If you weren't doing your current job what would you rather be doing?

[Dirtboy]

Most of us need to work but not everyone works their dream job. Tell us what you do now and your dream job. The only rule is: it must be a real job.

So, I'm semi-retired but still work:

current job: motorcycle buyer

dream job: motorcycle buyer with a talent for writing.

And you?

DB

[SloopJonB]

Originally Posted by Dirtboy

Most of us need to work but not everyone works their dream job. Tell us what you do now and your dream job. The only rule is: it must be a real job.

So, I'm semi-retired but still work:

current job: motorcycle buyer

dream job: motorcycle buyer with a talent for writing.

And you?

DB

Current job - none

Dream job - owner of a small boatyard with a home and private automobile museum onsite.

[knothead]

I would like to be teaching people in the third world how to build and use gasifying wood stoves, how to build and use composting toilets and how to compost the materials which would prevent soil depletion.
Respiratory disease is one of the biggest health threats to women and children in areas that still use wood for cooking. (As many as 2 billion people still use wood as their primary fuel) Soil depletion is a real problem in many parts of the world. And water is a precious commodity that is scarce in many parts of the world.
It only makes sense to me to not to use clean drinking water to flush toilets. It makes sense to me to use natural compost and bio char to replenish soils instead of using chemicals.
Plus, by sequestering the carbon from the wood used for cooking will only help the environment.

So, my dream job would be just doing the same things that I do now as a hobby and sharing it with people who would actually benefit and be glad for the knowledge instead of people who smile patronizingly and think I'm crazy. Not that people in this country wouldn't benefit from the knowledge, they just don't know that they would benefit. But when the power and the water quit flowing after another Katrina or something, these ideas may start to gain a little traction.

High-Efficiency Stove saves lives, fuel, and reduces C)2 - YouTube

"Deep, rich, black soil is a farmers dream come true. Healthy soil is full of life, with entire communities living just below our feet. Healthy soil can retain and purify water, provide an abundance of food, and even act as way to sequester carbon dioxide. One key to getting there is amending soil with biochar. Biochar is what you get when biomass is heated in the absence of oxygen through a process called pyrolysis. When incorporated into soil, biochar provides the structural habitat needed for a rich community of micro-organisms to take hold. Incorporating biochar into soil can also act as a way to sequester carbon."

Biochar Offers Answer for Healthy Soil and Carbon Sequestration : TreeHugger

ScienceDaily (Oct. 13, 2011) — An international effort to replace smoky, inefficient household stoves that people commonly use in lower and middle income countries with clean, affordable, fuel efficient stoves could save nearly 2 million lives each year, according to experts from the National Institutes of Health.

Cookstoves for the Developing World

American Ingenuity in Haiti - Video Library - The New York Times

[CarbonSink62]

Currently - Software Engineer

If not that - probably architect; I'm fascinated by the ways people turn buildings into living spaces. It would be engineering of some sort, I'm always looking at the way things work.

[emoney]

Current - Hearing Instrument Specialist

Dream - Caribbean Nightclub Singer (part time, of course)

[PaulfromNWOnt]

Current: Water/Sewer operator

Dream: Just about anything if the pay is steady. I've done so many different jobs, and I've really enjoyed most of them. Acting would be cool. Being a roadie for a decent band would be exciting for a short while I'm sure.

[killarney_sailor]

Originally Posted by knothead

I would like to be teaching people in the third world how to build and use gasifying wood stoves, how to build and use composting toilets and how to compost the materials which would prevent soil depletion.
Respiratory disease is one of the biggest health threats to women and children in areas that still use wood for cooking. (As many as 2 billion people still use wood as their primary fuel) Soil depletion is a real problem in many parts of the world. And water is a precious commodity that is scarce in many parts of the world.
It only makes sense to me to not to use clean drinking water to flush toilets. It makes sense to me to use natural compost and bio char to replenish soils instead of using chemicals.
Plus, by sequestering the carbon from the wood used for cooking will only help the environment.

So, my dream job would be just doing the same things that I do now as a hobby and sharing it with people who would actually benefit and be glad for the knowledge instead of people who smile patronizingly and think I'm crazy. Not that people in this country wouldn't benefit from the knowledge, they just don't know that they would benefit. But when the power and the water quit flowing after another Katrina or something, these ideas may start to gain a little traction.

High-Efficiency Stove saves lives, fuel, and reduces C)2 - YouTube

"Deep, rich, black soil is a farmers dream come true. Healthy soil is full of life, with entire communities living just below our feet. Healthy soil can retain and purify water, provide an abundance of food, and even act as way to sequester carbon dioxide. One key to getting there is amending soil with biochar. Biochar is what you get when biomass is heated in the absence of oxygen through a process called pyrolysis. When incorporated into soil, biochar provides the structural habitat needed for a rich community of micro-organisms to take hold. Incorporating biochar into soil can also act as a way to sequester carbon."

Biochar Offers Answer for Healthy Soil and Carbon Sequestration : TreeHugger

ScienceDaily (Oct. 13, 2011) — An international effort to replace smoky, inefficient household stoves that people commonly use in lower and middle income countries with clean, affordable, fuel efficient stoves could save nearly 2 million lives each year, according to experts from the National Institutes of Health.

Cookstoves for the Developing World

American Ingenuity in Haiti - Video Library - The New York Times

I have a friend who goes to Lesotho (volunteer) to teach about and distribute solar stoves to (mainly) grandmothers. Lesotho has something like 20% of adults who are HIV+ and in many cases, grandmothers end up caring for a bunch of kids. They cook on kerosene or gas if they can afford it (most can't) or wood and the country is largely deforested. What the country does have is lots of sun in between short but heavy Tstorms.

The stoves are made by a small company in South Africa and paid for by a social action group in BC called the 'Raging Grannies'. Carol sets up day long sessions for recipients where she explains and demos the stoves. At the end of the day the grannies go home with a stove and a bag of cornmeal. Very satisfying work.

For my job - I am retired, taught high school for 30+ years. Can't imagine having time for a job as I am so busy sailing and doing some writing on the side.

[BentSailor]

Current - software engineer (or "computer nerd" in regular parlance)

Dream - Working with my hands creating something. Boatbuilding, carpentry, metalwork, that kind of thing.

Sadly, in today's economy, I have the choice between what I am good at & pays well or something I'd like to do but pays poorly. With the family still with me, the dream must wait.

[SloopJonB]

Originally Posted by BentSailor

Current - software engineer (or "computer nerd" in regular parlance)

Dream - Working with my hands creating something. Boatbuilding, carpentry, metalwork, that kind of thing.

Sadly, in today's economy, I have the choice between what I am good at & pays well or something I'd like to do but pays poorly. With the family still with me, the dream must wait.

That's exactly the curse that most of us live with - working sure gets in the way of enjoying life for most of us. I always had the idea that even if I COULD make enough money doing something I liked (working on boats for example) it would gradually turn into just plain work and then I'd lose the dream. Some people seem to be able to make a good living doing something they love without getting tired of it but they are the lucky few.

[SloopJonB]

Originally Posted by knothead

I would like to be teaching people in the third world how to build and use gasifying wood stoves, how to build and use composting toilets and how to compost the materials which would prevent soil depletion.
Respiratory disease is one of the biggest health threats to women and children in areas that still use wood for cooking. (As many as 2 billion people still use wood as their primary fuel) Soil depletion is a real problem in many parts of the world. And water is a precious commodity that is scarce in many parts of the world.
It only makes sense to me to not to use clean drinking water to flush toilets. It makes sense to me to use natural compost and bio char to replenish soils instead of using chemicals.
Plus, by sequestering the carbon from the wood used for cooking will only help the environment.

So, my dream job would be just doing the same things that I do now as a hobby and sharing it with people who would actually benefit and be glad for the knowledge instead of people who smile patronizingly and think I'm crazy. Not that people in this country wouldn't benefit from the knowledge, they just don't know that they would benefit. But when the power and the water quit flowing after another Katrina or something, these ideas may start to gain a little traction.

High-Efficiency Stove saves lives, fuel, and reduces C)2 - YouTube

"Deep, rich, black soil is a farmers dream come true. Healthy soil is full of life, with entire communities living just below our feet. Healthy soil can retain and purify water, provide an abundance of food, and even act as way to sequester carbon dioxide. One key to getting there is amending soil with biochar. Biochar is what you get when biomass is heated in the absence of oxygen through a process called pyrolysis. When incorporated into soil, biochar provides the structural habitat needed for a rich community of micro-organisms to take hold. Incorporating biochar into soil can also act as a way to sequester carbon."

Biochar Offers Answer for Healthy Soil and Carbon Sequestration : TreeHugger

ScienceDaily (Oct. 13, 2011) — An international effort to replace smoky, inefficient household stoves that people commonly use in lower and middle income countries with clean, affordable, fuel efficient stoves could save nearly 2 million lives each year, according to experts from the National Institutes of Health.

Cookstoves for the Developing World

American Ingenuity in Haiti - Video Library - The New York Times

Knotty, you must be younger than I thought. It's good to know that some people still have worthwhile dreams and aren't solely concerned with lining up for the newest I-Phone.