Former medical photographer, now working for myself (not doing medical, funnily enough), and part time music teacher / examiner (which is more of a hobby). Job is flexible and pays ok, and have a kid to look after by myself, so its not too bad.
Job: Clinical Psychologist (currently in Cancer Care) Wage: AfC band 8b (figure it out) Worth it? That's a difficult question. The pay is not bad but could be better; I am really working at an 8c level. In the private sector I'd be earning 50% more. Working in the NHS is fraught with constant frustration over limited resources, pedantic rules and Kafka-esque bureaucracy and an outright unpleasant working environment (think the very opposite of Google's offices). Clinical services are generally really quite good because many clinical staff are, in their own way, geeks. But managerial and IT services can be hallmarked by mediocrity and ego's that are in a constant state of over-excitation by the absorbsion of Morons*. The main sources of Moron radiation go right up the hierarchy to the Department of Health (a.k.a. Mordor) and Westminster. If you read the Dilbert cartoons (of course you do), you'll get the picture. This makes the NHS a very inefficient business (although, admittedly, not nearly as inefficient as the US health care system compared to which the NHS performs like a German sports car engine) --I estimate that I only function at 70% of my potential with 30% wasted on overcoming obstacles, fire fighting, cajoling and abandoning projects because the infrastructure, support or simply vision is not there. The job can be emotionally exhausting and I sometimes wonder what possessed me to choose a career that focuses on people's problems and suffering all the time. Trust me, unless you have the misfortune of having a serious illness or mental health problems yourself, you really haven't a clue; most people go about their lives in blissful oblivion. My job pops the lid off life and lets you have a look at the works. On the other hand, I have a great deal of autonomy --much more than other clinical staff (psychologists fall outside the medical hierarchy --it's like trying to herd a group of cats). I am also the only profession for who it is in the job remit to feed back to managers about the psychological impact on staff of their management style (even though that does not mean they'll listen). It is indoor work with no heavy lifting, so that's nice. The job itself is not as taxing as, for instance, brain injury rehabilitation which I used to do, and which is really complex and hard work. By comparison, cancer psychology is a breeze. The sick pay and pension scheme are quite good (although not nearly as good as those for MPs) and one of the two reasons I hang in there; the other reason is that I do strongly believe in a National Health Service and therefore feel that I should put my money where my mouth is. For most colleagues it is much the same. As a result, despite everything the NHS does work. Patients do appreciate what we do and there is a lot of public goodwill towards NHS staff. * Particles of idiocy. Morons have an exitatory effect on ego's which in turn distort rational space through the force of gravity. Morons are the antiparticles of Reasons (particles of logic) and collision between the two causes mutual annihilation with a harmful discharge of dogma radiation.
Nexxo: that's actually rather enlightening, what you're saying there. I'll be sure to pass all that on to the missus (she's still got to do masters degree before she's considered a Clinical Psychologist here) - for now, she's a Psychological Counsellor, look at becoming a Clinical Psychologist.
Job: Graduate Process Engineer Wage: >£30k for now Is it worth it? Yes though it depends on the project I am working on. I get to design process and equipment for the chemical and power industries-oil & gas, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, nuclear etc. Some projects are quite interesting and innovative but others are just plain tedious and stressful. Time pressures can be pretty intense, especially if you are on several projects at once, but thats why I get paid well. I get to use pretty much everything I learned at uni so I feel those 5 years were well spent. The company I work for are pretty good and have been happy with how I've been treated. Compared to 99% of the population, I'm in a very good position for the future. Reading this back, it sounds like I'm gloating and...well.... actually I guess I am. I'm doing what I wanted to do when I was at school, getting paid well, there is room for advancement and am in a secure position. Can't ask for anymore than that really.
Job: Commercial Sockeye Salmon Fisherman (summers only) Wage: No Comment Is it worth it?: This really depends on the person, the work itself, is relatively simple although its rather physically intensive. The work environment itself is the biggest challenge, I spend from ~June 21st - August 17th on a small island with 7 other people. The nearest anything populated is around 40 miles away over sea. The island itself is about 1 mile wide and 13 miles long, it's covered in muskegs, lakes, fallen spruce trees, and several thorny plants so travel over the island is quite difficult except for a handful of trails. The tides on the island are rather extreme, it can drop over 30 feet at times, and the shore can be several miles off shore from normal. It does at times (after a long rainy periods) have a large array of biting insects, ranging from gnats, white-socks (devious little buggers), mosquitoes, to wasps, and horseflies. While after long periods without rain it is nearly rain-free. We have no electricity except for a few small solar panels, and a WWII surplus generator that is run maybe once a week. Cell phone service is extremely intermittent, sometimes requiring walks down to a rocky point about a mile away. And even then expect your phone to tell you "Call Failed" quite frequently. The general experience is completely dependent on the weather, some years will be dry and hot, which is generally nice, other times it will rain for a month straight. If it is ever windy while you happen to be out in the skiffs fishing, any wind over 10 knots will make all of the work many times more difficult, because you now have to fight the wind and waves while you attempt to pull in the nets used for fishing. We work on average 2-3 days a week, and each work day tends to last from 6:00 AM to on average 11:00 PM The most difficult jobs are when we have to set up the site for a year and when we have to put it away. The bluff that our house is on top of is 300 feet tall, and near vertical. We have a rough trail winding its way back and forth up the bluff. Because of this bluff everything we use in the summer must be carried up this trail on your back. This means all 18-21 nets must be carried down at the start of season, and back up the at the end. All the drinking water for 2 months for 8 people must also be carried, as well as 2 months of groceries, and any propane used for the refrigerators and cook stoves which comes in 186 pound bottles must also be carried up the hill (we average around 4 bottles a season). However during the middle of the year when we have 3-5 days a week off (unless we have to do a maintenance project), gives us a lot of time to relax, read books, run on the beach, go sailing etc. this can make this job very nice. Especially when the weather is nice, as the island is very beautiful. I personally enjoy it most of the time, and I'd recommend it for anyone who like the outdoors, but you must be very good at entertaining yourself, and be fine long periods of solitude, since we only see a dozen or so people over the whole two months
Job: Warehouse op Wage: 14k max wage: can get bonus's (some people get about £100 extra a week) if i get a promotion then ofc more Is it worth it: no not at all, the job is so boring and from what i can see the higher u get the less u do so for me even more boring, will soon be leaving for a job in my home town (atm have to get a lift 20 mins to another town) and then will be going back to college to finish my plumbing course (done the first yr,1 more to go)
Job: IT Support Techie Dude Wage: High 20's + On call/Overtime Is it worth it: 100% yes. Company I work for is relatively easy going, and the team I'm working in is highly techincal (or meant to be...). That means we get some really fun and interesting projects to work on. Can mean long hours (24+ hour stints on occasions). Can also be high pressure - especially if you've got an hour left of an SLA and no other bugger managed to work out what the problem was/is! Can get a little frustrating/less interesting when there's not as much work in, but there's always some development work to get into or bugfixes/additional functionality to add to the tools we've already deployed.
Job: Butcher assistant Wage: £58 a week Worth it? no, takes 8 miles of walking to get there and back, or £8 a week on the bus, and i don't earn enough for my fiancée to be allowed to get a marriage visa
Job: Data Acquisition Engineer (international commuter) Wage: ~80k USD Worth it? I would say yes. The rotation is do-able (35 days at work, 35 days off) and the people im currently working with are a good laugh for the most part. I'd like some more support from upper management with regards to improving the current system but they are all stuck in the past, or go and consult the "focal point" who is so backwards when it comes to technology its amazing! Hes got good ideas, but they were good 10 years ago. now they look silly! International travel is good (along with the air miles), but the flight times are getting to be a real pain. However i do get to live where ever in the world i like as long as there is a good enough airport nearby and said country will let me come and go as i please. Currently trying to advance myself to Well Site Drilling Engineer (like i was supposed to be in the first place) but ive gone and made myself too valuable in Data Acq. Living conditions on the rig vary depending on the contractor but they are essentially the same shipping containers with beds in them. Some even come with free insects but not very often these days. My unit that i spend 12 hours in is another big shipping container with computers in it. Even got a delivery of some new ones that are so overpowered for what they are going to be used for it hurts my head (again, a choice made by the focal point). While im on the rig, i'm one of 2 DAS eng. which means for the 12 hours im on shift i get to call the shots with regards to my system which is classed as "black magic" and "voodo" by the other service companies.
Job: Imagery Specialist (or some such title) Wage: Enough to get by Worth it? Indeed. I get paid to do what I enjoy doing (graphic design and video production), I get to travel to a number of different locations, and my particular position offers me a good deal of creative leeway.
Job = instrument engineer (maintenance) for a petrochemical plant wage = rm4000 (i'm under the impression that one can get more than 4000 USD or EUROs for this job outside M'sia) work hours = officially 8 to 5. but leaving at 5 is a rarity. get out from the field at 5-6, then spend time catching up with records and documentation. planning work, keeping tabs with spares, managing materials, etc2. there is on-call rotation, but given no extra $$. some are lucky during their on call period, some are not (i.e. peaceful/not peaceful weeks). then during shutdown, work hours can go as bad as 7 to 12am, for a month or two every day. the work can get physical at times. and dangerous when it comes to dealing with instruments at hazardous areas. flammable gases(H2 and various hydrocarbons), toxic gases(H2S, CO, mercury vapours), caustic, acid, working under the hot sun and sometimes during the rain, and climbing up high places.. expected to know pretty much everything. DCS, PLC, process controls, field instruments, safeguarding systems, turbomachinery, metering, and of course, process itself. dealing with technicians can be a bitch at times, more so with vendors. and higher management seems to reward those who parade around in events in front of them, instead of people who spend time in the field keeping the plant in tact. so next year i set out to do just that, let the plant trip or explode(a turbine did explode recently) for all i care.
Job = Catering Assistant Wage = £6.80 an hour Is it worth it = Relatively easy job, and seeming as I work 30 hours at the moment decent pay at 18. Only part time mainly though as I'm hoping to go to Uni to study Natural Hazard Management with Geography and see where that leads me. No idea what job I want in the future, got into uni previously to do Computer Games Development, and how tedious and boring it was put me right off it.
Job: Undergraduate 5yr Masters student (Computer & Electronic Systems Engineering) Pay: negative £lots per year Possible pay: The sky is the limit, if I follow through with what I think I want to do then about £50-70k per year. If I patent something insanely awesome (unlikely but possible) then could be millions. Who knows. Worth it: Come back in a few years and I'll know
Job Title: Assisstant Buyer - Gaming Pay: Enough to live on and save Is it worth it: Hell yes, I know no other industry where I can see the latest gaming stuff before anyone else - go to epic launch parties (Modern Warfare:2 - epic), not pay for any game/cd/dvd/blu-ray and choose what goes into stores and online. That and the booze, the never ending booze
Job: Web Developer Wage: Current: 40-50k/year, Max: 140k/year (USD) (I've actually got a friend who's making north of 300k in the porn industry doing programming..) Worth it: Very much so, love it.
Job: Installation & Erection Technician (Marquees) Wage: £5.50 and hour 70 hour weeks. Worth it: When it is sunny yes, but money could be better. Never going to have enough to get a house but life moves on.
Job: Company director, web developer, (wannabe) entrepreneur Wage: Hugely variable, based on my last couple of months, about £20k, but it's steadily rising (only been in business 2 years), Maximum wage: billions Worth it? Yes, even though I could be earning more, and more importantly having a guaranteed income by working for someone else, I love being my own boss.
