what do you guys do for a living?

where ya from?

I live in SE Pennylvania - I'm a consulting systems analyst. I've worked on a lot of fairly large finance-related projects. I'm sort of off my beaten path working on a project known simply as "AC2" - Advanced Control Center - which is a project underway at PJM Interconnection, an overseer of sorts of the power generation, transmission and distribution companies in the NE US.

I work on Energy Management Systems and with our QA team. Can't really say much more than that.

Red,

I'm a software architect, doing all sort of things in the IT field, team leader/player or one-army-man, as needed. If you go to www.globalinsight.com you'll see what my work materialized in most recently. I'm not saying that all that web site is written by me alone, God forbid, I don't want to offend my colleagues. There are other pieces of software working deep inside the company's server farm that have my fingerprints on them.

I live in Springfield, PA, 10 miles from Philly, Red, we might be able to shake hands.

My most important "project" is my 6 years old daughter, which, of course, is my top-ranked passion as well

I'm in IT security for a company (Corillian/Checkfree/Fiserv) that does online banking, billpay, ACH transactions and a lot of other things related to money.

I live in Beaverton, OR.

Interestingly, I used to work as an IT guy for a small company in Fremont CA that installed and maintained EMS in the area, mostly for schools. They were the area's dealer for Alerton, which is now part of Novar, which is now part of Honeywell.

I'm a mechanical engineer (licensed PE in Tennessee and LEED accredited professional) working for a consulting engineering firm that does HVAC, plumbing, fire protection, power, lighting, and fire alarm design. We work mainly for architects, although we do work directly for building owners at times. I specialize in HVAC design ( here\'s a sample from a few years ago ), although I also have some involvement in plumbing and fire protection design (since I have to sign & seal those trades). Like all of our PE's, I do double-duty as a project manager for some jobs, but starting back in June I have also become our production manager. Oh, and I oversee our IT systems in my free time.
Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, although I spent four and a half years at Mississippi State University along the way. Grew up in midtown, less than a mile from Rhodes College (the school whose library is pictured in the link above), but live in east Memphis these days. Wife and I have a daughter who is almost three and keeps us and our two cats busy as much as possible.

BloggingITGuy - you mention online banking, billpay, ACH, and other stuff. My wife works for a local bank and has over the years worked in their online banking department and credit card department before settling into a project manager slot working with any projects that affect core bank services (which at the moment means lots of Patriot Act and Know Your Customer stuff).

so far a lot of technical stuff - not surprised there.

Alexandru M - I live in Lower Salford (approximately 1.5 miles from the Lansdale Exit on the Northeast Extension) - you are indeed pretty close!

BloggingITGuy - I had no idea that EMS systems could have such a concise responsibility, i.e. schools. This is my first EMS project and the PJM footprint is something measured on a national map. It's actually fascinating stuff. Just very complex at times to grasp.

Gonk - anyone would've guessed engineer, even Mechanical Engineer, but I wouldn't have guessed your forte was HVAC. I thought for sure you worked in something closer to A/V technology. I'm sure most of us wish we could. I know I do.

I'm a Master Electrician in charge of the Electrical Department at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston Ma. Although I went to Wentworth Institute and recieved An Associates Degree, I recieved most of my training through IBEW Local 103's apprenticeship program. We are responsible for installing and breaking down the Celtics and Bruins and any concerts and shows which come here. We're also responsible for adding power, controls, lighting, lighting control programing, IT infrastucture, and any electrical problems that arise.

I grew up for the most part, in a suburb of Boston, called Weymouth, (2nd oldest English settlement on the North American continent!).

I also have daughters, one 13, (Why can't I have a boyfriend?), and the other 10. We who have daughters are blessed. They'll take care of us when we get older!

Happy Holidays

Yeah, I'm no expert on EMS...I was just the IT guy there, but from what I saw there, you could have anything from a simple EMS for a single house, to an EMS for a multistory building, on up to one for an entire complex and above that, as you said, one for multiple geographic regions.

It really is cool stuff though. Being able to see what's going on for HVAC, lighting, security, etc. for whatever discreet unit you have displays built for (floor, building, campus, etc.) with the ability to troubleshoot and make changes remotely.

Compared to that, the banking/finance space is kind of boring, but from an IT security stand-point much more rewarding. I spend a good portion of my day helping financial institutions shut down phishing sites, for instance.

A news report that I just saw said that something like 7 billion dollars was lost to phishing last year in the US alone. So it's nice to be a part of attempts to stem that flow.

Heh, interesting. TD Banknorth is one of our customers.

My professional career and my interest in audio are related.

My journey into audio, and eventually home theater, began as soon as I was able to enjoy my father’s Heathkit amplifier and 4-way speaker system sourced from an H. H. Scott turntable. The loudspeaker kit consisted of two Klipsch-designed, Jensen driven enclosures with an 8” woofer and rectangular horn in one box on a larger corner-fitting range extension base containing a 15” woofer and a small tweeter. Quite a magnificent sound for the home in the late 50's and early 60's. About a year ago I saw a pair of these sell on eBay for $1400.

My interest in electricity and electronics began with my grandfather’s smile and Lionel trains. He was an electrical engineer. As an infant, I would be held up to a wall light switch and be excited that my pushing the switch at one location could turn a light on and off at another location – an early showing of the male affinity for ‘remotes?’ My first word was “Ight,” short for “light.” In early adolescence, I tinkered with high-voltage and related projects that began with my acquiring an early 1900’s book called The Boy Electrician. This eventually led me to learn about tube-based amplifier and radio circuits.

Quite a few years later, and these two interests were fused as I bought a half-working Realistic solid-state stereo amplifier for $25 with paper-route earnings, traced the parallel circuits of the left and right channels until I found a bad soldier connection and restored the full functioning of the unit. With this working, and a new stereo cartridge, I resurrected my father’s turntable and loudspeaker, and used them along with another loudspeaker my grandfather had built. In the early 1970’s, 25 watts-per-channel RMS could really rock the house with such efficient speakers.

Combine this mix with an interest in performance drama and photography through high school, let the television production bug bite me as part of a studio audience and some time behind the scenes with the director and technical director, then add a few years of EE and mass communication education, and technical video production is where I’ve spent the better part of the last three decades professionally - educational audio and video in the late 70's, radio and television broadcasting in the Middle East in the early 80's, video editing and related production into the early 90's, indepedent large video/audio display production for trade shows, conventions and the occasional music video, commercial or film until 2001, now government news and information television production in Washington, DC.

My other pastime is hydrofoil sailing (I gave up a motorcycle years ago, so the boat is my ‘pocket rocket’), which gets me out in good weather and helps me keep and learn skills related to sailing and modifying boats. Do some web-browsing for the Windrider Rave sailing hydrofoil if you’re interested.

RedSIinPA,
Mechanical/Process/Industrial Engineer for a 'little' company - TI in the Big D.
I play in the DLP group. I work in Product Integration.

Prior to Engineering, i played for Uncle Sam in the Air Force, as a Crew Chief on KC-10s. I visited the Pursian Gulf in the first skirmish.

Audio bug was started when i was young. I would visit my grand fathers house in Michigan. I would listen to his various systems including: AR original loud speakers, Dahlquist 10's, Celestion 6's, Klipsch kg2, Mcintosh Pre and CD, Quad separates (pre/amp), Sony 2 channel Amp from Japan, B&O turn table, Sequerra tuner, etc....

Of course this was carried on by my dad and now to the rest of the family (3 boy's)….

My better half and i are blessed w/ a la nina. She is all rug rat who is a blast to be w/....