Fuel

Andrew Huff / September 6, 2010 8:58 PM

We asked this back in 2005, and I figured it was a good time to revisit, especially right after Labor Day.

My current job: You're looking at it -- well, this and a good amount of freelancing. I wouldn't want a different job.

Charlie D. / September 7, 2010 9:00 AM

I manage a 20 unit vintage apartment building at Jarvis and the lake. I also help run a community website but would much rather own an outdoor gear shop or restaurant.

Mary / September 7, 2010 9:13 AM

I work at an investment firm as the assistant to the CEO and as a portfolio administrator (making sure some 40 accounts are balanced). I have a slew of other duties, but those are the biggest two. I'm not a fan of my job (I was not cut out for being someone's assistant), but I do love my coworkers. I would love to work at a museum, in an administrative position or with kids.

jj / September 7, 2010 9:52 AM

I work from home as a copy editor. My hours are very flexible, which I love, but the job itself is a little boring.

Pros: No office politics or annoying co-workers. No commute. I eat better because the fast food lunch is no longer a temptation. I can work in my pajamas. I could work from anywhere.

Cons: Boring. No work friends. It's easy to go 2 or 3 days without leaving the apartment (especially in the winter), which can't be a good thing.

Overall, it's not my dream job but it's better than any other job I've ever had, and I can't think of anything I'd rather do.

Pete / September 7, 2010 10:08 AM

I'm in banking (employed by a bank, but NOT A BANKER) and in my fantasy world/alternate universe, literary fiction is cherished so intensely by every single citizen that one can earn a comfortable living by writing fiction without having to endure a day job. Hence, I'd be a full-time writer. Like I said, a dream world.

annie / September 7, 2010 10:38 AM

I work for the government, it's got it's perks but the last 2 years have been hell. I find myself daydreaming about working at Whole Foods.

paul / September 7, 2010 11:28 AM

Web builder. Mostly I do troubleshooting for agencies and design firms, which means the best of the freelance world - work from home, minimal client interaction, and less billing hassles. But like most freelancers I work as hard as I want/need to. Which means I need to work more.

I teach on the side, which allows me interaction time in the real world.

A dream job would involve travel - either involving what I do now, or leading photo seminars in exotic places. I want Moose Peterson's job.

mall / September 7, 2010 11:46 AM

I'm a PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology. I've spent much of the last couple years teaching some awesome students and researching some amazing music and scenes, and look forward to many years of doing that full-time after finishing my dissertation this year.

In a perfect world, I'd balance a faculty position with running a brewery. Homebrewing has been the single best new experience of the last 12 months for me.

Marion / September 7, 2010 12:22 PM

I'm an academic librarian.

I would like to be commissioner of baseball.

John / September 7, 2010 12:58 PM

I'm a web developer. It's fun at times and I like it, but I think I'd rather be on a canoe in a lake in Canada, as far away from a computer as possible.

jennifer / September 7, 2010 12:59 PM

Last time I said this:

"i'm currently an executive assistant, but would rather be a stay at home mom."

I am now currently a graphic designer, but would still like to be a stay-at-home mom (while doing some stay-at-home freelance graphic design on the side.)

Carrie / September 7, 2010 1:58 PM

Still an AM for online advertising.

Ideally? an archaeologist (which is what I got my degree in)

vise77 / September 7, 2010 3:02 PM

Full-time reporter/editor who somehow managed to avoid layoffs and find a new, more secure job amid the ongoing media carnage.

That said, I am burnt out, and find myself dreading sitting in an office all day (even though it is my own private one) and writing sub-literate English.

Honestly, I'd rather be a carpenter or an accountant--love both wood and spreadsheets--or, really, a medium-distance truck driver, a job that allows me to earn from my love of driving and be home nearly every weekend. I used to work with truck drivers in a long ago job and I found them among the nicest, most interesting people around.

Essentially, I guess I want to be blue collar again. White collar work is overrated.

G. Maitland / September 7, 2010 3:42 PM

@vise77:
You are actually more on the money than you know. The past two generations have included many who pursued white collar occupations because of the societal insistence that you must possess a college degree above all else.

While unfortunate souls with MBAs and law degrees continue to tend bar and/or scan your items at Target, there grows a huge demand for skilled blue collar workers, with many positions often going unfulfilled in various industries.

emily / September 7, 2010 4:10 PM

Right now, I am paying the bills by working as an admin assistant. I really want to be an architect since I got the degree/did the internships etc. I had the stellar timing to complete my MArch during May '09.

I am glad that I have something paying the bills right now, but really feel like all my hard work up to this point has been a waste.

Mateo / September 7, 2010 5:34 PM

I am sales finance manager for a large consumer products company in Mexico City. I actually like the work and just helped make the case to hire about 700 new sales dudes into decently paying jobs here, something I am pretty proud of. Nonetheless, my preference would be to be a travel writer dedicated to Mexico, making my trips from October to June and spending June to October doing my writing in Chicago.