'Occupation/Behind the Mask' Thread :)

[cyutaeha]

So I'm curious, with all the bright, beautiful, witty and, seemingly, intelligent people lurking around the forum. Curious as to what they do for a living; what brings the money in/what will eventually bring the money in/what does everyone typically do day to day?

This is the job/occupation/career/I actually still live in my parents basement/school/blah/what I do in my free time thread.

I'll start with me:

I"m a student at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA learning Korean. I am in week 57/63 of the Korean course and am nearing graduation. I study nothing but Korean 7 hours during the day and 3 hours average for homework at night. I should study on weekends too, but for the past month they have been taken up with Midibox.  ;D

[levon]

Up untill recently i worked at an Advertising agency as an editor making TV commercials, and DVD's etc.now im working at a media delivery company, delivering TV commercials to the TV stations via Satellite. and starting out as a freelance editor on the side. besides that i play guitar in a improv/experimental band, and starting a new band playing drums.

i enjoy walks on the beach, quite nights infront of the fire and..... oh wait, this isnt speed dating lol

[cyutaeha]

I thought this was a cool idea.

Shows how uncool my ideas are. :P

[Jidis]

Shows how uncool my ideas are. :P

No, just gives an idea of how many of us are actually proud of what we do to make money. ;D

[nILS]

...or it shows how many of us actually make money ;)

[Kartoshka]

our recent work for student union at my university  ;D

making money (almost) at home  ;)

[/tilted/]

I run lighting in a small-ish theatre in Melbourne. It has 376 seats. I counted them.

The George Fairfax Studio

It is the smallest production theatre in the Arts Centre building.

Which looks like this.

Edit: the short version of the essay...

I've been in to electronics "forever". I've been in to music nearly as long. I started tinkering at about age 7 with those springy elctronics prototype kits. Taught myself to solder around age 9 and have been building electronics gadgets ever since. Music has always been a part of my life. I remember listening to LPs with my dad as a yougster, many of which I have now pinched from him, or bought second-hand. I took up guitar age 9 ish (I still suck), piano age 10-11 (which I suck a fair bit at), and drums age 13 (which I suck the least at). I've been in a heap of bands (up to 5 at a time), but am currently in none. I am working on a malletKat clone, and contemplating a modular... Musically i really love Zappa, and anything experimental, though I draw the line somewhere before Stockhausen.

[cimo]

I worked for 5 months a year in the last 4 years (before i was a global globetrotter and before that a citizen of a boring town near Venezia, Italy) as ecologic, bio-dynamic carpenter in Denmark, we build funny and experimental projects mainly in eco-communities, maybe i ll find the time to show you some of my works.(yes it s hard work but it s fun, sometime)

The rest of the year i live in Tenerife that is a small vulcanic island, Spanish colony, in the Atlantic ocean, near Morocco.Here i mainly do nothing  ;D but i fill up my free time with some dj sets in the local clubs (lately in the mainland as well), giving some lessons to DJs who want to learn how to use their laptop for djing, designing some web sites, but mainly i exercise the ancient job of being a lovely father.

You are all welcome to come and visit

Simone 

[Narwhal]

Ok I'll bite.  I'm pretty proud of what I do for a living.

I've been a video game programmer since 1995.  I'm currently working on "Silent Hill 5: Homecoming" for the XBox360 and PS3.  The first commercial games I worked on were MechWarrior 2: NetMech and Interstate '76 for the PC.

Here's my profile on Moby Games.

[Wilba]

I admit it, I'm also curious about what other people do...

I've been a software engineer since 1994, working at several companies, initially on UNIX platforms in the airspace simulation/management domain, and then switched to Windows C++ application development around 1997, working mostly in print publishing software (the apps they use to create newspapers), then developing software for the biotech industry (the apps they use to test potential drugs by measuring the change in current flow across a cell membrane when you hit it with compounds). My current job is lead software engineer of a software house whose flagship product survOPT optimises marine seismic surveys by clever use of genetic search algorithms, which is used by big oil companies and the contractors they hire to work out where to drive a massive survey vessel that's towing 12km of seismic sensors behind it and costs $100,000+ a day to run.

The rest of my time is spent with a wife, two kids, and a MIDIbox addiction  ;D

[Echopraxia]

Damn Wilba. I wish I could program. I just setup audio and video equipment for hotels. Its a piece of cake compared to midibox. And Narwhal big props man! Interstate '76 kicked freakin major ass. Have you had a hand in the other silent hill games past? Now I must get PS3 you bastard  ;) I thought I could live without it and just get 360 but....

[sineSurfer]

On my case I work as a Actionscript programmer, and graphics designer for a small agency doing Flash based websites and online games for big international brands here in Mexico, and freelances on the same field for US and AU clients  ;D, before this... 10 years as a musician... i'll return to that sometime ;D

btw. I bet almost everyone will have a work related to electronics or computers.

[cyutaeha]

I bet almost everyone will have a work related to electronics or computers.

almost everyone  ;)

Being a Korean linguist and then learning about electronics and computer programming for music's sake on the side completely tear my world apart.

[Sasha]

I was interested myself who are people behind those strange nicknames. Not really what they do for living, mostly what they do in their life. Some I managed to know over a past time. I met 4 local boxers in real and they are all pretty cool. Often we organize and get some parts together, or give a tip where to get something or such.

I`m doing system administration and tech support (mobile ordering over GPRS using pocket PCs). Administration part is OK, but tech support and dealing to people is not fun at all. Sellers hardly use the computers so it could be tough. Beside work, I mostly doing something related to electronics, woods and all kinds of handcrafting. Used to make music, but since I came to this forum and managed to get my first MB going, I just have no free time for it as I`m always running few projects that takes all my free time. I feel bad, because we are all here because we enjoy making or playing music and secondly making things. It is kinda absurd. I am waiting to make myself few pieces of gear that will allowed me to make music away from PC. There are alot of work to be done but I`m afraid when I finish it there will always be some cool project I cannot resist, and same time I`m afraid I`ll never get back to music. :( This is not really complaining, I enjoy and having fun what I am doing but I think playing with gear makes even more fun. Some time I reserve for my beloved girlfriend. She deserves more time but... it is TK` s fault.  ::) Day is too short for all I`d like to do. If it last at least 30 hours it would be great. :)

Not directly job related answer, but job is not everything. Especially when you earn just enough to pay the bills.

[Goblinz]

Looking up at the other posts I feel a little under-qualified! Time for a bit of an essay on me.

Personally my official job titles is Statistical programmer/Applications Administrator. Although I was just given this job title as I needed to have a department to work under.. The stats dept. I spent a little while learning SAS (stats anaysis language/package) before taking on lots more work on the AA side of things, so I am now stats free. I work with clinical data and do a veriety of stuff under the AA badge : Fixing computers, User admin, validation, database admin, data amendments, writing operating procedure guides... all to government standdards/regulations which can be difficult at time. I do pretty much anything that gets thrown at me which gives a veriety and if there's something new that I want to try then that's not a problem. There's also the satisfaction of de-activating users at the end of the day... I don't know why it amuses me so much  :)

I feel quite lucky to have this job. I haven't got any qualifications beyond GCSE. I did a 2 year GNVQ advanced engineering course, but that got canned after about 18months so all I ended up with after that was a low level city in guilds in autocad. I spent a long time at the company where I work doing menial lab work and then got a real break when they took me on doing IT stuff... It was good to find somewhere that would take me on without experience,, and now it looks like they'll fund me for university too  :D. Personally I feel old now, been with the same company for 9 years and i'm only 25!.

I live on my parents farm in a very green part of the UK. I've been intersted in electronics from a young age, starting off with those 50in1 electronic kits. When I was young my dad used to bring home electronics stuff that had been chucked out.. Photocopiers, phone exchanges for me and my brother to take to pieces (wich i'd kept hold of some of the bits!). I'm quite unusual in that I work full time and also party alot. I go to anywhere between 5-7 festivals a year, which is my real true love and have clocked up 38 in total since I was 18. I'm a very active member on the efestivals forum. The rest of my spare time I spend mainly at raves of the psy-trance veriety or at goth/EBM clubs.

I got in to Midibox last year when I saw the Wilba-beast on Hackaday and even though i' only messed about with making music on my pc decided that I wanted to build one. This has kind of taken hold a bit now. I've got the MB6582 on the way, getting parts for 2 x0xb0xs to build, thinking of a MBFM and MBSEQ aswell as wanting to build a vocoder at some point.... I've come to the realisation that I'm going to end up with a full studio at the end of this.

                  G

[Artesia]

Is a sound engineer & music technologist who seems to get roped into doing everything from providing pa, engineering peoples tracks, working on the music, working on the sounds ..tweaking everything. making the teas, & building folks websites and so on...

Has been very busy developing a number of 'secret' ;) projects with the formation of a proper audio business between me and some friends on the virge of coming together this year.. rather than just me freelancing everywhere.

Which is why iv'e not been here much lately & dropped afew things i was musing at the time..

Have spent the last 10 years researching and developing PA speakers, due to a dislike of whats commercially available & we now feel we've got it nailed. Also very fortunately have some good contacts and connections in the industrial audio manufacturing sector who are more than willing to help us setup properly..

...even if we dont sell alot to other people ..we will sure as hell be hiring and using this kit ourselfs ;) ...also is in the middle of researching & making some beautiful noise making equipment which has a big fat analog heart.. and should in the not too distant future be available :)

heres something visually more interesting mind:

http://www.tenfivedesign.co.uk/

thats my younger bros graphic design business.. & a site we threw together in a weekend for it :)

[stryd_one]

Very nice drawing :) Does it have meaning or is it just pretty?

[Artesia]

its more or less a quick showcase of some of their skills i guess ..didnt ask of its significance if any... its just the 'splash screen' for the linked site above...

btw cant remember if i pasted it before..

though heres one of our earlier & smaller subwoofers... scuse the less than glossy brochure shots ;)

[Kartoshka]

my younger bros graphic design business.. :)

gosh.. i see typefacing attitude!  :o

[cyutaeha]

heres something visually more interesting mind:

http://www.tenfivedesign.co.uk/

This was at an exhibition?

And the top-right corner of http://www.tenfivedesign.co.uk/gallery_06_Objects/Gallery_01_plain.html#nogo

was it intended for the mushroom to make a frowny face in the reflection of his cap?

Either way, awesome stuff!

[DrBunsen]

I do ... not a lot.

Serious answer:  I studied music (BA Contemporary Music) at university majoring in voice.  Then I discovered raves  ???  :o I moved (back) to Melbourne and got involved in electronic music, working with Clan Analogue for ten years or so, doing everything from poster runs to rigging to stage management to publicity to live mixing to VJing, as well as performing with a couple of bands and DJing.  Band names:  WD-40:  dub influenced industrial electro.  Nerfcore:  live improv deep house and ambient.  Nerfcore is still current, at least in theory.

Professionally:  Before university I was basically a hippy with no interest in a career whatsoever.  Then around the time I was studying I contracted a tropical virus which has plagued my health since.  Throw in a life-long struggle with depression (now being successfully treated) and I haven't exactly been rocketing up the career ladder.  I live on a small government pension and recently left a shitty kitchen job I was in for three years.  I'm  currently looking at retraining and/or small business options for my future.  Vaguely.

Mainly I'm interested in electronic design and microcontroller programming although I know next to squat.  I manage a large residential artist's studio in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, living with a varied bunch of freaks and weirdos in a 2,500sq ft warehouse.  I'm itching to get back to some singing, just simple one accompanist and straight up jazz, folk, country, pop standards.  That and/or some acting (I also studied theatre, small business management, light and sound production, community radio and permaculture, as well as some renewable energy and electronics)

Blah blah youth leadership, orchestral choirs, transcendental shamanism, event management, metal work and carpentry, film extra (I was a singing cop in Amy), comedy writing, and probably half a dozen other things in between that I've forgotten now.

[yatagarasu]

Nice topic!

Professionally: I'm a C# programmer with the software firm Valtech. We develop in brief, tight cycles to deliver apps that can constantly change based on client needs/specs. We're developing a student loan management application right now. I hope it makes life a little easier for struggling students.

Otherly: I'm constantly busy making and playing music as

Yatagarasu: Spazz-out Hardcore, grind, noisecore with midiNES and MBSId V1

Hexcrusher: Educational Chiptunes

Bishonen: Hyper J-pop breakcore noise mashups

Shutting Up: Damaged 3-piece prog

and more.

Also I setup shows in Hunstville and Houston Texas with the art collective called HYPERACE.

I write, code and GRIND for the UK's best noise label: LOFI OR DIE 

[Echopraxia]

Chronic echopraxiation

Nice one.

I think with all this damn talent around here we should join forces to become super power of sorts. Create some kind of music label and with all of the programmers,artists and DIYers this can be piece of cake. I mean we have already heard of many differnt talents that all contribute to something greater and we should really explore that some more.

Any thoughts ???

[cyutaeha]

Woah...music label sounds like a cool idea.

There's a legal and financial side to that, but I'm sure someone here could have some info/insight into that area?

I mean we have already heard of many differnt talents that all contribute to something greater and we should really explore that some more.

You are totally right.

keyword: explore

...pretty exciting idea.

[ultra]

some if you guys have some very interesting careers.  congrats and i hope you're enjoying yourselves. :)

i work for a company that contracts with cable companies to install cable, internet, and telephone service (basically i'm a cable guy).  i've also done work in networking, wifi installations, and satellite internet with the same company.  it's an interesting job i guess, but after six years i'm about done with it.

there's a lot of freedom as i get to work alone, out in public.  i also meet a lot of new people and see a lot of weird things, but a lot of the people make me sick with their television addictions and petty concerns.  i realize that feeling this way means i'm no longer suited to do my job well, so i'm attending school for electronics technology and computer engineering technology.  fortunately my job has been flexible enough to allow me to do this.

not sure what i'll do after school, because i'm mainly studying this for personal interest.  i think next i want to work on telecommunications towers.