dental nurse or artist?

Here's one more...childhood fantasy about becoming a jockey or a vet, but started off studies as an archaeologist, much against my parents' will, who were adamant that I should go to art college; in my first year I decided that I would rather paint than study industrial archaeology, so dropped out and showed my work here and in NY for several years until I couldn't stand the uncertainty of income (galleries always 'just having sold your work and then posting a cheque several months later), stress of previews, etc. I spent several years as an unpaid campaigner for an environmental organisation and later on prison reform/repatriation of prisoners, studied engraving, carried on painting, and then through my campaigning work got into a job with a preservation trust managing a wetland. It started me off with fundraising, took me down a road of working with local authorities on community and economic development which led to a masters in urban regeneration (how dated this all sounds now in the light of public sector cuts). I managed a voluntary sector organisation for several years and then went freelance, so now work mainly as a bid writer, trainer, grant assessor and chair a regional network of voluntary sector learning providers. I got my first dog in nearly 20 years when I went freelance (working single parent made it impossible before), followed by another...and then another...and then got into showing and here I am, starting out at the bottom again learning whatever I can about my dogs and practising my grooming skills on them :)

>> practising my grooming skills on them 

LOL - if that's anything like my Mum practising her hairdressing skills on me and my fringe - I feel for them ;-)

LOL no Tadsy, I saved that for my children