What was yer talent back in the workaday world?

Gary O'

Gary O'

SF VIP
Location
Oregon
Did you get paid for what you were good at?

Even if you landed into a position garnered from your college degree, was it what you were a natural at?

I kinda fell into a position of leadership for the last 30 years of preretirement
I sure didn’t campaign for it

Folks seemed to come to me and ask for my opinion
Top level management caught this
Bumped me upstairs

Heh, nothing really changed for me, except I had an office….with a door….that closed

Still, I never really told anyone what to do, but when they came to me with a problem, I’d simply ask what they’d do to fix it
…and wish them well
Funny how lotsa folks don’t really care to take the blame if something they tried on their own went south

If pressed, I’d tell them what I’d do, but never tell them to actually do it
And off they’d go
Seemed to work

The tricky part was the political/social realm

Many a folk would enter my open door, and close it
Then lay out their issue with a certain individual
Things would get uncomfortable for them when I’d suggest inviting the offending ogre into our little closed door meeting
Once word got out that I didn’t really cotton to dedicate my day to hearing someone bitch about their coworker,
my door hardly ever closed after that

I’d have been just as happy to remain a production slug,
but the salary and perks were nice, and my golf game improved most ever day the sun shone

So, guess my ‘talent’ was my laissez faire ability to keep things moving without much upheaval

Up to then, I guess it remained hidden
Funny how the words ‘talent’ and ‘latent’ consist of the same letters

Anyway, did you come to the table with yer talent, or discover it afterward?

….and what was it?
 

In short, I was a sociology major who worked in the field for 5 years while going to grad school at night in order to teach at a college level. Ended up dropping that (I'll spare the story), going to night school for years more to get a business degree, and ended up in IT (which, in the late 70's, was a new field called Data Processing). Found that beginning IT classes had a huge dropout rate --- coding just eluded most people. I didn't find it difficult as more than half my class dropped out. I found out later it was common for people with musical backgrounds, as I had, to understand computer languages because it is similar to looking at notes on a page and translating them to finger positions on an instrument (or something like that). It's also (somewhat) similar to working math problems such as multi-step algebraic problems. You learn the basic rules and apply them --- it's a linear process.
Anyway, found out in a roundabout way what I was good at. DW had a similar experience.
 

Having a mouth that would say "I can do that!" while my gut was screaming "How am I gonna do that?" All of my jobs, save the first one, involved an employer looking for someone to build some sort of program for them.

Employer: "We think we need a widget testing program. We don't currently have one. We need someone to create one for us."

Me: "OK. I can do that."

My gut: "Arrrrrgh!"

So I learn all there is to know about widget testing. Learn all I can from those who will use the program's outputs and those who will provide the program inputs. Establish general protocols. Set up, equip, and staff a widget testing facility. Establish operating procedures. Gather feedback and monitor performance, Continue to refine the system. Program is running smoothly. Get bored. Hear about another interesting opportunity . . .

Employer: "We think we need a government contract oversight program. We don't currently have one. We need someone to create one for us."

Me: "OK. I can do that."

My gut: "Arrrrrgh!"

Repeat. Repeat.

:crying:
 
I have a 2 year college associates degree,started volunteering at local hospital for 1yr and 1/2 until I was offered a job in pharmacy dept.I don't know if I hadn't had the degree if I would of landed the job
I had no idea what I was getting myself into but I stayed for 27 yrs,as a pharm tech working 3 days/wk
It certainly helped that I had a terrific senior tech,Evelyn,who worked in the narcotic room.She taught me everything I needed to know about the job.We worked side by side for 23 yrs,she was my 'surrogate mother'/mentor & friend.
I became a very organized person in every aspect of the job,there was a lot of paperwork to deal with too
Over the yrs,I rarely called in sick,sometimes I would get a phone call asking if I could come in on one of my days off,we were always 'short staffed'
My boss always thanked me doing this in because he knew how dependable I was
After Evelyn retired,I was truly lost for 4 yrs until I finally had enough,took early retirement in 2011 Sue
 
My wife, with her previous experience in finance, and a Bachelors Degree in Business/Accounting from a University, really never had a problem with a job or getting the salary she wanted. She didn't want to get her CPA, because of all the hours that a CPA sometimes has to work. When we moved here to Florida, because of her experience and Degree, she landed a job working in the Banking industry as a Senior Accountant. She had never worked in that industry before. After 5 years, she was laid-off, like some others, due to cutbacks. Then, again with no experience in the Insurance industry, she got a job, due to her experience and Degree. She is still with this insurance company, but will either get laid-off when the company relocates or quit if the relocation is too late in the year.
She had an AA Degree in Accounting, but was told she get a much better salary if she had a Bachelors, so she graduated, at age 49, with the Bachelors Degree.

As far as me, because of only high school education and a couple of semesters at a college, I was stuck working in the labor job of warehousing and stockroom. Salary wise: in 1982, Bell & Howell COM Division hired me as a stockroom clerk for $5.00 per hour. Back then, that was a good starting hourly wage. Then, went between $9 and $10 for hourly wage at a few jobs. My last job, in Colorado, as a Materials Coordinator, that I was definitely qualified for, I was getting around $14 an hour and was ecstatic to get that. No hard labor, as before and my own office/phone/computer......FINALLY! Done some Purchasing and Inventory Management...…...really, really liked my Director/Supervisor and my job. No weekend work and started at 7AM, before all of the 8AM traffic hit the freeway.
 
ClassicRockr said:
My last job, in Colorado, as a Materials Coordinator, that I was definitely qualified for, I was getting around $14 an hour and was ecstatic to get that. No hard labor, as before and my own office/phone/computer......FINALLY! Done some Purchasing and Inventory Management...…...
Click to expand...

We could have some excruciatingly boring confabs

I've held three day seminars on the subject
...even put myself to sleep
 
moviequeen1 said:
I became a very organized person in every aspect of the job,there was a lot of paperwork to deal with too
Over the yrs,I rarely called in sick,sometimes I would get a phone call asking if I could come in on one of my days off,we were always 'short staffed'
My boss always thanked me doing this in because he knew how dependable I was
After Evelyn retired,I was truly lost for 4 yrs until I finally had enough,took early retirement in 2011 Sue
Click to expand...

I've been trying to get hold of you

we're short staffed here in the editing dept
It'll just take up three or four of your weekends
...oh, and bring the donuts...the gooey ones
 
I started working with a two-year diploma and not a true college education. Today I would not qualify for any of the jobs that I held over the years due to a lack of education.

The lack of a formal education kept my wages down until I had gained a great deal of experience. I made more money in the last ten years that I worked than I did during the first twenty years. The upside was that by the time I started earing a good living I knew how to live on very little.

I was trained and worked in accounting, various consumer finance positions and information technology.

My biggest talents were keeping my mouth shut and being able to find simple solutions to complex problems.

My biggest advantage during my working life was my peers, I never broke a sweat.:):playful::eek:nthego:
1494379464353
 
I was a good sales person. I was good because I always knew the product I was selling, I discovered if clients totally uderstood what I had to sell they would buy it, my job was to explain why they needed it and I never did a sales presentation to anyone who was not a qualified buyer. (needed it and could afford it) People do not like the so called high pressure approach. My supervisor told me, ''nothing happens untill someone seling something.'' OFF SUBJECT, But my real desire was to be a doctor...maybe in my next life, I have read that you are re-incarnated on earth untill you get the true meaning of life right, but that is a whole new subject. Gary O', sounds like you got it right, especially the golf game...:thumbsup1:QUOTE=Gary O';993726]Did you get paid for what you were good at?

Even if you landed into a position garnered from your college degree, was it what you were a natural at?

I kinda fell into a position of leadership for the last 30 years of preretirement
I sure didn’t campaign for it

Folks seemed to come to me and ask for my opinion
Top level management caught this
Bumped me upstairs

Heh, nothing really changed for me, except I had an office….with a door….that closed

Still, I never really told anyone what to do, but when they came to me with a problem, I’d simply ask what they’d do to fix it
…and wish them well
Funny how lotsa folks don’t really care to take the blame if something they tried on their own went south

If pressed, I’d tell them what I’d do, but never tell them to actually do it
And off they’d go
Seemed to work

The tricky part was the political/social realm

Many a folk would enter my open door, and close it
Then lay out their issue with a certain individual
Things would get uncomfortable for them when I’d suggest inviting the offending ogre into our little closed door meeting
Once word got out that I didn’t really cotton to dedicate my day to hearing someone bitch about their coworker,
my door hardly ever closed after that

I’d have been just as happy to remain a production slug,
but the salary and perks were nice, and my golf game improved most ever day the sun shone

So, guess my ‘talent’ was my laissez faire ability to keep things moving without much upheaval

Up to then, I guess it remained hidden
Funny how the words ‘talent’ and ‘latent’ consist of the same letters

Anyway, did you come to the table with yer talent, or discover it afterward?

….and what was it?[/QUOTE]
 
I always wanted to be a nurse. I went to nursing school and became a practical nurse. Found a good job and had no desire to move up and become an RN. I was as good as any I suppose. After we were married I had an opportunity to work with flower arranging. This I was really good at and I grew and sold my own dried flower arrangements, moved on to making wedding cakes which was very profitable. Looking back it seems I had some artistic talent which I found more satisfying than nursing and many people liked my work.
 

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