What do/did you do for a living?


With the increasingly high priced items people own and are selling, I'm curious about the line of work people do or have done. I thought my $5k integrated was a massive investment, but seeing users searching for $100k speakers or $75k SET amplifiers has me curious about the varying lines of work people do to afford these items. 
128x128j-wall

Worked for Ralston Foods ( Previously Ralston Purina) for 36 years as a electrical maintenance man in a huge plant making breakfast cereal. The previous 8 years I worked as a forklift technician for United Technologies making electro-mechanical switches before it moved to Mexico. The last ten years at Ralston, I was also the Union President of UE Local 718 ( United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America )

43 years in a factory was enough for me. The Union had an early buyout that included free health coverage for myself and wife, so I exited a little early ...

Professional buyer of used audio equipment due to congenital condition that got out of control.
I have been pushing pixels around professionally since 1997. Some of my pixels I’m sure you have seen in the Auto Trader (back in the 90’s) and select games, films and animated features. 
I always buy second-hand.  :-) 
I was in the furniture business for most of my working life. Started out as a rep for 20 years , dabbled in manufacturing a little, had a retail business for 10 years, then 2 more years as a rep. I was lucky enough to be able to retire fairly young. I got my first decent stereo in college. A Sony 7065 receiver, Wharfdale W70 speakers, a PE turntable, with a Pickering XV15 cart and a decent Sony cassette deck. After several years of casually listening to music I began listening with a purpose about 6 or 7 years ago. My main system is now McIntosh, MC452, C47, MR74, Thorens TD124, Rega P8, and Aerial 7T speakers. 
When I was about 12 my dad told me I should become an audio engineer. I didn't think that would be very interesting (Ha!). I ended up in electronics and became a computer tech in 1964. Yeah, they had computers the size of rooms back then. Since then as a contractor I've done programming and systems design for many companies large and small (IBM, Great American, Coca-Cola, H.M. Pittman). I had two computer systems companies and completed the computer part of my career as a middle manager for The Coca-Cola Company. After 40 years, and for the past 17 I have operated a yard maintenance company, from which I am now fully retired at 76. I've scrapped together almost $50,000 to buy my system, accessories and supplies, not counting records.