What does everyone do?

[Mike6158]

What do you do for a living? That question always has interesting answers. <p>Me? I work for a very large energy company. I work on the natural gas gathering and processing side. I manage a small group of control system programmers. Manage is a loose term. Our preference for control system hardware and HMI software is a Siemens TI555 and Wonderware. All 3 of us are fluent in both PLC programming and Wonderware though one of the team is a "Wondergod" while the other two of us are "Wondercherubs" The list of PLC's that we program is fairly long. Siemens S5, LOGO, S7-200, S7-300, S7-400 (including the FH system), 505 series, IDEC, Direct Logic, GE, Modicon, Allen-Bradley PLC5 and SLC (little bit with the new Contrologix line), Fisher ROC, Square D... I don't know... there's probably more but I can't think of them. Each mfg has operator interface panels and we program them as well. We also program DCS systems. Foxboro IA and Rosemount Delta V. Personally I like the S7. Nobody else in the group likes it. I don't like it's ethernet backbone and I hate the way that it interfaces to Wonderware but for brute programming force it's a hoss. I'm in the process of writing a PID block in SCL (the Siemens block SUCKS). There really isn't much you can't do with the S7.<p>I've been interested in electronics for as long as I can remember. I'm finally taking the time to seriously learn "what makes things tick" and I'm enjoying every minute of it. Micro's really have my attention right now. So does Robotics. I have a small Robot in the construction phase at the moment. The circuit boards are etched. My PC board drills showed up earlier this week as did the rest of the components that I need to get the electronics out of the way. It won't be long and my little six legged robot will be working or smoking I hope working...<p>46, father of 4, single, I like long walks on the beach... No wait... that's another forum

[Chris Smith]

As little as possible!

[dyarker]

Retired USAF Master Sergeant, short name for job was crypto maintenance.<p>A couple years as sys admin at an ISP.<p>Now Telephone Switch Lead Tech for contractor at USAF location in Izmir Turkey.<p>In junior high and high school I always saved enough allowance and/or after school job money to buy Radio-Electronics magazine every month. Two year college in Electronics Technology before enlisting.<p>Put together an Altair 8800 kit in '75. Had to learn some programming then to make it do something. Have had at least one computer in the house ever since. DOS 2.x to 6.x, Windows 3, 95, 98SE, XP and Linux. Son's computer had ME, but dumped ME as soon as XP Home came out.<p>Almost 54, married, two boys, 13 and 6.

[jollyrgr]

I'm a non standard Network Administrator for a major health care provider. I get all of the unusual type projects from card access systems, interfacing the environmental controls to web pages, power management of the data center and so on. That is in addition to standard day to day tasks such as account management (Read: Reset forgotten passwords or locked-out accounts), and numerous software updates. I also install network switches, servers, wireless access points. I'm also the guy that monitors the UPS units in the network wiring closets. (There are about 40 rack mount units and probably a dozen more stand alone devices that I replace the batteries in.)<p>When PC techs are extremely busy I will help them install or fix user PCs. Once every six weeks I get the ON CALL week where if anything major breaks down during off hours, I get to fix it. <p>I also work to create new ways of using computers to simplify jobs. For instance I helped create a attendance taking system. Up until last August any mandatory training sessions were logged manually on paper as proof of attendance. The data was then copied from paper into a database. It took one secretary about eight weeks of "in between" time to copy this data into the database. My system cost a whopping $70 for two card swipe readers and now it takes the secretary about 30 seconds to transfer a data file off a laptop to the database.

[myp71]

Hmm...well I'm a Mobile electronic product specialist at a major retail store..Thats kinda short compare to the others LOL <p>Ryan

[Enzo]

I own and operate a small independent pro audio repair and maintenance facility. I fix anything that goes into putting on a show. Mostly guitar amplifiers - plenty of vacuum tubes for you retro guys - and related stuff, PA systems, lighting control systems, that kind of thing. Also been in coin op amusements for 30 years - pinball, jukebox, video arcade games. Mostly service video displays and switching power supplies for that any more, my logic board days are fading.<p>Looking for a teaching gig, but electronics programs are getting more and more scarce. It is all computer and networking these days.<p>I have never found anything interesting about computers, believe it or not. I have had a computer on my desk since the TRS80-3, but as to what goes on inside, I never cared. I understand what goes on, but if I have to take the screws out, I consider it a hassle. Hey, I'm a dinosaur. I know plenty of guys who can amuse themselves for weeks swapping sound cards and other stuff, but I can't get into it somehow.<p>But I can make an amplifier sing.<p>Troubleshooting is my forte.

[gerty]

Like Enzo trouble shooting is mostly what I do. I work in what used to be the largest air conditioning plant in the world , but we're closing down next july, been there 26 years. My job is in facility maintenance as a electronics tech, mostly I install network hubs ,fiber optic,repair boards for the machine techs.I take care of all the building systems p.a., bar code time clocks, fire alarm, access control,lock smithing ,etc..
The building is 30 acres under roof and they are constantly moving assembly lines and departments around.In 1986 we purchased 5 Coherent General Super 48+ lasers (1,000 watt) for metal cutting, I was one of the two techs to keep them running.<p>I'm a transplant from 'Yankee Land' arriving here
nearly 27 years ago. Went to trade school instead of high school back in the 60's and was a licensed electrician 'up there'. back in the 80's I went to tech school here in TN (state run)and entered the electronics world. Because of our location it takes an ambulance approx 20 minutes to get here, so the company paid for me to go to EMT school to help taking care of the injured/sick. Which in turn lead me to joining the county Rescue Squad about 10 years ago. I maintain all the electricial equipment for them lights ,sirens ,two way radios. The Rescue Squad lead me to working on electronic equipment for the Sheriffs Dept,old army surplus 1st Generation night vision, and electronic survelance equip.
Now i'm 53 and wished I'd lived here all my life, married 32 years with two boys 28 and 30.
In other words, just another old fart....

[terri]

Me clerk. <p>Me hunch over, enter large numbers of numbers. <p>Then me move numbers around. <p>Me see what happens when large numbers of numbers move around. <p>Me tell boss. <p>Boss tell me move more numbers in different way. <p>Me move numbers some more. <p>Tell boss.<p>Boss tell me move mumbers again.<p>Me move numbers again, go home.<p>Me eat, write stuff on NutsVolts forum, sleep.<p>Me wake up brush teeth comb hair go number moving place.<p>Me hunch over, enter more numbers, tell boss.

[dr_when]

Hi,<p>I have been a project engineer for a largish American company for 12 years and involved in the electronics & software industry for close to 30.<p>I had one of the first Trash-80's and probably have owned every type of PC at one time or another. TRS-80's, CoCo's, Sinclairs, Commodores from VIC20 to Amiga's, Atari's, Kaypro's, etc, etc. Worked with OS's like OS-9, CPM, DEC RSX11, DOS, etc.<p>I learned assembly language on the Z80's and have written machine code for 8080's, 6502's, 6805's, 8048's, 8051's, 64180's, DECs, PICS, Atmel u's, etc.<p>I learned programming languages like Fortran, COBOL, BASIC, Logo, Pascal, Python, FORTH, and even ugly PLC ladder logic through the years. I now do everything in C and C++, and yes, still assembly and I don't consider drag-and-drop Visual BASIC, etc as programming. Embedded stuff is the most fun.<p>My day to day job is designing embedded systems for portable printers and then writing the code to run on them. I am an incurable electronics & software hobbyist and dabble in just about everything from electronic music to circuit board fabrication (using a Sherline Mill with CNC software) to mechanically etch prototype boards. I got tired of the mess of etching chemicals long ago. I also do computerized silkscreening of tee-shirts, computerized embroidering of clothing, CNC woodworking, Home automation, and on and on. I just wish there were 48 hours in a day!!!!<p>Bob

[Mike6158]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>and even ugly PLC ladder logic through the years<hr></blockquote><p>UGLY! ROTFLMAO... Compared to "real" languages your probably right. One man's art is another man's garbage. Ladder is pretty handy for simple discrete stuff... The newer software makes it pretty easy and it even has pretty colors now I wish that we had PCMCIA card jacks in our heads (or a Matrix setup). I would talk you into downloading your ASM skills to one and send it to me. Assembly rocks but I don't have any skill with it.<p>Interesting thread so far...

[MicroRem]

Well I kicked around the US Coast guard for a while, mostly in the Search and rescue/Law Enforcement side, then communications and operations management, then retired as a Warrant Officer. I now work in the security screening equipment fieled, for a small pacific Northwest company. Yes, it's raining now... I maintain, troubleshoot, repair and install things like X-ray, metal detectors, and related equipment for cuise ships, couthouses jails etc. Not much airport work left for an independant shop after Boeing and Siemens saw regular folks making money and couldn't stand the thought of that, and sewed up virtually all the work in the nation. ahhh progress... anyway I also dabble in RC aircraft and such... neat topic, though, cool to see who does what.<p>regards<p>Tom

[joey7f]

I am a 4th year EE student. When I have worked in the summer, it has been in a testing environment for network and software projects.<p>I am just now finding EE really interesting, before it was just mostly interesting, because I am able to do stuff with it. Solving problems is okay, but give me a chance to build a clock or something any day <p>I am surprised how few people here are EEs! I would have thought it would be the majority.<p>--Joey

[Externet]

Hi fellows.
My job is nightmareshooting.
Working at [url=http://www.orban.com,]www.orban.com,[/url] an electronics manufacturing company for over a dozen years, testing, servicing and repairing audio DSP processors for broadcasting and audio editors; printed circuit assemblies that come out of the oven and do not work when energized first time. Hundreds of odd causes for failure to sort.<p>Hobbies- electronics since 1966,
modifying sixties Cadillacs.
Passion- hovercrafts.
Past tense, when belly was not there- scuba.
Adversion- computers
Dream- one: the lottery.<p>Miguel

[bridgen]

This is a copy of my Micro CV (resumé) which is on my web site. <p>
Micro cv<p>Junior draughtsman. College for "ticket" for next item. Couple of years Merchant Navy as Radio Officer. Year in the Falklands. 14 months Antarctica . Another year Falklands. 4 months in UK. 2 more years Falklands during which married and 1st son born. 18 months at sea, RMS "Darwin". Some months in East Anglia during which 2nd son born. 15 months Mauritius during which buried 2nd son, daughter born. UK. A year in Iran, 3rd son born. UK. Then 22 years with Racal - incessant travelling, over 50 countries in first 11 years. Resident in Ecuador for 2 years, Technical Assessor with their army, then a further 2 years there during which divorced and re-married. 4 years resident Technical Manager in Chile. Well into my residency we acquired another contract. The Chilean Government's first draft of the contract document included a clause to the effect that "Racal Radio Ltd agrees to keep David Michael Bridgen in Chile as Technical Manager". Quite an accolade, and some indication of the confidence and trust which I had engendered in them. Couple of years in development lab in UK. Made Redundant (fired, along with another 999 people.) BASTARDS. Now reduced to bench technician, a.k.a. technical labourer. I retire in November 2004, but I don't think I'm finished yet.

[jwax]

50 yrs ago, I built my first crystal radio set, strung the antenna, nailed a wire in the ground, heard a broadcast station, and the rest is history. Ham radio at 10, technical HS, BSEE program for 3 yrs., (drop out) USAF 4 yrs playing aircraft radio tech, Vietnam, been in electronics manufacturing since. Process engineer (self-declared) in microwaves got me into laser welding, thin film deposition, chemistry, optics, high vacuum chambers, wirebonding, etc. Microelectronics mfg. was a skill then, now it's built offshore.
Moving from western NY to eastern NY next month to a start-up company building thin film solar cells! You bet I'm excited!
Separated, with two gorgeous daughters, 16 & 22.
At 58, retirement is not an option. If I can't play, just plant me!
John