Comments on: Have I Got A Good Job Or What?

By: khushbu

khushbu — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:37:28 +0000

when i got good job in my life

By: Spiv

Spiv — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:49:36 +0000

It is a curious list- as someone who had many options of jobs and related degree programs, I really tortured myself in my early college days as to just what careers I should pursue; or at least leave my options open to. I recall a little thought experiment of writing down jobs I thought I would enjoy, in no real order: astrophysicist, psychologist, artist, professor were all on there. Those are 13, 59, 80, and something else.

This after having worked as a programmer (18), which I discovered I despised despite being very good at it. I hated sitting at a desk all day,making buttons work in software: spending hours looking for missing semi-colons. It’s a terrible job if you ask me, cushy desk or not. I would also be miserable in the top 3 on that list.

I chose to go to school and dualed (and dueled) in fine arts and psychology. Turned out to be something between an industrial designer (9) and an aerospace engineer (33). I get to build things, get out and make something, and it’s part of a larger picture. Some of my favorite parts are getting to weld (193) and machine things (155). In my spare time I build cars (187), which costs me considerable money.

Admittedly though, perhaps the thing that makes all of those things as fun as they are is that no single one of them is really what I do. It’s all of it. I don’t have to bore myself with some task over and over again.

By: Kaleberg

Kaleberg — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:54:43 +0000

I live in lumber country and find it odd that lumberjack is considered such a lousy job. While I am not a lumberjack, I’ve met a lot of people who’ve been in that line of work out here, and most of them liked the job. Sure, there is an element of danger. Large trees weight tons. Chainsaws can be dangerous, and forest roads can be tricky. Still, you get to work outdoors. No one is looking over your shoulder. Working with trees and wood has its own satisfactions, much like working with iron. You do a tangible job with obvious metrics. It isn’t like cleaning house and having to clean it all again the next day. (You can tell the s–t jobs because they were reserved for women until quite recently.)

I have no great desire to be a lumberjack. It isn’t a growth industry, and it is highly automated. One man with a chain saw and loader, as they call the lumber trucks equipped with a small crane for hoisting logs on board, can do the work of a dozen fifty years ago. Still, I can definitely imagine a lot of worse jobs.

By: lycaon

lycaon — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:05:09 +0000

Hey Tom, it was great to meet you this weekend. Thanks for all the advice you gave my husband, he really took it to heart. I bought your Einstein book on Amazon as soon as we got home (don’t worry, I’ll get the Newton one too when it comes out!). While I am not good at physics, I love the IDEAS of physics and all the cool stories of physics discoveries and physicists. As long as the math doesn’t get involved!

On the top of best jobs, I really think those rankings are rubbish. It is too subjective. Many lumberjacks LOVE lumberjacking, and plenty of telecommuters with cushy jobs hate what they do. My job is an objectively good one – not terribly difficult but still mentally stimulating, excellent work environment, kind bosses, plenty of vacation and benefits, decent pay, and room for advancement. I’m planning on leaving it the first chance I get!

By: Eric Roston

Eric Roston — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:34:45 +0000

Yeah, what’s the deal with the definition of biology (“Studies the relationship of plants and animals to their environment.”)? Have I been hallucinating about Carl Woese’s career?