Job Skills That Could be Useful

[The Stig]

Do you have any skills from your carer/job that could come in handy in a SHTF event?

Obviously if you are doctor that's going to be helpful. Same with a fireman being caught in a fire. I'm hoping for some more creative entries.

For example:
I sell industrial products for a living. Unless my SHTF event involves the need for machine component design that's not going to be helpful for much.

On the other hand, being in sales means....

I meet lots of people. All potential contacts, allies, sources of assistance and information during a SHTF event

I do a lot of driving. This means I get to know the local roads, potential choke-points, out-of-the-way roads, etc Also means I know how my car performs in lot of different conditions.

Also means I get to visit lots of big and small towns across the fruited plains.

In my line of work you have to be able to elicit information from people without making them feel interrogated. I'm pretty decent at getting little bits of info out of people.

You also have to be able to guide a conversation. I'm pretty good at pushing the conversation the direction I want it to go. In the middle of a heated argument in a SHTF event this might help to diffuse the situation.

I'm pretty good at conversation in general. In a longer-term SHTF event the ability to be social may be an asset.

Thoughts? Any interesting skills your line of work adds to your prepping toolbox?

[bacpacker]

Probably not so much what I'm doing now. I spend most of my time writing work procedures for instrumentation, ordering spare parts, and researching new equipment. I can't see much use for any of hat down the road. Although I do communicate with lots of various folks through the week.
Past work probably a lot more so, supervision of up to 23 people in a manufactureing plant. Leader of a ham radio emcomm group for 11 years. During that time I worked with local and state EMA, fire, police, rescue squad, hospital, & Red Cross. Some good contacts remain from that time. I also learned to work with folks as a assmebled team from many different walks of life but all focused on the task at hand.
My work background over the years includes all types are work performed on a farm, auto mechanic, carpenter, roofer, 20+ years in Industrial maintenance and 3 years as a manufacturing enginner.All that has lead to a knowledge base of skill with my hands, the ability to think things thru, and most of all problem solving. I think in a SHTF situation being able to figure out how to get by in a given situation and get work done will be a important aspect. I sure hope so anyway, otherwise I'm screwed!

[AlphaTea]

I work in the Nuclear Industry.
Ex Navy ELT
I worked in a lab that does radiation detection instrumentation calibration and repair. I have designed/built/modified a few things at work
I have worked in the Radio-Chemistry lab for a while
I was the maintenance man at an apartment complex for about a year
I drove a truck for a dairy
My family is full of farmers and ex military and LEOs
I think I am fairly good at repairing just about anything broken
Hell, if you put the right person on the other end of the phone, I could fly the Space Shuttle
I still want to get EMT training at work, but budget cuts are stopping them from sending any of us out for classes

[RedJohn]

My computer skills won't be required as most events will somehow result in loss of power. My PMC experience may come handy though.

[izzyscout21]

spent 2 years in the Army on a sniper team and another 18 months as a weapons instructor before I retired out. Had the chance to go to Airborne, Air assault, SNiper School, Javelin Missile, and SERE. At the bare minimum, I figure I can at least I can protect the clan.
I currently am in sales at a Nissan dealership here in KNoxville (not sure hoiw that's going to help).

[Fatty]

ex military, thats all i have for helpful post shtf serices. Course, armed security will be highly desired for those w/o firearms.

[RedJohn]

Looks like post shtf, it's going to be too many warriors and not enough farmers. it's going to be bloody.

[Fatty]

Looks like post shtf, it's going to be too many warriors and not enough farmers. it's going to be bloody.

Thats why one would be smart to stock up for atleast 1 year. After that, everyone will know you'd be worth your weight if you made it that far and can offer whatever services you had.

[LUNCHBOX]

Ex-military/Infantry, although I don't think my Air Assault will help unless I need to exit a building quick. I work in LEO now so I do get to meet alot of medical related people so that might help later. Fished/hunted all my life and was brought up on a farm so I can plant/raise food and animals. This paragraph sounds good until you think what if you had to do this to survive everyday. It makes you think about how it used to be years ago. All you can do is respect where some people came from.

(stocked up on around 25,000 seeds so far)

[bacpacker]

I work in the Nuclear Industry.
I worked in a lab that does radiation detection instrumentation calibration and repair. I have designed/built/modified a few things at work

Sounds similar to what I do. Well used to. I'm still in the same department, just doing some different stuff now.
Used to work for a company that made detectors, got sold to Canberra and shut down my department.
Life goes on.

[Fatty]

Perhaps we should get a list going for good post shtf job skills. I haven't seen on on here yet atleast.

[izzyscout21]

Looks like post shtf, it's going to be too many warriors and not enough farmers. it's going to be bloody.

I agree.
I can't seem to get anything to grow to save my life. I guess I'll just have to protect the farmers.....or whore myself out for my daily serving of veggies.

[mitunnelrat]

Prior service Army, but its been over a decade since I've used the skill sets particular to that training. I do know it wouldn't take me long to become proficient again with the right manuals and equipment on hand.

I've also run the gamut of private sector security options. In the past I've worked armored car and done armed patrols of my area homes and businesses through alarm response and contracts. I worked on a team for the armored car, but my patrol work was solo, and at night. Those jobs helped me develop better SA. I've worked at businesses closing their doors, beer tents/ bars/ a hotel, and a teen club. I got tons of face time with disgruntled employees, belligerent drunks, guests whose room was overbooked (ever seen that done to a newlyweds suite? It gets ugly) and pissy kids. Looking back, I'm amazed I've never once been held up, jumped, or involved in any physical fight. I know I developed some effective communication skills for talking to all of them, but there was obviously a good bit of luck or divine intervention in there as well. Now I sit in an isolated location, up to 96 hours per week at one point. Happily, not anymore. I'm ready for a change.

Back in the day I was certified for small engine repair. Its a perishable skill, but again, with the right manuals and tools I could regain some proficiency there.

[Grumpy Old Man]

Currently I'm the General Manager of a concrete block plant. I still keep my professional geologist registration and have worked on numerous dam and other engineering geology projects. As my undergrad and grad degrees are in geochemistry, I have a reasonable skill level of finding and extracting metals from ores using old methods. Probably my most useful skills come from my hobbies of fly fishing, my horses and buckskinning (pre-1840 fur trade re-enactment). I can tan leather using several methods, I've made black powder that actually works in my muzzleloaders, I have the equipment to sew leather and cloth, including a Singer treadle sewing machine, I garden, make mead and hard cider, can vegetables and meat and I'm a reasonably good hunter. My trapping skills need honing but I am already pretty good at setting small game snares. Drawbacks are I smoke and chew and (I really hate owning up to this) I'm pushing 60 real hard; I've had a number of broken bones from the horses over the years, and my eyesight is not what it once was. In a tribal situation I'd probably be one of the elders passing on skills to the young. I can, however still hit what I aim out out to about 500 yds. Beyond that it's iffy.

[AlphaTea]

Sounds similar to what I do. Well used to. I'm still in the same department, just doing some different stuff now.
Used to work for a company that made detectors, got sold to Canberra and shut down my department.
Life goes on.

Tennelec?

[gunbuilder69]

I guess i"m more in line w/ Alphatea and bacpacker...
I started out life as an NBC officer in the 9th I.D. finishing/retiring 21 yrs later as a Battalion Commander w/ HQ Bn 502,101st.
I am currently employed as a senior Nuclear Chemist/Physicist at the Turkey point nuclear plant in Florida.
I am a licensed gunsmith and teach NRA rifle,pistol,shotgun and tactical law enforcement, tactical emergency medicine,BLS ( to include AED) with a company I co- with another combat vet friend.
I love to fish/hunt with my kids,we camp every fall and have a small garden at home.
My lovely wife of 20yrs is a BSN RN and helps us out when we have the 'couples' firearms classes.(priceless)
Did I mention I have lots of resources...

[bacpacker]

Alpha, exactly right, Spent 10 years there as a maintenace tech on their Ion Implanter which was older than dirt when I started. I was able to allow them to drop their maintenace contract with the manufacture, Varian. I also worked in the germanium test lab and did a lot of the QC process. After canberra bought them I had to move into the germainium growing lab. I was mainly working with chemicals, which I knew nothing about and didn't really care for. Just didn't fit my skill set.

This is a very good thread, it's interesting to me seeing a little about folks backgrounds.

[mitunnelrat]

My lovely wife of 20yrs is a BSN RN and helps us out when we have the 'couples' firearms classes.(priceless)


Can you link your site again for me please? I had it bookmarked before my computer crashed. I am desperately in need of 3 things: Training, a vacation, and integrating my fiancee in the first process.

[AlphaTea]

Alpha, exactly right, Spent 10 years there as a maintenace tech on their Ion Implanter which was older than dirt when I started. I was able to allow them to drop their maintenace contract with the manufacture, Varian. I also worked in the germanium test lab and did a lot of the QC process. After canberra bought them I had to move into the germainium growing lab. I was mainly working with chemicals, which I knew nothing about and didn't really care for. Just didn't fit my skill set.

This is a very good thread, it's interesting to me seeing a little about folks backgrounds.
I never met them but I did spend a lot of time on the phone with Wes, Lee and Kay and Craig at Tennelec...

[bacpacker]

Lee and kay are good friends of mine. Worked with wes a little. Craig don't sound familiar to me. Some good people.

[AlphaTea]

IIRC Craig was a sales rep replacement for Bill after he had some kind of health issue...
Lee and Wes were the go-to guys for info on the old APC and LB series counters
Oh yea, how could I forget Perry. He still comes around to work on our APEX stuff (which you probably "grew")

[bacpacker]

I worked with Bill the whole time I was there, he took me up for my first flight in a Cessna. I've never met Criag. I don't think I met Perry either. He may be from Canberra.
I left there in 99 and moved to a manufacturing plant for consumer appliances. Worked there for 9 years, then they up and moved to Mexico. I got out 3 months before they moved.

[AlphaTea]

It is amazing to me how similar many of us are

[gunbuilder69]

Can you link your site again for me please? I had it bookmarked before my computer crashed. I am desperately in need of 3 things: Training, a vacation, and integrating my fiancee in the first process.

here's that link Big John;
Charlie Group (http://www.charliegroupoperational.com/)

[mitunnelrat]

Thank you!

[LUNCHBOX]

Currently I'm the General Manager of a concrete block plant. I still keep my professional geologist registration and have worked on numerous dam and other engineering geology projects. As my undergrad and grad degrees are in geochemistry, I have a reasonable skill level of finding and extracting metals from ores using old methods. Probably my most useful skills come from my hobbies of fly fishing, my horses and buckskinning (pre-1840 fur trade re-enactment). I can tan leather using several methods, I've made black powder that actually works in my muzzleloaders, I have the equipment to sew leather and cloth, including a Singer treadle sewing machine, I garden, make mead and hard cider, can vegetables and meat and I'm a reasonably good hunter. My trapping skills need honing but I am already pretty good at setting small game snares. Drawbacks are I smoke and chew and (I really hate owning up to this) I'm pushing 60 real hard; I've had a number of broken bones from the horses over the years, and my eyesight is not what it once was. In a tribal situation I'd probably be one of the elders passing on skills to the young. I can, however still hit what I aim out out to about 500 yds. Beyond that it's iffy.


Grumpy, I'd take you in and attach to base camp and just set around and listen to your stories (with a little mead of course)

[izzyscout21]

I can teach everyone to drive a Stryker, LOL

[Twitchy]

I can teach everyone to drive a Stryker, LOL

oooooh ooooooh ooooh me first ME FIRST!!!!