Thread: What's your day job?

Apologies if this has been done before. I thought I'd try to get to know some of you a bit better.

What's your day job, and how do you fit writing time around it?

This time last year I was finishing writing my thesis for my PhD, and shortly afterwards started at the job I'm at now. I've been a Research and Development Chemist at a pharmaceutical company for almost a year, and that's also about the time I've been writing seriously. My dream is to finish my novel and some day have it published. Who knows, maybe even one day I could make a living as a writer, or at least a part-time writer. A the moment I'm waking up at 5:15am so that I have about an hour free to write before work, then another hour or so around 7:30pm or whenever my daughter falls asleep. How about you?

You're far, far ahead of me in two ways. First, my PhD dissertation was still in rough draft the day I said 'the heck with this' and walked out, caught a tramp to the other side of the world, and spent most of the next 30 years watching people shoot at one another. Second, I've never had a job of any sort. Putting one word after another has always put food on the table and paid the rent, and that's been good enough for me.

Your job sounds impressive, but don't allow it to interfere with your writing. We have to keep our priorities straight.

It's not a bad job, although I am woefully underpaid for someone that has been at university for eight years. Still, the hours are good, so if I'm disciplined enough I can find enough time to keep plugging away at my novel. Not as much as I'd like, but enough to keep me sane.

Garza, I'm wondering what you were doing that you spent your time watching people shoot at one another.

I'm a student, in final year to get my degree in English and Classical Studies (study of ancient greece/rome).
I would consider writing my job at the moment, though I am not really making money from it, I hope that'll change. After I get my degree I plan to do a Masters (in creative writing), then maybe a h-dip (not sure if I want to teach yet.)

Part-time chicken server, part-time writer

full time pheasant plucker.

I’m a con man, mostly. In cahoots with greedy clients, I use words and images to hoodwink defenseless consumers and business people into buying shoddy products and useless services. And we’re all rolling in giant piles of money!

I am a lady of leisure..a different kind of leisure we know of.... not to confuse anyone.

Ex-journalist, among a heap of other ex-jobs. Now a part time research writer and consulting editor; not quite retired.

Originally Posted by JosephB

I’m a con man, mostly. In cahoots with greedy clients, I use words and images to hoodwink defenseless consumers and business people into buying shoddy products and useless services. And we’re all rolling in giant piles of money!

AHAHAHA....I'm also in advertising. And I do events and corporate videos to get out of the office and see some of the sprawling countryside.

But wait one darn tooting second... where are my giant piles of money???

josh.townley - Wire service hack, freelance magazine scribbler, all-around newsboy armed with my trusty IIIf, pencil, and notepad.

Joe - Aha - you're in advertising.

Nacian - Glad you sorted that out.

Cran - There's no such thing as an 'ex' journalist. Once a nosy parker, always a nosy parker. And 'semi-retired' is what I've been calling myself for the last 16 years. There's always one more bit of news that needs telling, one more picture that needs taking.

I am a secretary/backup brain at a small architect firm. Occasionally I daydream and imagine I'm a writer.

Originally Posted by BabaYaga

But wait one darn tooting second... where are my giant piles of money???

Maybe your client's products and services aren't shoddy and useless enough. You just need to work with people who have fewer scruples.

Seriously, some folks think advertising is the great Satan, the root cause of the rampant consumerism destroying our economy and society as a whole. Personally, I don't think mankind faces any problem that couldn't be solved with more advertising.

Part-time software developer. I'm hired by a software company to create programs that automate various server tasks for a new commercial software that is in development stages. It's insanely fun to a geek like me and the pay is also great for a student! I work at home and get paid by hour so it's flexible and easy to keep up with.

I'm a software engineer. I write automated test suites to confirm that our product is bug-free (and remains bug-free as time goes on).

I don't really fit writing time around my job as much as I fit writing time IN it. This being a computer job, I have a lot of free time during the day and a ready medium to record my ideas. I would say as much as 75% of the planning and 25% of the writing of my story happen at work.