Your personal/professional background

[Zoidos]

Ever since I started playing this marvel of a game and reading the forums, I realized that the people who gather here are not the usual gaming community as you would expect from games like World of Tanks, CS or GTA. The people who find merit in KSP are mostly highly intelligent, interested in science and sometimes at least a bit nerdy.  This is an obvious consequence of the theme and the steep learning curve of the game and also clearly visible when reading posts or looking at the content that people here create. With this comes also the greatness of this community: Where else can an absolute newbie boast with his first orbit and get complimented and motivated to reach further even by players who by now do a Jool grand tour with nothing but a command seat, 2 solar panels and a can of spam? Where else can new players post questions that have been answered a thousand times and get a friendly, encouraging, helpful answer? Where else do you find mods that require a working knowledge of orbital mechanics, mathematics, rocket science and programming to even think of?

My point is (...got a little side-tracked here...): I would be interested in the personal background of you guys. Of course I know, this is the internet, nobody likes to (or should) give out personal information more than absolutely necessary. All I'm interested in is what is your profession? How closely related is it to the game? If not related at all, why do you KSP? When did you find this interest that drives you to KSP? 

Since you should not ask questions you are not prepared to answer, I'll make a start: I am a Service Delivery Manager with a major european IT-Company. My work has (unfortunately) nothing to do with space travel or rocket science. When I was 16, my sister gave me Stephen Hawking's "A brief history of time" and later Bill Bryson's mind-bending "A short history of nearly everything" for Christmas. Ever since I have been hooked on science, how we came to be, how the solar system was born, etc... The reason I am a manager is that I suck at maths. I would much rather be a scientist (astrophysicist to be exact). 

So now it's your turn, I'm looking forward to and appreciate any constructive answers.

[Snark]

Software engineer with a physics degree, and a space nerd of long standing.  So KSP is about as close to a dream come true for me as it is possible to get. 

[NecroBones]

 

Yeah, IT guy here. I'm a linux Systems Engineer at a university. The closest thing to being space-related with my job is that we have space themes for our IT building. All of the conference rooms are named after spacecraft and notable vehicles (Voyager, Pioneer, Hubble, Viking, etc), and we have a telescope on the roof that none of us are allowed to go near.

 

[OhioBob]

I've been retired for about 2.5 years, but prior to that I worked for a construction company that specialized in the building of municipal water and wastewater treatment plants.  My duties varied, but for most of my career I was a mechanical estimator, which means I was part of the estimating team that bid projects.  Specifically, I was responsible for mechanical work, which includes process piping, plumbing and HVAC.  My title was Mechanical Manager.  I have a bachelor's degree in civil engineering.

My interest in astronomy and space flight goes all the way back to my childhood.  I was a big follower of the Apollo moon landings.  This interest carried over into my adult life.  Although my chosen career had nothing to do with space, it is something I've always had a passion for and have pursued it closely as a hobby.

 

[Frybert]

 

[regex]

I'm a developer now, for the last 8 years or so (I include my open source work in that), but I've done a ton of general IT work in the past, including building/prepping systems, tech support, admin, networking, that sort of thing.  I've been a big sci-fi nerd for a long time, although I prefer the human condition/philosophy-centric fiction of New Age authors like Herbert as well as futurist/cyberpunk stuff.  A coworker recommended KSP to me based on our mutual interest and play in EVE: Online and it all snowballed from there.

[razark]

I work on the ass-end of the Information Technology field for a contractor providing services to a certain four-letter government agency.  My job is a little bit of programming, a little bit of document management, a little bit of database work, a lot of meetings, and way too much technical support.

As for relevant personal background, I grew up a stone's throw from Johnson Space Center.  Everyone on our block worked for NASA, except the family across the street (they were college professors).  My father was an electrical engineer who started during Apollo-Soyuz before working on radios for Shuttle and then upwards through the Engineering Directorate.  He retired about a decade ago because the job stopped being fun when it became less about solving problems and more about solving people.

Also, there's a thread like this here:

 

[Red Dwarf]

I'm still a student, but I'm currently studying physics and astronomy. I'm hoping to get research work in planetary geology, or possibly at a space-flight museum. I don't really have what you'd call a capital-p Plan, but for now that's the direction I'm headed. My options are almost limitless right now, but I know for a fact that space is what I'm going to do for the rest of my life!

[magico13]

B.S. in physics with minors in chemistry and math, about to finish a masters in materials science, and starting a job in a few months doing software development. My "specialty" is simulation and theory of polymer dynamics, which isn't really that applicable to anything on its own  I'm not actually a huge fan of the field, so that's why I'm switching over to software development (enterprise content management software specifically).

I've always been fascinated by space, so that's where the love for KSP comes in. Never wanted to pursue space research for a job though since I'd probably start hating it if I had to spend all my time on it. An analogy: reading is fun, but dissecting a book for an english class isn't and makes me not want to read any more than I have to. I don't want that to happen to my enthusiasm for space.

[Zoidos]

10 minutes ago, Frybert said:

 

Yeah, I should have thought that I'm not the first one to start a thread like this. Thanks for the links though, very interesting.

[Jasper_f]

Currently doing my PhD in cognitive neuroscience at a University. KSP has rekindled my long love for space exploration. After high school I strongly considered doing my bachelors in Aerospace Engineering, but that required that I'd do a preparation year to increase my math and physics knowledge. I chose to take another path in the direction of cognitive neuroscience (which has been fantastic so far; don't misunderstand me). However, I daresay that, had KSP been around at that time, my choice in bachelor education would likely have been different (a thought that brings a sad, nostalgic smile to my face). 

 

But, like I said, KSP has rekindled my love for space exploration and research. I've been following developments on all fronts as much as I can, try to watch live streams (SpaceX keeps upping their game when it comes to livestreams!!), and keep watching the skies. In 2015 I finally took the plunge and purchased a Skywatcher Evostar-120 along with a guidebook titled: "stargazing for dummies". On one summer evening I set up the telescope, scanned the skies, and wondered what 'that bright point in the sky' would be. Turned out to be Jupiter and its four Galilean moons. Seeing that through my telescope for the first time felt as much as a triumph as landing on the Mun for the first time! Also, watching satellites and the ISS float is always satisfying, and last year's Perseid meteor shower was loads of fun. 

 

I wish you all long days and pleasant (clear) skies!

 

 

 

 

 

[Zoidos]

11 minutes ago, regex said:

I'm a developer now, for the last 8 years or so (I include my open source work in that), but I've done a ton of general IT work in the past, including building/prepping systems, tech support, admin, networking, that sort of thing.  I've been a big sci-fi nerd for a long time, although I prefer the human condition/philosophy-centric fiction of New Age authors like Herbert as well as futurist/cyberpunk stuff.  A coworker recommended KSP to me based on our mutual interest and play in EVE: Online and it all snowballed from there.

Nice. I started out in tech support as well (service desk agent for out of office hours, more a 1st+2nd level job, so probably not what you are/were doing). My specialty was incident management so I went down the management road, lacking specialized knowledge but having a big mouth.

Thanks for sharing!

[Zoidos]

26 minutes ago, NecroBones said:

 

Yeah, IT guy here. I'm a linux Systems Engineer at a university. The closest thing to being space-related with my job is that we have space themes for our IT building. All of the conference rooms are named after spacecraft and notable vehicles (Voyager, Pioneer, Hubble, Viking, etc), and we have a telescope on the roof that none of us are allowed to go near.

 

Thanks for sharing!

The conf rooms at my previous job were named after famous hungarian scientists (guess I just gave away where I come from :P)

Opposite from my workplace there is a university with an observatory on top of one of the buildings (guess I also gave away to any potential countrymen which company I work for) There is a meeting room where you can look right at it. I never schedule meetings there because I know I would just stare at it and not pay attention to the meeting.

[nightingale]

Software Architect.  I don't get to write my own code very frequently anymore (I tell other people what code to write), I've also always had a passion for game development, so KSP modding scratches both those itches for me.

[Curveball Anders]

Ex sysadmin, sysdev, sysarch and PL

Now infosec analyst. (And major annoyance for admins, devs, archs and PLs ...)

[Just Jim]

On disability now... but I've been a sort of jack-of-all-trades, I guess.  I did 3 years in the Army as a medic and APC driver, worked in 3 different factories, doing mostly electronics QA inspection, was a musician, short order cook, construction worker, truck driver, farm-hand.....  seems like I'm missing something..... Oh, yeah, nursing asst. and substitute teacher for a semester in college.

Plus a lot of odd jobs on the side.

[Cornholio]

I am an actuary for a life insurance company.

[Zoidos]

11 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

On disability now... but I've been a sort of jack-of-all-trades, I guess.  I did 3 years in the Army as a medic and APC driver, worked in 3 different factories, doing mostly electronics QA inspection, was a musician, short order cook, construction worker, truck driver, farm-hand.....  seems like I'm missing something..... Oh, yeah, nursing asst. and substitute teacher for a semester in college.

Plus a lot of odd jobs on the side.

Wow, nice, Your CV must be too big to send in a mail

I can relate though (a bit). My jobs so far: Swimming instructor, waterpolo coach, museum tour guide, antiquities trader (antique paintings), shop sales assistant, service desk agent, incident manager, sdm;

Sorry to hear about the disability part. Were you injured during your time in the army (if I may ask - if not, just ignore pls)?

[Just Jim]

25 minutes ago, Zoidos said:

Sorry to hear about the disability part. Were you injured during your time in the army (if I may ask - if not, just ignore pls)?

I don't mind talking about it....  
I was in the army in the early 80's, but only went on disability a few years ago. 
Long story short, I blew out my back really, really bad working for a septic company.... really crappy job... get it... hehehe 

Anyway, my injury is called a spondiolethesis (I think that's spelled right).  Simply put, the bottom vertebrae (L5) is shoved about 10mm forward and out of place, the discs and all that around it are all squashed and messed up, and the nerves around it are pinched... more on the right than left, so I walk with a limp now.  The really screwed up part is there's only about a 50/50 chance surgery would fix it... 3 different doctors told me it could just as easily mess it up worse.  So I've learned to live with it.

Gives me lots of time to play KSP and write Emiko Station. 

Edited March 11, 2016 by Just Jim

[Red Iron Crown]

Not really a KSP topic, moving over to the Lounge.

[Nuke]

im a bum

[Archgeek]

2 hours ago, NecroBones said:

 

Yeah, IT guy here. I'm a linux Systems Engineer at a university. The closest thing to being space-related with my job is that we have space themes for our IT building. All of the conference rooms are named after spacecraft and notable vehicles (Voyager, Pioneer, Hubble, Viking, etc), and we have a telescope on the roof that none of us are allowed to go near.

 

Are you least permitted to access its feed and bring it up on a screen?

For my part, I've a B.S. in CpE (Computer Engineering, but Civil Engr took the obvious acroynm long ago) but am currently working as a programmer/analyst for some state agency's finance division.  Most of my workstation desktop background rotation is KSP screenshots.

KSP blatantly flared up my long-held interest in space exploration as well, after college had driven it into background rather hard.

[dr_jt]

2 hours ago, razark said:

I work on the ass-end of the Information Technology field for a contractor providing services to a certain four-letter government agency. 

 

 

Same here except mine is a three letter agency. I'm currently working on a project to....... hahahahhaha, I bet you guys thought I was really going to tell.

[NecroBones]

2 hours ago, NecroBones said:

and we have a telescope on the roof that none of us are allowed to go near.
 

 

8 minutes ago, Archgeek said:

Are you least permitted to access its feed and bring it up on a screen?

 

Not yet, but I think the plan is to make the imagery publicly available at some point. Right now it's still being worked out who will have access, and how.

[mcirish3]

Pricing Financial Analyst with B.S. Degree in Astrophysics.  Ya I know that doesn't make a lot of sense on the surface.