Could you still do the job you did for most of your employed life

Capt Lightning said:
I spent most of my time developing software for commercial applications. I might still be able to do that, but it involved a lot of travelling and being away from home. I wouldn't want that again.
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...ah now there's a thing...technology moves so fast.. do you really think that if you were called upon to go in and do the same job tomorrow morning as you were doing, but with the passage of time.. that you could do it ?
 

Could you still do the job you did for most of your employed life?​


Hmmm, I don't know, Holly, there's not much call for dynasaur hunters now, and they've probably got robots to do the job now anyway.... but, but, but, I'd take a 100 hour a week job as an ice cream taster. 😊
 
Not where I left off 7 years ago because it was too technically complex. But over decades had been in that position many times so know to come up to speed would be a matter of breaking out technical books and revisiting those areas of my mind again as I still have brain neural plasticity connections, though diminished as they are.

That noted, it would be much more difficult to revive mental knowledge of technology I had learned and used say 30 years ago like some complex UNIX computer word processing commands as all memory connections gradually degenerate with time until only those associated with strong amygdala emotions remain. Worse would be trying to deal again with a chemistry science textbook I once studied but never put into practical daily use.

However, my key mental skill is complex troubleshooting that I regularly still engage in especially writing then correcting HTML code or say using Excel and Photoshop, that can be applied to any subject or issues in life.

Another problem would be my work attitude to grind away at difficult tasks few others at any age are ever good at that requires mental drive, is probably gone forever as I've aged into my final life years where every day I wake up is now Saturday, a very addicting pleasant relaxed reality.
 
I worked as a machinist, then moved into design and development and eventually part owner of a business. I loved being a machinist, it was stimulating intellectually and physically and I thrived in that kind of work.

To answer the question. Yes, I could walk into a shop today and not only do the job but out perform 95% of the other employees. (I would have said I could out perform 99% but I've slowed down a bit with age)
 
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I was one of the 'Night/Day Agents' for an aerospace firm, 35 years, My job was to answer phones/trouble shoot tech problems & maintain a rather large server farm. 24/7 for 21,000 employees. As long as I got enough sleep during the day, it was me or one of the other 3 & the security guards from 5 PM to 5 AM or 5 AM to 5 PM. 84 hours/2 weeks. It became boring & my health suffered.

Probably not, tech changes daily! Darn hard to keep up!
 
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hollydolly said:
No-one willing to say what they did for a living then ? :D
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People are showing they are willing to. (Also, I'll mention we have a thread on that very topic, with many, many responses. It's here: What jobs have you been employed at? )

Anyhow, I was employed the longest as a freelance writer (journalist, mostly) and editor. But for the fact I've lost my connections in the field, I could still do the work. And enjoy it.

But after, I was employed for seven years as the manager of a regional business association, related to value-added forest products. The job paid extremely well, and was interesting, and directly helpful to many independent businesses. It was also a challenging job because it involved a lot of driving throughout a fairly large geography, but mostly because Ithe job put me in a squeeze amongst modest-scale business, large-scale industry, and government. Work spilled over into weekends, and most years I couldn't take a vacation.
 

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