What was your most relaxed job?
WanderinWonder
Posts: 3,719 Forum Member
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That you ever had? One with the least pressure, annoying boss etc?
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WanderinWonder
Posts: 3,719 WanderinWonder
Posts: 3,719 WanderinWonder
Posts: 3,719
Comments
I became an expert on Flight Simulator, wrote a book, and had 3 hour lunches on expenses
My boss took on a job in a nearby company teaching IT, and the four of us on the team freelanced for her.
This went on for months as the bosses tried to find investment for the project.
I prefer the Derek and Clive "Worse job you ever had" option.
That sounds good, I've always quite liked the thought of being a researcher. What field was that in, if you don't mind me asking?
When I started, I did something called Electron Beam Lithography. The idea is to turn up the current on an electron microscope to draw patterns on silicon for integrated circuits with a 20,000 volt beam. The e-beam only deflects by a few mm, so the silicon wafer has to be moved around at high speed in a vacuum. The whole thing would shake itself to bits without a massive weight to hold it steady.
We didn't have enough lead.or depleted uranium. So a scientist went out and bought a gravestone cheap 'cos it had a spelling mistake. Sorted.
I used to prattle around on here at several points during the day
The Public sector. Have shed a million jobs in the last 4 years and still function just as well.
On day shift it was relaxed, in that breakdowns happened, but the engineering bigwigs were about, so the pressure was on their shoulders.
Nights and weekends; I took the advice of the two mechanical guys (old hands) who gave me the best advice ever - don't be a big 'I am' because you're on the engineering staff, listen to them, and most important; at the start of the shift go round and chat to see if everything is ok.
Everyone wants a quiet time on nights, but piss production workers off at your peril; they will run you ragged.
Most weekend days were spent watching sport or playing a creaky pc golf game (this was the earlier 90's), where the person who took the most shots on the last hole had to buy the teas.
Nights, we used to tease the newbie production workers about ghosts - some of the places were a bit dark and dingy - we spent a couple of hours one night rigging up some ducting to talk down when a chap had to come up and change chemical barrels.
Scared the sh!t out of him.
I had a lot of laughs, earned a lot, and because of being on shift, and doing overtime and living at home, couldn't spend it.
Stashed it away, quit after two years to go to university and spent a lot drinking, and still had a bit left for a deposit on flat.
Same here! I had so much time that I could post in here more often than I do now
The cafe was often empty all night, which allowed me to read quite a few comic books to pass time. I read the series of Sanctuary (by Sho Fumimura and Ryoichi Ikegami) in one night.
That was honestly fun. It was also great that when I reached the end where two characters stood under the sun in Cambodia, the morning sunlight broke through the cafe window and lit up those two pages. One of my all-time favourite memories.
Yeah, I was rather sorry when she was well enough to return.
Company went bust so had to move on
Electron Beam Lithography sounds rather intriguing.
Some very interesting relies so far. Takae's comic shop job sounds the most appealing, just getting to read all night.
The best jobs have little stress but plenty of mental stimulation too: I can't handle jobs which are so tedious that they make you shut down mentally.
That's great, it's such a relief to find a job you can enjoy.
I find often it's the people you have to work with that make all the difference.
I quite fancy finding a role that allows you to plod along doing something organisational, with little pressure from 'above'. Sounds ideal.
I only left because I had problems with the pregnancy. They were great, visited me in hospital, sent a bouquet, etc. Lovely people, enjoyed the experience a lot.
In the final two years things just went downhill because of the boredom so I resigned. I've got a stupidly stressful job now where things never seem to stop, but it's in a field where the outcomes have a direct impact on extremely vulnerable people, so on one hand it's much more personally rewarding, but I do still look back with rose-tinted specs to my research years of 5 hour working days and having no-one to answer to.