What do you people do as your profession?

[krishna_lit]

Since the time I've joined this forum I've seen people discussing Literature relentlessly, in every genre existing. The users of this forum sound so geeky at Literature that they talk about everything from 15th century (or even before) Poetry to the 21st century new book releases and future classics. All the arguments of theirs for the posts here seem to be containing very good standards too. As time passed, I've wondered how can anybody be at such a good quality at something unless the field is what they're completely into with their lives. I asked myself if people here belong only to the literary backgrounds both educationally and professionally.

So, I request you people to just mention what is the primary profession of your lives (also please mention your location/country if it's ok for you). I really would like to know about it.

Thank you all in advance!

By the way, I'm going to be a software engineer (just finished my Masters, and am from India).

What do you guys do??

[JBI]

Since the time I've joined this forum I've seen people discussing Literature relentlessly, in every genre existing. The users of this forum sound so geeky at Literature that they talk about everything from 16th century Poetry to 21st century new book releases and future classics. All the arguments of theirs for the posts here seem to be containing very good standards too. As time passed, I've wondered how can anybody be at such a good quality at something unless the field is what they're completely into with their lives. I asked myself if people here belong only to the literary educational backgrounds!

So, I request you people to just mention what is the primary profession of your lives (also please mention your location/country if it's ok for you). I really would like to know about it.

Thank you all in advance!

By the way, I'm going to be a software engineer (just finished my Masters, and am from India).

What do you guys do??

I would shy away from the word "geeky". I did most of my reading before age 18, mostly by dragging 30+ library books home every day, and then burning through them at 500 pages a day. Up until my second year of university I was reading as much, though my pace slowed considerably when I made my switch over to Chinese literature.

Generally had I been smarter as a youngster, I would have focused more on developing my language skills in Hebrew, Italian, and French, and maybe stayed focused on Western literature. I created my methodology for language learning much later in my career than I would have liked, as I had been plagued with bad teachers for languages throughout my childhood.

As for reading though, there are a few of us who read and teach literature professionally, but most of us read out of interest. What I comment on, despite my greatest efforts, is for the most part restricted to discussions of the Western canon, a tradition from which I am becoming more and more isolated. My current writing is on Chinese literature, and written in Chinese, to an audience with little interest or understanding of Western literature, so to an extent this forum works as an outlet for communicating with what was left behind. Though to be honest I have not really read a single western canonical work with much sincerity or focus in around 2 years. I simply am too preoccupied.

Now, most of what people discuss here are rather standard works. Novels mostly, which I do not read anymore, and rely merely on my background knowledge to discuss (much of which is now 5-6 years old).

As for what I do, well basically I am working on a master's degree focusing on medieval Chinese verse, something which nobody on these forums really understands or discusses.

[krishna_lit]

I did most of my reading before age 18, mostly by dragging 30+ library books home every day, and then burning through them at 500 pages a day.

Take a bow, sir! (what's you age, by the way??)


Generally had I been smarter as a youngster, I would have focused more on developing my language skills in Hebrew, Italian, and French, and maybe stayed focused on Western literature.
I have a liking to learn new foreign languages too. But now I wish I was more desirous towards it.


I created my methodology for language learning much later in my career than I would have liked, as I had been plagued with bad teachers for languages throughout my childhood.

This happened to me too, but in science subjects... I suck at Physics and other stuff, this is a big minus for me when I think of reading or writing Sci-Fi!


As for what I do, well basically I am working on a master's degree focusing on medieval Chinese verse, something which nobody on these forums really understands or discusses.

THAT IS Geeky, for me, at least! It's great. All the best for everything ahead in that way to you, sir!

And, thank you very much for the reply!

[JBI]

It's only Geeky if you understand it as such - geek is more an approach than anything else. I am not one of those who brings his work with him to every dinner party.

[Poetaster]

I am a trainee English teacher right now. I just graduated with a BA last year, and my degree is in English, and my degree focused on literature, philosophy, and literary theory. Though I have had some private education, so I can speak very basic Latin (hope to improve with time) and I have a great interest in classical literature. I currently trying to pick between doing an MA, in a year or two, in Classics or an MA in English Literature, focusing on medieval literature.

My BA dissertation was on Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy as a response to the politics of Europe 1300s, and I already have ideas for an MA dissertation.

[chrisvia]

I have worked in IT for 15 years, as everything from computer repair to software development to business process analysis (current), but I have been writing and studying literature before and in parallel to my professional career. For the first time, this year, I got an evening job as an adjunct in the English department at a local community college, which has been immensely rewarding! In addition to a BA in Computer Science, I have an MA in Literature and Writing, with a concentration in psychoanalytic literary theory. If I remember correctly, the literary part of me was first captured by Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes, cultivated by my mother who is a French language and literature specialist, and continues to be insatiable to this day! But, admittedly, my bills are paid and my library stocked by my IT career. Given half a chance, I would abandon the field for full-time writing, but so far I only have rejection slips.

[MorpheusSandman]

I play online poker precisely because it allows me to indulge in my passion for the arts: primarily, literature, film, and music. I'll play extensively for several months at a time, build up enough money to live on for 1/2 a year to a year, and then take time off to read, write, watch films, listen to music, etc. I don't have any academic background in any of the arts, I just spend the majority of my time with them in one form or another.

[krishna_lit]

It's only Geeky if you understand it as such - geek is more an approach than anything else. I am not one of those who brings his work with him to every dinner party.
Ok, I take the word 'geeky' back, and replace it with 'intellectual.'

[krishna_lit]

I play online poker precisely because it allows me to indulge in my passion for the arts: primarily, literature, film, and music. I'll play extensively for several months at a time, build up enough money to live on for 1/2 a year to a year.

Would you please elaborate on that, sir. I mean, I really would like to know how you earn by playing online games. If you don't want to describe it publicly, I can always give you my email id. I'm just immensely interested to know about this kind of things that people do in the present technological world. It's like non-fiction for me. :)

[luhsun]

Hah..no bourgeois middle-age physician yet.. so i will claim the honour

[MorpheusSandman]

Would you please elaborate on that, sir. I mean, I really would like to know how you earn by playing online games.Well, there's nothing all that mysterious about it. I download a program for the site I want to play at. All such sites will have a cashier where you can go and deposit money. I usually use credit or debit cards, depending on which they take. Once you have money on the site you just sit down to the open games and play, and you can withdraw the money to your bank account whenever you want. That's the technological aspect.

If you mean how do I make money by playing poker, it's just a matter of knowing and playing the game better than your opponents. Poker is a game of skill based on mathematical principles like probabilities. A good player understands these probabilities and utilizes them to their advantage better than their opponents. It's like with a casino; a casino creates games in which the "house" always has the mathematical advantage, and they always win in the long run as nobody can overcome going against the odds long term. In poker, if you make enough decisions with the odds in your favor you'll be profitable long-term, and you'll be very profitable the worse your competition and the better you are. I got lucky enough to come into poker right as the boom was happening so there were tons of bad, recreational players at every level. While it's died down some, I'm still better than average and can make a very good living at it. Most professionals play to get rich; I just play to support myself so I can spend the majority of my time with my artistic passions.

[krishna_lit]

Most professionals play to get rich; I just play to support myself so I can spend the majority of my time with my artistic passions.

Thank you for the full description about it.. and what you're doing is great really.., I mean earning as much as you need and dedicating the rest of the time to Arts! Cool. Can I ask which country you're from and your age, sir?

[MorpheusSandman]

I'm from the United States. Age 28.

[kiki1982]

Gosh, I'd like to do that, but I don't think I've got the guts or the knowledge, to be honest...

I need to work for our keep. My husband and I do translation work mainly into English from my mother tongue which is Dutch, but also from German mainly. At least it keeps us occupied, in our brains too, so we can feel lucky, because not all people are so fortunate.

[Lykren]

Interesting thread!

I am 21 but have yet to move out of my father's house (*chagrined expression*). I am majoring in English at my town's City College, but am not really sure whether I want to continue. I have a part time job at a local independent bookstore. That's it, really. Pretty dull stuff, I guess.

[Ecurb]

To Morpheus: My brother plays a lot of poker. He used to play on-line, but he says the competition has improved in recent years, and it's harder to make money now. He claims that despite the fact that you can play far more hands on-line, poker in casinos is more profitable per-hour, because there are more recreational (and lousy) players. He doesn't play for a living, but has been netting $20k-$30k a year for a few years in a row now.

I just wonder if you agree with his assessment? Have on-line players improved? Are live games of a lower quality (or higher quality if your goal is making money)?

[MorpheusSandman]

I just wonder if you agree with his assessment? Have on-line players improved? Are live games of a lower quality (or higher quality if your goal is making money)?I only play live with friends recreationally, so I couldn't speak to how tough/easy live games are. I'm guessing it would entirely depend on the casino and level. Some casinos attract more professionals and tough regulars, and obviously there are more amateurs at the lower levels (at most casinos the cheapest tables are $1 and $2 blinds with a buy-in of $100-$200). It is true that online games have gotten much tougher in the past few years, for several reasons: there was a scandal that closed down one major site (FullTilt), the UIGEA caused just as many others to close down, and amateurs just started progressively losing interest in the years after Moneymaker won the 2003 WSOP. Really, it has more to do with the amateurs/recreational players leaving online games as opposed to online players getting tougher. Even back during the boom there were plenty of tough online pros, but because there were so many fish there were maybe only 1-2 per table, and now it's not uncommon to see 4-5 per table.

As for which it's easier to make money at (live VS online), it would probably depend. Even if you find a really soft live game where you have a high BB/100 (Big Bets per 100 hands) rate, I'm thinking it would be hard to make up for the massive decrease in hands-per-hour. I commonly 6-table at about 60-80 hands-per-hour each with a BB/100 rate of 2 at 400NL. So, if I'm playing about 400 hands-per-hour that's $64 per hour. Live you can only play about 20-30 hands per hour. So even if I'm playing at 5/10 I'd have to have a BB/100 of about 13(!!!) to make the same amount, and I doubt seriously the live players at 5/10 are THAT bad! That said, not all players can make a profit multi-tabling, so if you're only playing 1 table at a time online and you don't have a big winrate, live could easily probably become a more profitable proposition, especially if there are weak players at higher levels.

[KingNikolai1]

I don't really post on here much, but I have been reading the forum casually for a couple years. At college I study Russian Language and Literature and plan on minoring in English. For the past year I have been discussing academia with my advisers, at this moment I am interested in pursuing graduate school for Old and Middle English literature. The medieval period has always interested me, and hopefully I shall have a better grasp on region and time within a year.

[OrphanPip]

I'm finishing my MA in April, writing on the influence of theatrical culture on early novels. My general scholarly interests are in Restoration theatre studies and epistemological debates in early fiction. I also have side interests in Shakespearean adaptation, celebrity culture of the eighteenth century, and neoclassical homoeroticism. Some specific topics I have written on include the homoerotic anxiety in the Fairie Queene, Cleopatra as proto-feminist icon in the Restoration, religious conversion in The Merchant of Venice, and am currently writing a paper on Aphra Behn's villainous heroines as reconfigurations of the Don Juan mythos.

I might do a PhD in a year or two if I get another full ride like I got for my MA, but otherwise I'm just taking a break since I'm getting married and need to work more than study at the moment.

[ChicagoReader]

I'm a customer support consultant for a software company that deals with energy futures. Pretty tedious work that doesn't leave as much time as I'd like for reading, and even less for writing. But it's fun to work in the Loop, across the street from the Sears tower, as we natives call it!

[krishna_lit]

Gosh, I'd like to do that, but I don't think I've got the guts or the knowledge, to be honest...

I need to work for our keep. My husband and I do translation work mainly into English from my mother tongue which is Dutch, but also from German mainly.

Good work ma'am; because, you're whole heartedly involving with language and written words in three different languages (Dutch, German and English) so according to me that is a great service for the world of words. No kidding.


At least it keeps us occupied, in our brains too, so we can feel lucky, because not all people are so fortunate.
And the esteem you have for the work you do is very admirable and inspirational for youngsters like myself. Thanks for sharing your experiences with all of us here in this thread! We wish you all the very best for everything good ahead of your way, ma'am. :)

[krishna_lit]

Interesting thread!

I am 21 but have yet to move out of my father's house (*chagrined expression*). I am majoring in English at my town's City College, but am not really sure whether I want to continue. I have a part time job at a local independent bookstore. That's it, really. Pretty dull stuff, I guess.

First things first, it is not pretty dull stuff at all, buddy! I mean, you're getting to live along with the works of art created decades and centuries ago and also you're brave enough to do that rather than just choosing something else that's more paying. That, in a way, shows your respect for the book world. And coming to your English majoring, ya I often thought and felt the same too, (I didn't go into that field of academics though). I mean, mostly book reading independence is good (for me, alteast) when you pick up a book on your own interest rather than as a compulsion from the lecturer or as a part of the academic curriculum (no offense). I'm saying this because I've seen people not enjoying some of the greatest books just because they were on the task of reading it as a part of their classroom education. Now, that's called pretty dull stuff, not the working in a bookstore.

Thanks for sharing your experiences here. All the best, pal :)

[krishna_lit]

I don't really post on here much, but I have been reading the forum casually for a couple years. At college I study Russian Language and Literature and plan on minoring in English. For the past year I have been discussing academia with my advisers, at this moment I am interested in pursuing graduate school for Old and Middle English literature. The medieval period has always interested me, and hopefully I shall have a better grasp on region and time within a year.

That's a good plan to pursue studies in the branch of language. And as you're from Russia, let me just mention this: I'm currently reading the illustrated hardcover Telugu translation of Anatholy Tomilin's 'How People Discovered The Shape of the Earth.' But when I tried to checkout and download the English translation of this book or the illustration pictures from Google, to my dismay, I neither found anything about the book nor its author. I was pretty disappointed, and when I searched with the ISBN (5-05-001614-2) I found out a single internet-archive kind-of page result in Russian language. Why I'm mentioning this to you is, if you know about this book and if you have any of the illustrations (JPEGs etc) used in the book, please do link the url over here. I'd love to have them with me.

And, Thank you for sharing your future plans in the field of academia. All the best :)

[krishna_lit]

I'm finishing my MA in April, writing on the influence of theatrical culture on early novels. My general scholarly interests are in Restoration theatre studies and epistemological debates in early fiction. I also have side interests in Shakespearean adaptation, celebrity culture of the eighteenth century, and neoclassical homoeroticism. Some specific topics I have written on include the homoerotic anxiety in the Fairie Queene, Cleopatra as proto-feminist icon in the Restoration, religious conversion in The Merchant of Venice, and am currently writing a paper on Aphra Behn's villainous heroines as reconfigurations of the Don Juan mythos.

That is some serious stuff in the field, never even heard the things you've mentioned. With your reply you've broadened the margin of literary studies knowledge I have, especially with what you've written on; especially "epistemological debates in early fiction" sounded very good and interesting. Never heard of neoclassical homoeroticism; will check it out. [/quote]


I might do a PhD in a year or two if I get another full ride like I got for my MA, but otherwise I'm just taking a break since I'm getting married and need to work more than study at the moment.

Hope you get your full ride for pursuing PhD. And all the very best for your marriage and your eventual life. Thanks for sharing your experiences with the past and thoughts on the future.

[krishna_lit]

I'm a customer support consultant for a software company that deals with energy futures. Pretty tedious work that doesn't leave as much time as I'd like for reading, and even less for writing. But it's fun to work in the Loop, across the street from the Sears tower, as we natives call it!

I'm from India, and very large number of youngsters from here work in customer support.. So, I can say the kind of dreams you have are also being shared by many people around this part of the world. And yes it can be very tedious working on it and also trying to save time for practicing art. Hope you will be able to do so in the future. All the best!

[ChicagoReader]

I'm from India, and very large number of youngsters from here work in customer support.. So, I can say the kind of dreams you have are also being shared by many people around this part of the world. And yes it can be very tedious working on it and also trying to save time for practicing art. Hope you will be able to do so in the future. All the best!

Thanks for the kind words!

[KingNikolai1]

I am flattered by your response, but I am American (with Russian heritage). I did some searching on the work you mentioned, unfortunately I could not attain an internet copy for free. It looks as if my university's library does not even have a copy in the original language.

[coeus]

If this were a Steinbeck or Dickens novel, I would be the villain. I'm a banker. :)

[krishna_lit]

I am flattered by your response, but I am American (with Russian heritage). I did some searching on the work you mentioned, unfortunately I could not attain an internet copy for free. It looks as if my university's library does not even have a copy in the original language.

Thank you for running a search.. and yeah it did seem a bit as a rare book!

[krishna_lit]

If this were a Steinbeck or Dickens novel, I would be the villain. I'm a banker. :)

Banking.. Cool.. what are your experiences with literature all along your life?? Your aims and dreams in this field?? Just asking!

[coeus]

Banking.. Cool.. what are your experiences with literature all along your life?? Your aims and dreams in this field?? Just asking!

I've enjoyed reading since I was a kid. I wanted to get an English degree in college, but my parents were less than enthused about that idea. Not "practical" enough. So instead, I went for a double major, Literature and Economics. An odd combination, but it allowed me to pursue something I loved along with another subject I was both interested in and expanded my employment options. I debated graduate school, but then life happened, and I was offered a job I couldn't refuse, and ended up in banking. I still love to read, and hope to someday go back to school to pursue that Masters degree, but that will probably have to wait until retirement.

[hannah_arendt]

I am a teacher and work as a clerk too.

[Delta40]

If this were a Steinbeck or Dickens novel, I would be the villain. I'm a banker. :)

Would I be hated more? I work for the Tax Office...

[krishna_lit]

I am a teacher and work as a clerk too.

Teaching is a great profession to live with. My parents are teachers, too; I feel proud of it. What do you teach, by the way??

[krishna_lit]

Would I be hated more? I work for the Tax Office...

None can truly hate you unless you hate yourself! And that you're a person who reads books, you (and the world) have a great reason to not hate you. That solves it. :)

Just out of curiosity, why do people (you and coeus) that deal with monetary issues (banking, taxing) are posting here as if they're hated by the world?? Just asking!

[MorpheusSandman]

If this were a Steinbeck or Dickens novel, I would be the villain. I'm a banker. :)Don't worry, this is reality, so you're still a villain. :)

[Hwo Thumb]

None can truly hate you unless you hate yourself! And that you're a person who reads books, you (and the world) have a great reason to not hate you. That solves it. :)


I would argue more that if you're comfortable with who you are, it doesn't matter if others hate you. I'm happy with myself, but I'm pretty confident that somebody hates me. You can't get anywhere in life without making enemies.

That is a nice sentiment though.

[Ecurb]

I'm a grifter.

[Delta40]

None can truly hate you unless you hate yourself! And that you're a person who reads books, you (and the world) have a great reason to not hate you. That solves it. :)

Just out of curiosity, why do people (you and coeus) that deal with monetary issues (banking, taxing) are posting here as if they're hated by the world?? Justasking!

I don't hate me and I love my job - I hope I'm there till I retire. There is often a negative attitude toward taxes and oddly enough a lot of people make assumptions that I'm there through lack of a better opportunity or they just look at me in a pitying way. It's quite funny really.

I actually have a gsoh and am proud to be a public servant.

[stlukesguild]

Teaching is a great profession to live with.

I'm not certain as to just how great of a profession it is right now... especially in the US where the profession has become so highly politicized.

[maxphisher]

Right now, I'm working on my PhD and teaching first year English classes at my university. Before that, I spent 6 years as a Front of House and/or monitor engineer for touring bands. Minor back injuries got the better of me, and I decided that it was time to get out of the business before my body hated me for it.

[mal4mac]

Would I be hated more? I work for the Tax Office...

Nah. Bankers are far worse, at least you can *say* you're in it help fund schools and hospitals. And are there are any mega-rich tax officials? Do tax officials provide mortgages to people they know can't pay them? Do tax officials baffle people with economics so that they can mis-sell them all sorts of rubbish? Do tax officials destroy peoples savings by providing interest rates below inflation, while giving themselves massive bonuses? Banking is a profession where the most ethical CEO snorts cocaine and goes trawling for rent boys (that's Flowers of the Co-op bank in the UK...) If I was a banker I'd seek very quickly to do anything else.

[mal4mac]

Don't worry, this is reality, so you're still a villain. :)

Even compared to someone who makes a living from poker :)

Poker players gamble with their own money, and end up on skid row if they lose it. Bankers get to gamble with your money, lose it, keep their job, get bonuses, get their loses paid for by tax payers money, get more bonuses, ... They make lawyers and politicians look good (almost.)

If I was a tax official, or poker player, I'd spend all my time shaking down bankers. Go to it guys! They're idiots & have lots of money, they should be easy targets, and you need have no moral qualms about sending them to skid row.

[mal4mac]

None can truly hate you unless you hate yourself! And that you're a person who reads books, you (and the world) have a great reason to not hate you. That solves it. :)

Hitler read books. I actually dislike bankers who are well-read more than those who are ill-read. They have less excuse.

[krishna_lit]

Hitler read books.

None can truly hate you unless you hate yourself! And that you're a person who reads books, you (and the world) have a great reason to not hate you, unless you're HITLER or a person like him. That solves it. :)

Just kidding!

[MorpheusSandman]

Poker players gamble with their own money, and end up on skid row if they lose it. Bankers get to gamble with your money, lose it, keep their job, get bonuses, get their loses paid for by tax payers money, get more bonuses, ... They make lawyers and politicians look good (almost.)

If I was a tax official, or poker player, I'd spend all my time shaking down bankers. Go to it guys! They're idiots & have lots of money, they should be easy targets, and you need have no moral qualms about sending them to skid row.:D Indeed! Usually the best "easy" targets in poker are recreational businessmen (including bankers) who have money to burn and no qualms about, errr, burning it. There's always stories of recreational businessmen wanting to play the top pros heads-up and losing millions. Probably chump change for most of them.

[coeus]

Heh, I figured there would be this type of reaction. For what it's worth, I am a banker in a relatively small town, community bank, not an investment banker/mortgage broker/spawn of satan. :)

[Ecurb]

You and Jimmy Stewart in "It's a Wonderful Life", coeus!

[Volya]

Nah. Bankers are far worse, at least you can *say* you're in it help fund schools and hospitals. And are there are any mega-rich tax officials? Do tax officials provide mortgages to people they know can't pay them? Do tax officials baffle people with economics so that they can mis-sell them all sorts of rubbish? Do tax officials destroy peoples savings by providing interest rates below inflation, while giving themselves massive bonuses? Banking is a profession where the most ethical CEO snorts cocaine and goes trawling for rent boys (that's Flowers of the Co-op bank in the UK...) If I was a banker I'd seek very quickly to do anything else.

Just curious, what exactly is wrong with using rent boys (assuming they are adult men, not literally boys)?

[MorpheusSandman]

I am a banker in a relatively small town, community bank, not an investment banker/mortgage broker/spawn of satan. :)Get thee behind me!

[Nick Capozzoli]

My day job is "medical doctor."