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.