So call me nosey... but what do you all do for a living?

Office/Admin Manager for a company which manufactures kitchenware products in the Far East for all of the big high street retailers whose names you all know. That's my full time, 40 hour/week job. I also do freelance virtual PA/secretarial work, and work as a part-time Human and Equine Bowen Therapist. Need to do the extra jobs, as OH is on a very low income (mine's not great either, but the job suits my needs in many ways) and if I want to keep my horses, it's up to me to find the ways and means of doing so.

So, up to 60 hour working week, plus running the house (OH doesn't help as his back problems prevent him), plus looking after 4 horses and keeping 2 of them fit for open/advanced level endurance. I'm living proof that it can be done!

I manage, somehow, but have no social life whatsoever (except on here and FB etc. when ths boss's back's turned at work!).
 
Wow, so impressed with the amount of hours some of you work and still cope with keeping a horse - especially on DIY!

I'm a dog groomer - I own a salon and have two other ladies who rent tables in my shop. Being self employed means no paid holidays (unless I've carefully saved up for it), but I do love being in charge of my day/time. I'm also studying to sit a level of qualification of C&G. I also write the odd article for "The Pro Groomer" which is a dog grooming magazine published by Dog World.

My horse is on assisted DIY in the summer (he's an extraoridnarily good doer, so must come in at lunch time) but complete DIY in the winter. I work the horse 5 x a week and try to get the odd lesson regularly to get me back competing after a ten year gap of having horses. I'm learning dressage from scratch and I love it.

I tend to work about 40 hours a week, and then study another 5 hour (not including the one day a fortnight I go for mock exams, which takes about 8 hours between getting dog prepped, driving thru to exam center and then doing exam, getting feedback and then dropping dog off home again). I spend maybe 5 or 6 hours every three months or so writing.

Those of you that work some 50+ hours, I take my hat off to you. Dunno where you find the energy!
 
After years of slogging my guts of for a large Financial Planning Company who just didnt understand the flexibility that you need with horses, especially one as accient prone as mine, i left and set up my own company offering paraplanning and admin support to Financial Advisers on a remote basis. I work totally from home and work for about 8 different financial advisers around the country. My newest one is in Ireland! It gives me a lot more flexibility for my horses as i compete my own young horse and a grade a for the owner in BS. Now i have the flexibility i would love to do a bit more with horses as my dream is to do horses full time again one day! So any of you that has a talented SJ they want competing, Pm me :D
 
I am currently working for an advertising and promotions company, which I do love as the work is so varied and all the different projects keep me on my toes!

But I have also been in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force for 3 years, as a Mechanical Transport Driver (I have gained all my driving licenses C, C+E (ARTICULATED) D (COACH) and ADR (hazardous materials).

But I am currently in the process of joining up as a regular! and my application has just been sent off!! :)
 
feefeeb28 said:
Hi everyone!.
So... whenever I'm at an event I'm always crippled with curiosity as to what everyone does. How you juggle work and competing etc. So humour me?
I'm a nurse, I work 12 1/2 hour shifts so get plenty of days off, but i have to do nights, bank hols and weekends. I have my horse on DIY livery but pay someone to see to him when I can't. It's a struggle to keep him in consistent work sometimes.
Tell me, tell me!!!!
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I work as an admin assistant for a temping agency and I am currently working for the agency at a large Council office. I work in Income and Awards (we deal with Council Tax and Housing Benefit). My job is boring but I enjoy the hours - 8.30am - 4 or 4.15pm and half an hour or an hours lunch, its up to me. I only get paid for the hours I do and I live at home so the 'living is easy'. I'm lucky as I have a fair bit of disposable income but the horse does cost me at least £80 per week for rent/shoeing/feed, etc. I compete virtually weekend. Trouble is with temping you are always on a contract. Some contracts last a few weeks and some last a few months. There is never any financial security, and you never know whom you will be working for in a years time. This is my third contract with the agency at the Council now, the first one lasted 12 months, the second one six months, and this one will last approx 3 months, maybe a little more if I am lucky. But i am lucky, I have no mortgage (live with parents) and I have no debts/credit cards/hp/loans.
 
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What a varied lot we are!

I am a civil engineer working on mostly private sector developments. Its fine, I get a good variety and I can work flexi time. I have just finished my post grad quals at UCL and Imperial college which got a bit much.

Horse / home/ work all in a 20 minute radius so he's on DIY and I can whizz off or take longer lunch breaks if I ever need too.
 
domane said:
I'm a part-time housekeeper. For 30 years I worked 9-5 in an office then two years ago, my OH decided he didn't want to be a golf course manager any more and found us a lovely live-in job for two here in beautiful Shropshire. We live on a 100 acre estate in a gorgeous 2-bed converted coach house and he works full-time as the gardener. I work 10 hours a week over Mon, Weds & Friday mornings so have LOADS of spare time for my two boys. Sure, we're not rich financially but our quality of life is second to none. I also work 3 evenings shifts a week in the local pub to supplement my income but that doesn't impede into my horsey time. Life is GOOD :)
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Wow, sounds like heaven!
 
Well where do I start?
I run www.equestriantrainingevents.co.uk
I'm a freelance journalist
Run our small farm including a 95 acre forestry project
Look after house/dogs/sheep/horses/husband
Work as a volunteer for Therapet
Work as a volunteer for Barnados

The joke is I have a PhD in finance and was a high flying investment manager running over $1bn of assets in US funds and I gave it up for a quieter life ...hummm...my life is fab but not very quiet.
 
i am a swimming teacher!!! work 37 hours a week. i keep my horse on a DIY yard!! currently loving it now she is living out and i have no stable to muck out!! downside of job is riding 6 days a week and swimming combined= hench, manly shoulders and arms!!!! :)
 
I am an ecologist. I slogged my life away for 8 years and a couple of years ago (cannot believe it has been that long!) I set up on my own, and now run my own ecological consultancy. I used to routinely work 50-60hr weeks for miserable pay - now I work the hours I choose, have more money (which I spend immediately on the second horse I acquired), and love being my own boss. The work is stressful sometimes, but varied, and can be really very nice - this morning I was planting seeds in the sunshine!

The downsides are that in the quiet times you never really know where the next job is coming from and start to worry horribly about money. The upsides are that I can ride/compete/train whenever I like. If it is sunny I can think 'sod this' and go and ride, then work in the evenings to make it up.

I don't have the 'I'm self-employed so I don't get paid if I take holiday' issue because when I did all the planning which went into setting up the company, I worked out my rates based on (amongst other things) me having 6 weeks holiday a year. Therefore as long as I have the clients to invoice, I get paid through my holidays just like everyone else.
 
SuzyWong said:
I work nights in a traditional manner;), Plenty of time for riding and the pay's good too!!
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just brilliant. i can't believe nobody else has picked up on this one, amidst all our boring answers!

of course, SpottedCat isn't boring, what she's failed to mention is that by 'ecologist' she means Licensed Dormouse Tickler and Licensed Bat Counter. ;) ;) ;)
 
My job is close to the "working nights in a traditional manner"! I have sold my soul to the Oil Industry... today was spent strapped upside down underwater in a tin can all the name of survival!

I worked offshore for 4years ad hoc so none of this two on two off malarky and now work onshore two days in Aberdeen and rest of week in Edinburgh as I have managed to wangle working for a oil company not based in Aberdeen as a consultant :)

I will be going back offshore some time this summer to do rig visits and what not. My horse stays at home with my parents as I just couldnt keep him on my own and this is close to Edinburgh which now fits in well with my new schedule. I am lucky as my mum and I both ride, without her I would have to find a less flexible work routine and this would impact on my career.
 
I drive an hgv and the hours are long sometimes but my boy lives with friends in a small private yard so I dont worry if I cant get there as he is taken care of for me.
 
kerilli said:
just brilliant. i can't believe nobody else has picked up on this one, amidst all our boring answers!

of course, SpottedCat isn't boring, what she's failed to mention is that by 'ecologist' she means Licensed Dormouse Tickler and Licensed Bat Counter. ;) ;) ;)
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I noticed, was just a bit baffled as to the appropriate response!

I do indeed have a licence to bother dormice, regularly count wildlife of all descriptions and have another licence to evict badgers...life's never dull! I store some of my kit at the yard, and was asked why I have the world's largest, most heavy duty catflap - the answer is, it's a badger gate, of course ;)
 
I am a cow nutritionist and love it! Basically devise diets and give mineral & forage advice for beef & dairy farmers!
 
I'm a pharmaceutical consultant working in drug development.
Horse is on full livery just to give me some quality of life!
 
Im a vet nurse so antisocial hours, long days and crappy pay! But have done it for 16 years so it cant be that bad!! Its a struggle to get my mare in sometimes in winter :-( am on DIY as cant afford anymore . Sometimes I dont get her in til 8pm! Not much fun when its peeing down rain and dark.
I particulalry went for something wth a bit of native in tho as knew this would be the case.
Im not complaining tho I have a great job and keep a horse, have to choose comps carefully tho and only really summer months. Winter can be difficult to keep her fit and sadly she's not quite settled enough for me to get a sharer!
 
Gosh, after reading all the replies I feel very privileged and very boring in equal amounts!

I am a housewife and mum, so apart from the school run I am free to do as I please ;)
 
I'm a university student studying Geography. :) I live at uni, but luckily its a rural, agricultural/equine/animal campus so still get to be involved in that stuff and go home at weekends to see my two horses. :)
 
Im a student.... also work part time in catering and do photography part time too.... im studying for a business management degree - and applying for masters in medical law and bioethics - but been accepted onto HR - (just to prove you can succeed at uni with a horse!!!) :D

Funds the horse... competing... tennis...my dogs active social life :D ..... socialising for moi.

Also student loan is funding my masters or a horsebox. not decided yet haha (whichever gets funded the other will be paid for out of a bank loan :D )
 
I'm a YO of a 30 horse livery yard, 24 DIY/Assisted DIY and 6 Part liveries. I'm very lucky my family owns 2 farms so have no stress about keeping the yard full, rather have half a yard of nice liveries than a full yard of b*tches!

This time of year I only 'work' for a few hours per day, so I have 6 horses of my own to play with.
 
Two horses are in full livery and a pony on grass livery. I do as much as I can but am a mum of two and work full time running our own headhunting firm.

Regular week - leave home bout 8am ish and go to work, leave office or London (depends on diary) and drive 1 hour to yard to exercise both horses. Drive 1 hour home, normally getting back bout 10.30am. Do this couple of nights per week, daughter comes down one night in the week as well! Dont tell her school teacher!!

Weekends watch my boy play footie then off to the yard to go to trainers or compete or help my little girl out to compete, hack or school.

Love my yard but wish it was closer....worked out I do 1000 miles every 3.5 weeks just getting to my horses!! My car is knackered. As am I!!
 
MD of a Procurement company. Whilst we cover all areas of Procurement, including training, we specialise in providing training and support for SMEs on Tender processes. We provide the IT support as well, including hosting websites for the SMEs and individuals (I'm told our prices are "bl00dy brilliant lass!" - and to get reactions like that makes it all well worthwhile :D). I'm moving more into the training and away from the consultancy side, leave that to the others (long, long hours and usually away from home). This new emphasis will allow me to spend more time at home with the family and neds.

Have four horses of varying varieties. D, D1 and D2 all help look after them (and the four dogs and two cats) :D. If I have a close enough contract I'll get up at five a.m. to ride before driving to the client's office. Competing is still a way off, but my role usually allows for flexibility :cool:
 
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Interesting post! I qualified as a Chartered Surveyor (Land Agent) but currently working as an advisor for the NFU. At the moment I work 9-5 Monday to Friday and have one horse on part livery (turn out or bring in) about 10 mins from home/work. Enjoy my job most of the time, do a fair bit of driving as I cover three counties but get to see some beautiful countryside. I do quite a lot of evening meetings but can start late the next day so is reasonably flexible.

:)I go to the yard at least once a day usually twice a day at weekends as its close enough. It is very expensive but is the best livery yard within a reasonable distance and has very good facilities. I would much rather keep him DIY but unfortunately there is nowhere close enough that I would want to keep him. My biggest frustration is that my parents are an hour away from where I live now with all of the stables, land, school etc and I pay a fortune for livery. I am married and have two dogs which need a lot of exersize so when i'm not working i'm riding, dog walking or hoovering (a bit OCD!) DO cook occasionally but just something out of a jar, hubby is much better in the kitchen and cooks a mean roast dinner. I pretend I can't cook but really I just don't cook!

My horse was only broken last October so hoping to get out to some parties soon but not quite decided what his forte will be.
 
I work as a Police Community Support Officer working shifts, on DIY/Part Livery, up at 5.30am to muck out and turf my poor horse out into the field before work, on lates pay YO to bring in and then I change rug when finish work. Pretty good chance of leav ing work on time, occasionally have to work late - thank god for mobile phones, understanding Sgts and a horse who is not fussed by routine.
 
Gosh some interesting jobs. I work in a top national hunt yard, and love it. Pays ok, some overtime when we go racing and bonus's every 3 month depending on how much the yard has ernt in prize money, have a 2 1/2 hour lunch break so ride in that in the winter or after i've finished at 5.15 in the summer. In the point to point season busters on DIY livery but other than that all at home.
 
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