ATTN: People With RL Jobs...

I'm a digital compositor for a visual effects studio.

I'm a receptionist/secretary/clerk but I don't type (ruins my nails), file (booring), take dictation (not good with one way conversations), or make coffee (go to starbucks buddy).

I do however, answer the phone occasionally but only if I'm not already engaged in conversation with my bf or friends, and sigh and roll my eyes really good when asked to do anything when I'm busy reading magazines.

P.S: Because I like SL, I am considering submitting my resume to LL soon. If I am hired, I promise to be at my desk by 10:30ish am latest, and ready for work most of the time.

I am disabled, and unemployed. I whine here about griefers, but I pretty much don't even go in to SL anymore except to load the updates just in case I feel the need to inflict pain upon my psyche. Why?

I'm a Lead Systems Engineer for a national Catholic healthcare organization, that's been outsourced to Satan. (aka CSC).

If its a software product made by Novell, I support it.

I like Novell.

Former Lead Pressman/Color Mixer/Flexographic Plate Mounter-Proofer for a small printing firm. Currently unemployed/disabled due to a nasty fight with a two story press. It won the fight by unanimous decision. The prize? My right thumb completely degloved to bone, presently between surgeries and having various metal bits implanted. Index finger nearly removed, also in a state of disrepair. Other three fingers broken, but now healed.

Thank goodness I can use a mouse left handed, and can type alright one handed!

Well, me, it's a long story...
I started out wanting to see the world...
By age 2, I thought I had seen it all...
Then along came kindergarden and my world was turned upside down...
Thankfully, I righted myself by college...
....
...
..
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Ah an RL job, yes I have one...
I too work in Tech Support, for a local Government IT Department...
Security and the fire brick thingy comes to mind and hey, Security and Second Life start with the same letter, right...
Sure, ok, boss, I promise less on the medication next time...
But really, the medication helps thru the downtimes, so I just relax until they go away...

--Trevor

p.s. I have to admit, the "update" outages rarely bother me, since I am working during those hours, so it's not fair for me to comment on those outages, but the rest are doable for me (tech support gives a whole different perspective on downtime and customers)

Systems Engineer for a VOIP vendor. But I am starting to make some money from SL.

Trying to stay ahead of a heap of young adult students currently attacking suse 10.0 linux boxes. Sick of the statement, "This is not as good as windows". Dreaming up linux bash exercises for my students to do that I can find answers to (the students won't). Promoting the advantages of ATM against HDLC, with some SQL and web design thrown in.

Getting stimulated by reading fiery forum posts and wondering why the university's fire wall stops UDP packets so I cannot play SL at work, maybe just as well!

Basically having fun.

Ed

im in a band. most you will know the name 2! AHAHA BUT IM NOT TELLING!

metal band

Dee Snider?!

I'm the office monkey for an investment firm. I'm responsible for all of the client contact and paperwork for each investment, but I receive absolutely none of the commission, wooo! At least I get to lurk around the net most of the day. If my work computer had more than 256ram and a 32mb video card, I'd be lurking in SL, too.

I am a gynaecologist.

I would be an idiot to play SL at work, i get the real thing all day while all you losers can drool on eachothers prim genitals

Senior Software Engineer for a large blue multinational computer corporation. I also have a home biz doing website dev and DB consulting for a certain notoriously difficult-to-work-with niche market.

Jess

Full time student (Physics). I'm living mainly on money made from a business a few years ago, but am also involved in a fairly new venture with several others. Not sure how involved I want to be at this point, as I really would like to go forward with Physics after my degree.

That sounds like fun!

Physics is fascinating stuff; I got an undergrad degree in it almost twenty years ago, and I rather miss the perspective.

Every once in a while I look at recent research, and so forth - some of the projects are fascinating.

Things that killed it for me were incredible opportunities to go slacking around in other parts of the world doing other things, and incredibly low pay as a grad student / post doc, while immersed in a petty academic atmosphere.

Even so, what an interesting, esoteric life it would have been.

My background is also scientific: Chemistry for my first degree, and then did a Masters in Org Chem. After graduating, I worked in research with a major pharmaceutical co. for a couple of years, but soon got a little bored of what increasingly felt like glorified cooking (with exotic ingredients) . Since then, all my jobs and ventures have been business/ marketing/ management related. I realised a couple of years, that I really need to get back to my science, and so here I am with Physics. I'm hoping to go forward with it in the cosomology/astrophys areas.

The things you mentioned that killed it for you, I very much recognise, are still a concern for me. But I think they're not as big a hurdle as they were when I graduated the first time. I wouldn't be able to follow a regular academic career anyway, even at 33 I am too old. I'm not even sure I would like to, I just know I want to take it further, and keep on learning.

Computer Lab Assistant in a high school, 2 labs and assist with a 3rd. Basically, babysitting teens in a lab setting, updating the machines, technically supporting PSP for the graphic arts class. Oh! And decoding the memos sent out by the Sys Admins for the teachers

I love working with the teens. If the District ever tried to transfer me to one of the elementary schools, or the middle school, I do believe I'd quit. Just don't have the patience for the little ones anymore

I've got a Ph.D. in astrophysics. My thesis was on galaxy formation and the equilibriation of unstable dark matter haloes. Spent some time as a postdoctoral researcher before I switched to mathematical finance. Desmond is right -- even as a junior faculty member the pay is pretty low. Plus, the politics is *unbelievable*. Everybody tends to think their little subdomain is the only research area worth anything. The cosmology guys look down on the stellar/planetary guys as being "small scale", while the stellar guys think the models the cosmology guys come up with are full of shit. There's the politics involved with research grants, publications, observing time, etc. If you're keen to go into research, them more power to you, but hopefully you don't think science as a profession is all about the noble goal of the pursuit of knowledge...

By the time you finish a degree in physics, you should have exceptionally good problem solving skills that will hold you in good stead regardless of where the road takes you.

I've already worked in research in drug R & D, so I understand what it can be like, though I appreciate that working for a company can be very different to working in an educational or governmental institution. However, I do think you see a lot of what you have described in any place of work, it just manifests itself in different ways.

I don't see it as a career move, it's more of an 'interest' move. I'll probably want to do a degree in another area after LOL. Were you able to ignore some of the negative stuff that comes with academic research and at least enjoy your PhD? btw, subject of your thesis is very much in the direction of my area of interests *green eyes*

Dudes!

*hi-fives all round*

High energy particle physics emphasis here.

After you've been part of a great university - lesser schools just blow. Transferred to a lesser school to get a quickie masters, then after a year of it - just walked out. As in - just walked away.

Within a months, I found myself in the jungles of Central America, then the Atacama desert, the Andes, Tarawa atoll, New Guinea. Amongst a number of other places. I was baked, lost, frozen, shot at, and held by authorities in three countries. It was, as they say, "freakin' awesome."

Ricky, we may know some of the same people in high energy astrophysics. Virginia Trimble offered to take me to a bar for some drinks once - I was, *ahem* - nineteen Doc Joe Weber of the Manhattan project taught me nuclear physics.

Hiro, I used to work for a leading radiochemist, and the whole lab would go bodysurfing now and then, profs included. If I told you who I worked for, it would blow your mind. Hint: he got a Nobel Prize in the '90's.

Anyway. You guys ever wanna hear some wild stories, look me up when I get back from China in a few weeks.

Nothing exciting here. Just another web monkey that gets crap asignments like, "Create this report that I'll never look at."

Damn! I always miss out on all the fun!

hmmm....nope