What Did Your Father Do For A Living?

[THUNDER HANDS]

My dad is in quality management. His dad worked in a factory that made suits. My great grandfather was a carpenter.

[terrya]

1. He worked at a steel fabricating factory in Decatur, Illinois.

Blue collar factory worker. Was there for 30 years.

[Taverner]

2. Policeman, 25+ years SFPD and SJPD

He came in a liberal beatnik who marched alongside Dr. King and came out a Freeper among Freepers.

Don't let it happen to you!

[Guava Jelly]

3. He drank like a fish and treated my late Mother like shit.

It was the only thing he was ever good at

[idgiehkt]

21. I'm sorry, GoP

:hug:

[Guava Jelly]

39. I'm fine idg

Not every dad can be Ward Cleaver

[FedUpWithIt All]

34. ...

:hug:

[Guava Jelly]

40. thanks fedup

I'm ok he isn't in my life anymore nor will he ever be.

[miss_american_pie]

47. ...

:hug:

[Guava Jelly]

128. .......

thanks sweetie pie
And since i think you could probably use one also

[bicentennial_baby]

4. USAF until '74, then retired due to MS

:)

[itsmesgd]

5. My dad did everything from trucking to tea

but he retired from Tetley Tea company. He worked his ass off, with two and sometimes three jobs to send me and my brother to private school. He just returned from a cruise last month, and I am so glad to see him enjoying himself after taking care of us for so long. He even helped get me on my feet after my divorce this past year.
(tearing up) "here's to dad"

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

6. My father was a construction laborer, and then a construction inspector.

Kinda funny, the inspector thing. My current job is software quality assurance (testing) so we both ended up in careers where our penchants for nitpicking and hypercriticality were put to good use. :-)

Sadly, my father and another man were killed on the job two years ago when a dump truck backed over them on the construction site where they were working. It was and is sad, but how many people die while doing something they love? Guess we all have to find the silver lining somewhere, eh?

[electricmonk]

56. Sorry to hear about your Dad.

My Grandfather was killed almost the same way. Pinned between a dump truck and an asphalt roller on a highway construction project.

Dad was trained as a geologist and managed a sand company for a long time then was president of a construction company then started his own company building roads for coal companies before having a fatal heart attack.

Except for a few years in the 80's I've stayed away from the construction business.

[Avalux]

7. US Navy, Ma Bell, Electrician

A great man, and now is enjoying a well-deserved retirement after working his ass off for years and years. He has become quite the chef now. :patriot:

[EnviroBat]

8. My Pop was a missle systems inspector for the Navy,

Then he did other odd jobs when I was growing up. He ran his own silver recovery business, then retired from NASA a couple of years ago.

[malta blue]

9. My dad is a real estate broker in NYC

His father was a chef at the Grand Concourse Hotel in the Bronx.
My great grandfather was a farmer in Puerto Rico.

[Kali]

10. Phd. Taught at a major university and did research. Pretty well known in his field.

[Omphaloskepsis]

11. Mechanical Engineer...

He ended up owning a Welding and Machine shop that mainly built Bucket Elevators and Screw Conveyors.

[Phillycat]

12. Junkie.

What? :shrug: It's a full-time job, apparently.

[greatauntoftriplets]

13. Mine was sales manager for an auto parts company...

and he dealt primarily with the commercial clients.

His father was an undertaker. My great-grandfather, who emigrated from Ireland about 1867, was a farmer both here and back home.

[RetroLounge]

14. Photoengraver

My dad was a Photoengraver, called a finisher, hand engraved printing plates. (Superior-Rogers Printing).

After retirement, he bought a fishing resort.

His father (My g-father) was a master ink mixer, hand mixed color ink for a Ink Company in chicago (Kohl & Madden)

His father (My g-g-father) owned an ink / printing factory in Chicago up until the late 20's.

RL

[Left Is Write]

15. Computer programmer/tester/systems analyst

[johnnie]

16. Worked for NASA for 35 years or so

Not a contractor, he was one of the few Govt. employees left there when he split.

[seemunkee]

17. UPS driver until he lost his sight, later an economist for Commerce dept

He went to college and got a degree in economics and all but the thesis for a masters. He calculted spending on entertainment for the GDP

[trackfan]

18. My dad was a model maker

I'm not sure exactly what that is though. I guess he made models.

[AlCzervik]

19. Real estate developer, now a pilot and flight instructor.

when i was little he owned a Zenith TV repair shop complete with VW Bus.

[ceile]

20. Spook, real estate agent and teacher. n/t

[Burma Jones]

22. My Dad ran a Hospital, now he teaches Grad School

His Dad was a Railroad Worker.....My Great Grandfather was a Farmer

[Bridget Burke]

23. He drove a bus when I was born.

Six weeks later, he was called back on active duty in the USAF.

Four years later, he died in a plane crash.

[LaraMN]

24. Mine works at a paper mill.

When I was little, he worked at a taconite plant, bartended and did carpentry (when he was laid-off from the mill), drove truck, worked at a library (where he met my Mom,) and worked at a ceiling tile manufacturing plant (running the computers), previous to his present job.

[FedUpWithIt All]

25. 12 years TRW machinist...He passed at 32 when i was 11.

My grandfather was a mailman.

[SPKrazy]

90. My Grandfather Was A Mailman (Maternal)

My other grandfather was a farmer

I'm sorry about your dad, geez, 32 years old, and you were 11yo

:hug: :loveya:

[MrCoffee]

26. he was a drunk.

[Phillycat]

43. Hey, your dad and my dad ought to get together and go bowling.

[MrCoffee]

68. did i stutter?

:hi:

[Phillycat]

70. I wear the regulation uniform!

Tights!

Shut up!

:hi:

[Fuzz]

27. Assemblies of God minister

who learned his craft at John Ashcroft father's Bible school in Missouri.

[Skittles]

98. OK Fuzz - give us the scoop

is it true what they say about ministers' kids being wild childs ? :7

[Fuzz]

118. On advice from council, I'd like to use my constitutional right to

the fifth amendment.

[Skittles]

122. I CATCH YO' DRIFT, FUZZ

yes INDEED! :D

[Mad_Dem_X]

28. Lab Technician for DuPont

Before that, he served in the Navy during the Korean War.

[Zavulon]

29. Auto mechanic.

I never knew any of my grandparents, but I'm told one owned a restaurant. I know the other was career military.

[reyd reid reed]

30. Mine was in the army

then, after he was RIF'd he was in real estate for a while and then worked for AT&T until he retired.

Now he lives in a little town in Nebraska and hangs out at the Cafe and drinks coffee.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

31. Sold men's clothing in small-town Kansas

He remembered birthdays and was known as the "Birthday Man of El Dorado." He attracted a lot of business to the store by his friendliness and ability to remember birthdays. He remembered over 7,000 birthdays, including almost 50 on his own birthday (November 23rd) and the second most on my birthday (August 27th). I can do it, too, but I don't know anywhere NEAR 7,000!

[Z_I_Peevey]

32. Carpenter. Union boss.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

33. Doctor.

[lizziegrace]

35. Mechanical Engineer (jet engines) and VP n/t

[SPKrazy]

91. That's Pretty Cool

I bet he was making jet engines during the hayday of the commercial jet's coming of age during our lifetime!

:hug:

[lizziegrace]

105. He was at

Pratt & Whitney and GE during the 60's and early 70's. He was also a private pilot and before he retired, an aviation consultant. I always thought he should go into crash investigation for the FAA, but he was a little too old (he thought) to get involved in investigating.

:)

[book lady]

36. My dad worked in a tannery in Milwaukee...

They have now turned the building into condominiums which is a very scary thought.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

37. My Dad

taught school. His father was a truck driver after leaving the farm. His father was a farmer.

[AngryAmish]

38. Mechanic

[Initech]

41. My dad owns his own business, an engineering firm

[AllegroRondo]

42. Auto Worker, UAW for 20 years

until Chrysler bought out AMC and fired everyone.

[L A Woman]

44. Beautician/Country Music singer

When I was growing up, he was a country singer in Nashville (he had an album or two but never really made it big) and then he met his seventh wife who owned a beauty parlor chain and he helps her run them and he does hair transplants on men. He only sings in church now, but I found a big bag of pot in his car so I know he still dreams of stardom.

[Silver Swan]

45. My father was a farmer.

So were my grandfathers and all my great-grandfathers.

[LSK]

46. Union electrician for 40 years

He has major back problems now and a nice pension.

[lukasahero]

48. Same thing his daughter does: computer programmer eom

[Sparkly]

49. Pianist, music professor. nt

[LaurenG]

50. US Army Master Sargent

retired and then went to work as an engineer for a large weapons manufacturer.

[Left_Winger]

51. Engineer

[scarlet_owl]

52. My dad does something with computers for the University.

[Blue Diadem]

53. After he returned from WWII, he worked in a factory, then it closed. Then he found work

in building maintenance for a while..until jobs picked up again. I was in first grade when he went to work in another factory. He stayed there until he had a stroke at aged 59. He couldn't work after that and passed away almost 10 yrs later.

When I was a little girl, I remember looking at his hands..his fingers filled with steel slivers. He never complained although he would ask for me to help him pull some out occasionally. He couldn't wear anything protective on his hands for safety reasons..the machine could easily have caught a glove and pulled his hand into it.

[Oeditpus Rex]

54. Boiler at Spreckels Sugar

It was liquified beet pulp when it got to him. When he was finished, the sugar had been separated from it.

More than a hundred guys signed the card when he retired after nearly 30 years. It had a bunch of little Ziggy-like guys saying "Bye bye!" then looking wistful, then suddenly sad, then going "Boo hoo!" :)

He was also a veteran of WWII — a medic in France, Germany and Czechoslovakia. At the end of the war in Europe, he was among the medical corps sent to the concentration camps to do what they could. I have no idea how he dealt with that for all those years.

He never knew it, but I was proud of him.

:patriot:

[Haole Girl]

113. I'm sure he knew it

:hug:

[rug]

55. Printer.

[ganeshji]

57. He got laid off as far as I could tell.

He spent a lot of time not working much.

[bikebloke]

58. Police detective

At the US Capitol. He said most of our representitives are lousy drunks.

[crim son]

59. Physician, OB/GYN.

Retired a few years ago.

[SPKrazy]

110. Was He Always Gone In The Middle Of The Night

delivering babies?

that would be the hard part about that (besides all the school and responsibilities I mean) is to be called out in the middle of the night so much.

[crim son]

114. He was completely adapted to the lifestyle.

He was able to fall asleep any time, anywhere, within a minute or two if he wanted so he could make up what sleep he didn't have at night through catnaps (so he always said). My mother said it was like being a widow with four children, being married to him.

[SPKrazy]

116. I Just Wondered

the OB/GYN's I've known were all a little on the manic side or something in the little amount of sleep they seemed to need.

I admire them, but as I've told you, the GYN part of it would not be something to aspire to for me.

the OB part would be very rewarding, and a little scary sometimes I'm sure.

But very cool.

I know the OB/GYN who delivered my son let me actually deliver him, he hands me the elbow length gloves and says go for it! I went, wow, and did. It was something I will never forget. I didn't put him down for hours. I wouldn't even let him out of my sight while the nurses bathed him, etc. Since I worked there I had no problem staying with him, although if I hadn't worked there, they would have let me stay with him or they would have been hearing me up and down the halls.

I wasn't letting him out of my sight that day!

:hug:

Oh, and Hi

[crim son]

119. Hi!

:hug:

[SPKrazy]

120. Hi Hi!

:hug: :hug:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

121. My dad's a doctor, too.

:hi:

[crim son]

130. That's why we're so uber-fantastisch!

:hi:

And we have so much in common :P

[libnnc]

60. Managed a used car lot.

He was an aircraft mechanic in the navy '51-60.

Died in '77.

[Joey Liberal]

61. Mafia associate n/t

[pitohui]

88. i bet he has some stories

my best friend had several relatives on one side of the family in the illegal gambling industry but alas time and changing laws obsoleted them

nobody got whacked or sent to prison, i got the impression that's pretty much teevee

[achtung_circus]

62. Dad was a cop

which came in handy when I was a crazy teenager. Everybody on the force new him, and Toronto is a big city.

His dad was a carpenter.

His step-father was a farmer as his father (my great-grandfather) was a blacksmith and was killed by a horse when my grandfather was 2 years old.

[achtung_circus]

63. Dad was a cop

which came in handy when I was a crazy teenager. Everybody on the force knew him, and Toronto is a big city, with a big force.

His dad was a carpenter.

His step-father was a farmer as his father (my great-grandfather) was a blacksmith and was killed by a horse when my grandfather was 2 years old

[LibraLiz1973]

64. My dad was a Director for the CBS/NBC news

here in Philadelphia for 42 years. (CBS became NBC10)

Worked his way up from being a janitor!

it was a great job- and I think it had a part in making me who I am today. (because we always talked news in my house)

[NewWaveChick1981]

65. Accountant (specifically CPA).

He retired some time ago. :hi:

[SOteric]

66. Pop is an importer/exporter/distibutor of fine, gourmet foods.

[RoyGBiv]

67. Military/mainframe programmer ...

Later a drug addicted bingo caller.

[Maine-ah]

69. my father was a high school teacher.

until he couldn't do it per court order anymore...you all know what that means right?

[Courtesy Flush]

71. Civil servant, like me

But he served in three wars before settling behind a desk.

[GreenTea]

72. Pimp!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

73. Worked for the Dpartment of Interior

when they had a Bureau of Mines.

[KamaAina]

74. Air conditioning salesman

in Baltimore, pretty good job security.

[Richard Steele]

75. Waddayamean "did"? I saw him 2 days ago; he's fine.

[billyskank]

76. My father was First Prime of Chronos

Oh wait, I am thinking of something else.

[murielm99]

77. My dad is a retired railroader. nt

[nini]

78. LAPD Homicide Detective

.

[SacredCow]

79. Electrical Engineer for Bell....

but he had a nervous breakdown over the stress he was under and quit shortly after I was born. He switched to a blue collar electrical job that he didn't take home with him.

[cathandler]

80. My dad was an optometrist.

His father was an dispatcher for Prairie Oil & Gas. My great grandfather was a county judge in Oklahoma. I've never amounted to much.

[6000eliot]

81. Painted cars.

He's retired now. Also a drunk.

[azmouse]

82. He built caskets.

In 1963 he made the casket that JFK was buried in.

[Skittles]

97. OK

that is WAY cool :thumbsup:

[bigwillq]

83. Main job=Liquor salesman

He was also a sports writer and a radio show host among other things.

He has since retired from full time job.

Works part-time at liquor store and still writes sports.

[Nikia]

84. My father is in quality management now too

Before that he was a rock musician who worked in various factory jobs in his spare time.

[qnr]

85. Worked for NASA, designed a nuke PP for Duke Energy, never sent a penny in child support n/t

[riderinthestorm]

107. Bell Labs here, vast # of patents as an elec. engineer with designs in hardware AND software

walked out when I was 10 with nary a child support payment ever again.

I can SOOOOO relate.... :hug:

Do you think it's a genius thing? He got full scholarships to both Julliard and NYC but since my mom was already pregnant, he took the math scholarship. Graduated NYC in 18 months! (yes, 18 months!), TWO masters degrees from U of Chicago (economics and elec. engineering) in 2 years, and was drunk full time by 50.

[qnr]

108. Could be, I've heard other stories like ours. n/t

[mopinko]

115. for sure a genius thing

mine was a drunk, but also a genius. inventor, dreamer, con artist. probably bipolar. common story.

[riderinthestorm]

117. I really think there's a relationship. My grandfather was an inventor with patents

and same story: dreamer, inventor, con artist (oh the cons!)..... and a complete shit head with his family - deserted them when MY dad was 10 (same age as me).

They (genius') are terrible, TERRIBLE! people with their families, and the alcohol - dayum. I know rationally it's a common story but my heart still breaks....

Thanks for sharing mopinko. :hi:

[mopinko]

131. many bipolars are geniuses, many bipolars are geniuses

back in the day, they did not get diagnosed. so they medicated themselves with alcohol, or whatever drug was handy.
more than half of my family has a genius iq, half of those struggle for stability, and several are dx'ed bp. even those on an even keel are weirdos of some sort.
geniuses are not normal. just not normal.
my dad never left, because he could never support himself. he did have a honey that he was keeping in milwaukee for a while. that put us into bankruptcy.
people think it is a great thing to be a genius, but i tell ya, they don't know. they just don't know.

[sarge43]

86. Electrician in a auto factory

Also farmed.

[bluethruandthru]

87. Weapons inspector n/t

[SPKrazy]

89. Mine Was A College Professor

Journalism

Later became an administrator of a large Journalism and Broadcasting school at a University.

:popcorn:

[jus_the_facts]

92. Installed...maintained...and inspected Dover Elevators...

...and escalators. :thumbsup:

[Penndems]

93. He started out as an architectural engineer, is now an estimator for a construction company

Put himself through college, too, with the GI Bill and help from my maternal grandmother.

What a guy. :loveya:

[Redstone]

94. Worked in a paper mill, and hit me when he got home, on those days I couldn't

be out of the house at 3:30.

Redstone

[Skittles]

95. meteorologist (weather forecaster)

my grandparents were farmers

[YellowRubberDuckie]

96. He was a trucker....

I think before that he was a rough neck on an oil field and he did serve a stint in the Air Force as a mechanic. Dad could fix anything with an engine. Brilliant, he was.
Duckie

[tigereye]

99. chemist/chemical sales

[Arkansas Granny]

100. My dad was a steel bandsaw operator.

This was quite an unusual job for a man who had been blind since he was a small child.

[Tiggeroshii]

101. Piano Tuner

He busts his ass trying make me one too. I have politely declined.

[graywarrior]

102. Professional drinker, but he got paid to be a GE inspector.

Booze exploded his brain when he was 52. He was a bastard.

[LuckyTheDog]

103. Auto worker (foreman)

Paternal grandfather: Truck driver

Maternal grandfather: Auto worker (general foreman)

Paternal great-grandfather: farmer (I think)

Maternal great-Grandfather: Auto worker (worked on the line, I think)

[IdaBriggs]

104. 30 yrs as a Criminal Investigator for one of the Big Three.

He did amazing work there, and I'm very proud of him for it. He also worked with my mother on their rental properties, which have provided good housing for a lot of people over the years!

[femmocrat]

106. Small business owner/ Self-employed.

He was a WW II vet and worked long, long hours. He put us three kids through college, although he only had a tenth-grade education. He was a wonderful man, I miss him a lot.

[Rabrrrrrr]

109. He was a postpartum depression proxy for busy career women

:rofl:

[Blue-Jay]

111. Dad worked at International Harvester until he retired.

Step-Dad was a cop. He retired as a detective quite a few years ago, and still works as an investigator for the local Clerk of Courts.

Both men are solid Democrats, and are equally "dad".

[Missy Vixen]

112. My dad was a machinist at Boeing

His father was also a machinist. My uncle Ralph was an engineer.

All the men in our family worked for Boeing for their entire careers.

Julie

[dropkickpa]

123. Master planner by degree

Manages the light-rail transit arm of a big engineering company. He's been all over the world.

Grampa was a traveling farm equipment salesman.

G-Grampa owned and operated the first Gas station in their hometown in Iowa.

GG-Grampa was a giant of a man (6'6") and a farmer who doted on his tiny (4'10") wife and 5 sons.

Mom's dad was an engineer (maintainence-type) on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific during WW2, then at a power plant.

G-grampa was a train engineer in a mine here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hull-Rust-Mahoning_Mine he may even be the one running the train in the picture. His father was a regular train engineer, died when he was a baby.

[Tuesday_Morning]

124. My dad worked as a middle mgr

for the Santa Fe Railroad. His father was a printer. And my great grandfather was a tailor - both here and in Italy.

[texanwitch]

125. He drove a bus.

He thinks no body but him knows how to drive.

[Scooter24]

126. My father is a successful corporate lawyer

specializes in legal strategy and various international fields.

[Broken_Hero]

127. Electrition/Power House Operator....nt

[Raine]

129. Worked for Sears

as an appliance repairman also "flipped" houses before it was called that or cool to do it.

[bullwinkle428]

132. Sales representative for Maidenform (ladies' undergarment manufacturer)

[spindrifter]

133. Factory worker, cook, gambler.