Are you happy with your career choice/profession?

[Locke]

Are there CP discounts on comic books?

The Phoenix Comics on 16th Ave was like a huge part of life as a kid...this is mind-blowing.

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by Locke

Are there CP discounts on comic books?

The Phoenix Comics on 16th Ave was like a huge part of life as a kid...this is mind-blowing.

No CP discount exactly, but we do have a couple different discount programs, depending on what you collect. If you came here when you were a kid, then I would definitely have been one of the guys behind the counter.

[Hevishot]

I really wanted nothing to do with the collision industry when I was a kid. The dream of racing dirtbikes and collecting cheques faded quickly when I turned 18 and I needed to get a real job to pay for my hobbies. My father owned a bodyshop so I went to work for him washing cars and masking for paint. We hardly got along and spent a lot of time screaming at one another. Its a little better and it only took 15 years. I ended up doing my apprenticeship through Sait which is a 4 year program 3 for collision and 1 for paint. As much as I like heavy collision work I really like painting even though its the most stressful job in the whole shop. Looking back on it it was a good decision to stay with it. There will always be work in my field and when I don't feel like dealing with shop life anymore I can always go work as a Field Appraiser for an insurance company.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by peter12

I guess I was away for some time, and missed that, but man, that above story is great.

I'm pretty sure the story goes that he opened up his own store, used CP to promote it, and then scammed some CP customers.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

I'm pretty sure the story goes that he opened up his own store, used CP to promote it, and then scammed some CP customers.

Tell me more of this story, please.

[albertGQ]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Yup, and then multiple times after that.

Multiple times? What were his other aliases?

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

I'm pretty sure the story goes that he opened up his own store, used CP to promote it, and then scammed some CP customers.

Originally Posted by peter12

Tell me more of this story, please.

Yeah, hadn't heard this one before.

Originally Posted by albertGQ

Multiple times? What were his other aliases?

Troubamaker was the only one of note IIRC.

[driveway]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

So I teach Elementary school and it I am really happy that I pursued this career path. I love teaching kids all day and the time I spend in the classroom is usually exciting and fun! Nothing is better than the feeling of making an actual impact on a child's education. When I get a note or a comment from a student or parent telling me that I made a difference for them, it blows my mind and I love that feeling.

The time off obviously can't be beat, and the compensation is actually quite good. A lot of teachers like to complain but we are treated pretty fairly and the time off is amazing. Teachers with 10+ years experience make $101,000 in Calgary, that's obviously a very good living. Government pension after retirement is pretty substantial as well.

All that being said, there are a lot of initiatives from the board and from Alberta Education that I find to be superfluous and silly. We spend so much time doing paperwork or pursuing these initiatives that do not contribute anything to the actual education of students. I can definitely see how some teachers with families and limited personal time can become overwhelmed with some of the paperwork and the actual teaching of kids suffers because of the demands on our time from the system.

I'm lucky right now as I don't have a family to get home and see. I don't have to get my kids ready for school in the morning and get them out the door, or pick them up from daycare in the evening. My evenings and weekends aren't taken up by kids sports and activities. But when they are, honestly, from September to June, it'll be a huge adjustment and I can see my dedication to my job slipping a little bit.

Dude, you should look into the world of International Teaching. With your experience + the lack of a family you could be doing exactly what you're doing now, in a phenomenal foreign city, getting paid significantly more, not dealing with either the union or the province, teaching fantastically well-behaved kids at schools with resources that dwarf even the best Calgary public schools.

Also, even more vacation. I'm getting 12 weeks this year.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by V

Learn Microstation and come to the dark side, man. All of my draftspeople make over 40 bucks an hour. With a nice cushy pension. Leave the consulting world behind!

Fixed, and no thanks.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by peter12

Tell me more of this story, please.

Hmm, maybe I am completely misremembering?

I could have sworn there were shenanigans involving his store. I figured MMF would know.

[Galakanokis]

Being on call. Don't take support jobs where you are on call. It's not like I sleep most nights anyways but still, almost 4 in the morning and no end in site.

[bizaro86]

I'm an engineer at an oil and gas company. I enjoy the work, and more than that I enjoy the people I work with, they're great. (Hasn't always been the case, but the team I'm on now I really like). The niche I'm in right now fits my interests, but its a niche that is a lot less necessary at <$40 oil. I'll probably do this for a few more years and then go out on my own doing something totally different, once my kids are in school, and hopefully have my mortgage paid off. Alternatively, I'll start doing something different right away after getting laid off.

I don't regret my career choice, it's worked out very well for me financially, I enjoy it, and I'm good at it. However, it does have repetitive days, and I don't like commuting. (I could move closer, but that would push the mortgage freedom date way out). I'm very much an "idea person" I always have lots of ideas for new businesses etc, and while I've executed a few of them as "side projects" or "do this to pay for university" type things, I definitely want to try starting a "real business" at least once. I'm definitely an odd choice for an engineer (I'm probably one of the very few who had higher English/Social Studies marks than Math/Science marks in school). I might try something still quantitative, but with more of a communication element for my next career, maybe in finance or real estate.

[cracher]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

Yes, I own the NW location. The SW and Inglewood locations are owned by a friend of mine.

Are you a stocky, big-shouldered guy? If so, I think I've known you IRL for a long time. In the 1990s, I used to bring in my entire golf course grounds crew paycheque to buy up your Starwars CCG black border cards.

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by cracher

Are you a stocky, big-shouldered guy? If so, I think I've known you IRL for a long time. In the 1990s, I used to bring in my entire golf course grounds crew paycheque to buy up your Starwars CCG black border cards.

I'm pretty short, but I'm not sure I would say I have big shoulders... But we did sell a ton of SW CCG back in the day, so it was probably me. The other people who worked at the store in the 90s were all Asian, so if was a white guy at the NW location, then it would have been me.

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Hmm, maybe I am completely misremembering?

I could have sworn there were shenanigans involving his store. I figured MMF would know.

I've done a ton of deals with Bertuzzied over the years, and most of them work out similarly to the story I told above. IE, in favor of the other party, not in Bertuzzied's favor! So I would be shocked if there were any real shenanigans.

I'm pretty sure his bans were just for having the same arguments with the same people over and over for a decade plus. And having them get out of hand again and again.

[username]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

I'm pretty short, but I'm not sure I would say I have big shoulders... But we did sell a ton of SW CCG back in the day, so it was probably me. The other people who worked at the store in the 90s were all Asian, so if was a white guy at the NW location, then it would have been me.

ha, I'm pretty sure I bought a ton of Wolverine comics from you back in the day. I think you sold me my 181 Hulk back when I was in grade 7 (1991 I think??) I still have it to this day

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by username

ha, I'm pretty sure I bought a ton of Wolverine comics from you back in the day. I think you sold me my 181 Hulk back when I was in grade 7 (1991 I think??) I still have it to this day

1991 was before I had the store. You probably got it at the SW location, they've been there since 1987. Also, buying Hulk 181 in grade 7 was a pretty good idea! Probably one of the best investments you'll ever make.

[username]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

1991 was before I had the store. You probably got it at the SW location, they've been there since 1987. Also, buying Hulk 181 in grade 7 was a pretty good idea! Probably one of the best investments you'll ever make.

I think I paid about 50 bucks for it as a birthday gift Percentage return wise, def the best.

Come to think of it, it might have been from AD in Kensington......but I know I've bought stuff from you before.

[chid]

I am also an educator like many of you on CP. Being a teacher was something I always wanted to do, and I made the right choices in my life and enjoy teaching immensely. Being in my own classroom with my little community of kids is rewarding. Seeing them work through challenges and collaborate is why I got into teaching, to be a part of a community and facilitate experiences for young people.

The bureaucracy and sometimes the parents can be frustrating. Generally parents are great, and of course I understand they are just looking at what they feel is best for their child, however some are just entitled and rude and don't treat me like a professional. Instead of viewing my role in their child's life as important and part of the team of people trying to do good for their kid, I often get treated like I'm the bad guy and the reason for their child's problems. That can get quite tiring and depressing, but I try to look past it and enjoy the 9-5 part of the job where I am in the classroom with the kids (the reason most of us decide to teach).

[TheGrimm]

Back in February I quit my job as an Network Architect and left a 12 year career after I just simply burned out. The money was pretty good but having a 1 year old kid at home changed things for me all of a sudden. I wouldn't say I ever LOVED my work but for the most part I didn't hate it. I just got to the point in life where I started looking into the future and the thought of doing this for the next 30 years didn't entice me in the least.

So I went from working downtown every day to working on the family grain farm. I grew up on a farm, so it's not as drastic a lifestyle change as one would think. It's been an interesting transition but one I am glad I made now because I am pretty sure another 10 years down the road it would have been much tougher to leave.

Farming is actually a pretty cool gig. I work when there is stuff to do, but when there isn't I can pretty much do what I want. I get to spend summers outside and winters should give me more time for hobbies and snowboarding. It's been great for the family as I've been around much more, I can do more with my wife and kid and I am just way less grumpy overall. One thing I found with working 50 hours a week and spending 1.5 hours in traffic each day getting angry was that I came home on edge and ended up very protective over what little "time" I had to do things. I am just feeling way more relaxed these days.

Will miss the steady paycheck though.