What do you guys do for a living?

[Luseth 1,949]

So just had a meeting with one of my directors at work (the one that's more likely to be grumpy than not).

 

He made a comment about me being indespensable which was surprisingly nice! But it made me think of yesterday's bored at work thread and in turn wondering what everyone does for a living on here? 🙂

 

 

[phil bottle 9,758]

I'm a wage slave whose taxes fund all sort of depraved immoral government policies. 

[IRaMPaGe 3,236]

I invented dice when I was 6 years old then retired. J/K

 

I work in retail, more specifically I work for Tesco. 

[Diddums 4,346]

Your thread piqued my interest, what do you do @Luseth ?

 

Me? I'm a laboratory and technical operations manager at one of the world's most interesting places. A few tidbits: we have a tree which is grown from a sprig from Newton's actual apple tree, my client designed the bouncing bomb for the Dambusters, and Alan Turing did a load of research here in his early days. We also have an atomic clock which dictates the time around the world, accurate to within 1 second every one hundred million years. I could go on and on, but I'll let you Google it if you're interested 😄

Here's a video from Tom Scott:

 

 

 

I was moving furniture for £50 a day when I moved to London in 2006. 

 

 

[phil bottle 9,758]

Damn you @Diddums now i have to do a proper one as well.

 

Assessment compliance for an exam board. Assessment performance statistics on one hand, internal auditing of awarding body processes on the other.

 

Long term, however, I want full blown anarchist communism and to do away with the wage system entirely.

 

Belated welcome to FG btw @Luseth I've been away a few weeks👍 Nice to see new threads to chat about stuff.

 

[Antpool84 1,109]

@Luseth  been good seeing you joining us on Fifa dude 😊

 

I'm an accounts clerk for a shop fitting company, it can be pretty mundane really, but i've been looking to move on from here to somewhere a bit closer to home recently

[Luseth 1,949]

Quite a variety on here then 😄 @Diddums that sounds an incredibly interesting place to work at! Well seeing as I did start the thread it's only right I do add my bit as well.

 

Personally I am a mechanical design engineer (or at least I qualify for it in the next couple of months), so I have worked for the same company for 6 years just as a CAD technician (so turning marked up drawings into 2d professional drawings) and about 2 years ago I spoke to the boss about moving into design and he agreed, so I have been attending college for a day a week working towards my HNC, I can go further but have chosen not to just yet (and unfortunately for him, the young designer at the time was let go and I have now slotted into that position). As a company we design mechanical and electrical systems for large buildings (mainly residential apartments and the such), moving into mechanical design as I am I am moving into designing heating, cooling, ventilation, drainage & water services (this typically includes plantrooms & tankrooms that run the water to apartments and the such) and I get involved in others such as fire suppression systems, smoke ventilation and building management systems (I have to spec up some of these things). The past year or so I have worked on my first project based in Bath and it is being installed currently so I will be going down to see it next week.

 

Where I think one of the senior designers has realised I will be incredibly valueable is with Revit & BIM, this is basically the 3d modelling of buildings (I will sort out a few screenshots at some point to show you guys) and everything that goes into them, something I have an interest in but the opportunity has never come up to really get going with it until very recently. In addition I am partially responsible for IT & software management for the company, sometimes select products to install in the project and that sort of thing so it's quite a broad role I have at the moment.

 

So my subject knowledge is quite broad and growing rapidly and I could realistically go and get a much higher paid job than I do currently but I kind of like it where I am because I am getting the opportunities now to develop, do some of my own things and the such as well. Though the conversation will be coming about pay this year, once I get my certificate, just need to build up some confidence for it because it's not something I have ever done before!

[Plumbers Crack 4,062]

Retired plumbing and heating engineer/estimator/project manager here Luseth. HNC Building Services was as far as I got but this industry can be a carousel at times - correct @Diddums? - and I moved around regularly until I found a niche in a small family company and stayed there 19 years! 😂

[GazzaGarratt 11,049]

Great thread @Luseth . A lot of FGers may have put some of what they do in their PPRs over the years but I think things always change for some people. Not me though, lol.

 

I work in Projects/Change. Yep, vague as hell and the most transferable thing you could probably do. I'm a Change Lead at a UK Building Society. Been here for 18 years come 27th September. I'd say my job feels very much like what you might ask like a consultant to do to come and help problem solving and get decisions on certain technology, processes and organisation structure/people. It has been varied for the past 10 years, and I always feel really lucky that I've had chance to work on the biggest projects/programmes we've done in all that time. I'm currently on the biggest one at the moment which is delivering software for mortgage brokers and staff to use with customers on mortgages.

 

On the subject of our current jobs, thought i'd also mention that Covid has changed my mindset even further - Working from Home pretty much permanently although you never know how long that may last. Its done wonders for me mentally. Seeing the kids and wife so much more than I did. I don't feel as guilty as i did and I really am a big believer in living your life to the fullest - which means getting the best work/life balance you can find. Very rarely we find a job to live for as we mostly work to live. I'm definitely in the camp of work hard but don't allow anything to get in the way of real important shizzle things happening in life...which could even be what we're gaming on tonight! 🤣😎

[Diddums 4,346]

5 hours ago, GazzaGarratt said:

Great thread @Luseth . A lot of FGers may have put some of what they do in their PPRs over the years but I think things always change for some people. Not me though, lol.

 

I work in Projects/Change. Yep, vague as hell and the most transferable thing you could probably do. I'm a Change Lead at a UK Building Society. Been here for 18 years come 27th September. I'd say my job feels very much like what you might ask like a consultant to do to come and help problem solving and get decisions on certain technology, processes and organisation structure/people. It has been varied for the past 10 years, and I always feel really lucky that I've had chance to work on the biggest projects/programmes we've done in all that time. I'm currently on the biggest one at the moment which is delivering software for mortgage brokers and staff to use with customers on mortgages.

 

On the subject of our current jobs, thought i'd also mention that Covid has changed my mindset even further - Working from Home pretty much permanently although you never know how long that may last. Its done wonders for me mentally. Seeing the kids and wife so much more than I did. I don't feel as guilty as i did and I really am a big believer in living your life to the fullest - which means getting the best work/life balance you can find. Very rarely we find a job to live for as we mostly work to live. I'm definitely in the camp of work hard but don't allow anything to get in the way of real important shizzle things happening in life...which could even be what we're gaming on tonight! 🤣😎

 

Bout time you came home dad, we've been missing you. 

[Diddums 4,346]

On 6/17/2022 at 11:39 AM, Luseth said:

Quite a variety on here then 😄 @Diddums that sounds an incredibly interesting place to work at! Well seeing as I did start the thread it's only right I do add my bit as well.

 

Personally I am a mechanical design engineer (or at least I qualify for it in the next couple of months), so I have worked for the same company for 6 years just as a CAD technician (so turning marked up drawings into 2d professional drawings) and about 2 years ago I spoke to the boss about moving into design and he agreed, so I have been attending college for a day a week working towards my HNC, I can go further but have chosen not to just yet (and unfortunately for him, the young designer at the time was let go and I have now slotted into that position). As a company we design mechanical and electrical systems for large buildings (mainly residential apartments and the such), moving into mechanical design as I am I am moving into designing heating, cooling, ventilation, drainage & water services (this typically includes plantrooms & tankrooms that run the water to apartments and the such) and I get involved in others such as fire suppression systems, smoke ventilation and building management systems (I have to spec up some of these things). The past year or so I have worked on my first project based in Bath and it is being installed currently so I will be going down to see it next week.

 

Where I think one of the senior designers has realised I will be incredibly valueable is with Revit & BIM, this is basically the 3d modelling of buildings (I will sort out a few screenshots at some point to show you guys) and everything that goes into them, something I have an interest in but the opportunity has never come up to really get going with it until very recently. In addition I am partially responsible for IT & software management for the company, sometimes select products to install in the project and that sort of thing so it's quite a broad role I have at the moment.

 

So my subject knowledge is quite broad and growing rapidly and I could realistically go and get a much higher paid job than I do currently but I kind of like it where I am because I am getting the opportunities now to develop, do some of my own things and the such as well. Though the conversation will be coming about pay this year, once I get my certificate, just need to build up some confidence for it because it's not something I have ever done before!

 

Ah, so you design all the stuff I used to install and now look after. I'm an HVAC installer by trade, pipe fitting being my speciality. I am no longer on the tools however and manage a team of engineers instead. Do yourself a favour and concentrate on energy, that's where the world is heading. In my last building I oversaw the installation of an Openblue system and saved my client £1m in the first year, with the prospect of another £1m over the next three. It was extremely intensive and took a lot of dedication but the results are worth it. This was one single building, the only building in London to have a running track on the roof and the first building in the client's portfolio to have free cooling, photovoltaiv solar, thermal solar and energy recovery in the air handling units. It's a benchmark for most of their portfolio now, interesting stuff 🙂 

[Luseth 1,949]

Yes @Diddums, odds are electric will play a bigger role but by all accounts i think its too early to tell where things are going for us as mechanical designers as far as where the energy will come from. (I have studied some electrical units too and would like to learn both if for nothing more than understanding both sides will only help the design process).

 

You may have seen different but from my point of view a lot of the heating focus has been around heat networks so that the gas boilers can be swapped out down the line, its just a change of heat source then (and its fairly efficient combined with HIU’s).  Its the heat source that people are still not sure of, we have worked quite closely with the guys that have written CP1 for CIBSE and been some of the early adopters of their revised guidance (in fact we were installing heat networks based on the Danish standards prior to CIBSE adopti g it and creating their version (though back then I only cadded it all!)

 

As far as what we do as a business we are on the install side as well so typically the types of systems we install are somewhat dictated to us and we make it work (we are in the process of working on and installing our first net zero carbon project utilising underfloor heating and ground source heat pumps).

 

The communal vent is much more traditional but the energy useage is offset by solar panels on the roof etc. So we are getting our foot in the door as a company 🙂 But as I say personally the design elements of a project is still relatively new to me (in fact I often think I might enjoy the BIM side of things more so my career path could change again down the road and my director did hint the other day that I could have the opportunity to lead that aspect of the business, though thats all for discussion yet)

 

I am finding it funny how I have come on this forum and found someone I could discuss all this with, I always find everyone looks at me funny when i say what I do. Considering how much we rely on these systems for comfort and yet so few people know what it involves (like a lot of careers im sure!)

 

Sorry for the long reply! 😁

 

[Riff Machine 2,105]

I make electrical enclosures for building/traffic infrastructure.  One job i finished just last year was about 20 big units for the Toronto LRT line.   That's the "pays the bills" job.  The fun one is doing audio/video recently for Six Sides of Gaming, but soon for Dice To Pixels in the very near future.   I also write and very slowly create some music as a hobby that I'll eventually get into a self published record at some point.

[Plumbers Crack 4,062]

13 hours ago, Luseth said:

You may have seen different but from my point of view a lot of the heating focus has been around heat networks so that the gas boilers can be swapped out down the line, its just a change of heat source then (and its fairly efficient combined with HIU’s).  Its the heat source that people are still not sure of, we have worked quite closely with the guys that have written CP1 for CIBSE and been some of the early adopters of their revised guidance (in fact we were installing heat networks based on the Danish standards prior to CIBSE adopti g it and creating their version (though back then I only cadded it all!)

 

I take it the boiler swap out is for ASHP or similar and you have to ensure the network is sized large enough to cope with low grade heat?  This is my worry with the current "No new gas boilers from 2030 (I think that's the date) " The politicians think it's wonderful but who will tell Joe Public it's not a straight swop? Bigger radiators will be needed and possibly bigger pipework in addition to probable thermal insulation upgrades to the property structure.

Looking ahead, are our street electrical infrastructures man enough to suddenly cope with the extra load from ASHP? It obviously won't happen over night but.... Also how would the additional loading impact the phase sharing in the street?

My other big concern, whenever I see big new housing developments announced, is..... I hope you've checked the local drainage / water / utility services for capacity. They didn't do that once in my area to a big development and we had months of roadworks while they upgraded the gas mains. No-one admitted it but you didn't need to be a rocket scientist (just a services engineer!) to figure it out!

[Diddums 4,346]

We had heat pumps at one of my last buildings, the place didn't even have a gas meter, it was quite fascinating tbh. They're a lot more potent than people think, although I'm not entirely sold on the reliability yet. 

[Luseth 1,949]

3 hours ago, Diddums said:

We had heat pumps at one of my last buildings, the place didn't even have a gas meter, it was quite fascinating tbh. They're a lot more potent than people think, although I'm not entirely sold on the reliability yet. 

they require regular maintenance, like you could get away for 5 years without a service on your boiler, you do that with a heat pump and it needs replacing.

 

@Plumbers Crack a heat network is designed with a hot water buffer vessel so the idea is you need to keep that at 70 degrees (it can be lower and then a hiu would top up the difference where required for hot water ising electricity) and there is a diversity calculation to determine the amount of heat energy you need to put into keeping the buffer vessel at that temperature depending on the number of apartments / spaces that require heating. The radiators are then sized on the anticipated flow and return temperature's so if it is designed from the off based on utilising ground source it wouldnt be an issue (though admittedly it isnt always the case).
 

We haven't done it yet but 5th gen heat networks do utilise ground source heat pumps. It’s clever stuff when done correctly but I don't think a lot of them are being done based on ground source (you wont get a buffer vessel to stay at 70 with just ground source, it would need an additional heat source such as biomass boilers or hydrogen which most modern boilers that we install are capable of with only minor changes internally).

 

But that goes back to my original comment that I am not sure the industry is set on one single direction currently.

[TurboR56Mini 967]

Hey @Luseth  I work in the energy sector here in the states. I'm currently in the cybersecurity compliance side of the business which leads me to be on many different types of project related to your profession. I manage a department to handle all the federal, state, and local laws and regulations that are applied to our company from a cyber perspective. Needless to say with all the shit happening around the world, I don't get much sleep. 

 

I'm at Con Edison, the utility in NYC founded by Thomas Edison and we have some crazy infrastructure solutions to some of the things you were talking about. We too are moving towards more electrification as our gas business (O&G in general) is being targeted by many different groups at the moment. We also run the largest steam generation and distribution system in the world which offers a pretty sweat alternative to heating and cooling from an HVAC perspective. We run 300psi mains (20.7 bar) to feed large buildings like World Trade, Empire State, large apartments etc. They can use the product as is for mechanical applications or run co-gen and mechanical applications. As in, run steam powered turbines to generate electricity for their buildings and potentially feed back into the grid in addition to heating and cooling. The steam is super purified and is actually regulated by our FDA. We are also currently the 2nd largest producer of solar in North America along with some wind, but are looking to offload those assets in favor of taking that 4B in sale money to invest in storage which really is the future. Grid level energy storage will be the lynchpin in any successful renewables scaling like wind, solar, tidal etc. These investments will allow us to manage the future output for electrification of homes, cars, mass transit (most already are) and more. We are pushing folks to go one of the many heat pump routes as they are the best suited for the job moving forward.

 

As a manufacturing engineer and quality guy by trade please GO OUT TO THE FIELD before you finish your designs. Far too often in my previous life in manufacturing would designers develop some shit that can't be made in the physical universe we occupy. I can only imagine the stories @Diddumshas about shit that that was poorly designed!!! Anyway, welcome to the fold, many of us are happy to talk shop in addition to gaming. You've stumbled on a diverse set of folks here.