What do I do? Well, it depends on the girl… Oh, you mean besides putting my foot in my mouth like that? Well, actually I do all sorts of things, but it kind of depends on who I’m talking to. Let me explain…
I’ve had to answer this question a few time recently and it’s almost always been a different one. For example, I was filling in some forms and under “occupation” I just wrote “translator”, which is something I do but only in part. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy it (I also like to think that I am pretty good at it and I wish I could do more), but unfortunately there’s not enough demand for it. It’s my simple go-to answer when I don’t want to give any explanation. Most people (think they) know what a translator does and it keeps me from giving any other details. (It’s both art and science, it’s more complex than it appears but also more fascinating, for me at least.)
Had to update my CV recently and was wondering if I should add something about IT work. People have a tendency of embellishing their skills and abilities when presenting themselves to possible employers and I was feeling a bit guilty for mentioning it on my resume since I haven’t done much of that in a while. Strange turn of events, got asked to fix a couple of laptops a few days later. I did well and the people seemed satisfied with my work. I am reluctant of calling myself an IT technician since I don’t have any actual certifications in this department. Everything I know I learned mostly by myself.
My dad always liked technology, he used to build some basic receivers and radios in his youth. Some of my favourite memories of him are from when he used to plug in his ZX Spectrum clone into our old black and white TV and write lines in Basic, just making simple games and asking me to test them. He passed on some of his passion to me so when we got our first computer I was always tinkering with it. Long story short, after I disassembled it a couple of times (and put it back again) I was hooked. People started asking me to come over and fix their computers, fix or reinstall windows, give them advice on potential upgrades (or even sell them parts since I was also buying and selling stuff). It was fun times and somewhat profitable but not very consistent work.
What I find myself doing quite a bit lately is creative writing, copywriting, editing, proofreading (I bunched them up because they’re somewhat connected) but it’s a bit hard sometimes to explain to people what that means. Typical conversation with random person:
– “Creative writing, is that like writing…?
– Yes…
– Like articles and whatnot?
– Sort of…
– Like a journalist…?
– No, not really like that, I mean, I do research and then, depending on what the purpose is …”
Usually, by this time, I find that the interlocutor has lost any interest and is looking for a way out. I enjoy it, but again it’s hard to make a career out of it.
I could always teach, English and Romanian, but don’t even get me started on that…
So what do I do? Quite a few things, as you’ve seen (and more ^^), but what do you do? What are you qualified (or not) to do? Is there something that you would like to do in the future? Tell me, I’m curious
Tudor writes words 