From a New York Times article about Star Trek fans who build replicas of Captain James Kirk's command chair in their own homes:
“The closet command-chair Trekkies have come out of the closet,” said Keith Marshall, 45, an unemployed phlebotomist, emergency medical technician, corrections officer and firefighter whose uncompleted chair, currently sitting in his brother’s garage, is slated for his own living room in Bonney Lake, Wash. “For a lot of people in the last few years,” Mr. Marshall added, “the pieces have come together.”
I don't mean to make fun of unemployment, a state that many of my friends are suddenly finding themselves being rudely shoved into, but Keith Marshall seems to have covered the entire visible spectrum of joblessness, doesn't he?
How are you enjoying socialised science, Andrew? Having a laugh?
Posted by: matajari | March 22, 2009 at 12:27 AM
"A phlebotomist is an individual trained to draw blood ( venipuncture ), either for laboratory tests, or for blood donations. At a blooddonation site, a phlebotomist will draw the blood, perform a test to determine if the donor is anemic, such as a fingerprick hemoglobin test, and may also help recovery of patients with adverse reactions."
Okay, I learned something. The literal translation into German may be "Aderlasser", which made me think at first glance that said guy worked as a kind of medieval-style shaman...
Posted by: Carsten | March 20, 2009 at 06:58 PM
Keith Marshall's career is fairly typical for an American not living in one of the large cities in the US. He may have begin as a fireman and became an Emergency Medical Technician (a fairly natural career path in the US). From there he may have moved into phlebotomy (more regular hours), and perhaps was laid off and took a corrections officer job.
The thing is that if you own a house somewhere rural you often have to be flexible in order to keep working.
My mother went from being a schoolteacher to running a giftshop, later ran a hotel for a couple years, then waited on table and ran a small town newspaper as well has helped run a small farm, Later she moved back to the city, taught adult education, was hostess at a fancy restaurant, sold gifts at the restaurant gift shop, back to school teaching for a while, and finally sold crafts.
Not a lot of stability in the US job market this generation. Not for anyone, except perhaps some working for the government.
Posted by: Don | March 19, 2009 at 08:42 PM