So you trained as but work as..........

[Auric Goldfinger]

39 minutes ago, roo said:

We had guys in the same boat.   LU have a final salary pension.  When the engineering side was privatised 15 years ago, all new starters went into a private pension where all of us that joined before the take over were in the LU pension fund and kept our travel benifits.  When the privatisation went tits up a few years later, the two thirds with metronet were brought back under LU due to metronet going into administration and they entered the LU pension fund and gained the travel pass.  Those with Tube lines were brought out by Transport for London a year or so later, but they have been kept as a technically separate company with different pension arrangements which is only really being sorted now as their contracts are different.

Saying that, those on a Metronet contract are slightly better off than those on the LU contract, mainly down to 4 weeks full pay paternity leave, which if timed right can give you 5 weeks off.  LU contract staff (so those that joined after metronet went bust, and those that have had promotion since) get the standard 2 weeks.

 

I'm also on a Level Pension scheme, I don't think many Companies adopt these Pensions any moe

[181ce]

I have 13 years of a defined benefits pension from my rockstar days with afformentioned pharma plant thank fv@k, cos I'd be as well off stuffing my mattress as with my current normal pension.

          Probably academic anyway by the time I retire the age will probably be gone up to 70

[lol-lol]

1 hour ago, 181ce said:

I have 13 years of a defined benefits pension from my rockstar days with afformentioned pharma plant thank fv@k, cos I'd be as well off stuffing my mattress as with my current normal pension.

          Probably academic anyway by the time I retire the age will probably be gone up to 70

 

Nice to have a combo of private (equity- mixture of bonds & stock market) and public pension (final salary) as each have their advantages.

 

Public service pension less risky and is rising nicely now Cons have let inflation return as long as one does not suffer to much from those costs that make up inflation.  Get it at 60 too.

Private pension it is easy to do AVCs, for each £15k of higher tax relieved wages put to pension UK gov gives £10k of relief making it possible to build a pension amount quite quickly.  One can access from 55 and get 25% of the it tax free.  Lots of flexible options over and above going for an annuity now.

 

Once one has the the pension pot built up (what is a good size (£1/4M, £1/2M ?) it starts to make work more enjoyable as one can have more than Kobson's choice at work.  Property will be much of my generations pension fund (if it does not do a 1990s collapse).  How much to enjoy/spend and how much to look to pass to the kiddie-winks to help them as, for the first time in many generations,  there ladder is longer and greasier than our many say.         

[YS53]

When I was very young I wanted to drive steam engines (natch  )

When I got a little older I wanted to be an RAF Pilot,however my eyes went a funny shape and I ended up with  quite bad astigmatism which ruled out any professional/aircrew/pilot training at that time (late 60's)

So I joined the RAF as an Apprentice (airframes) but had to wait 6 months for an opening so I got a job at our local food factory (veg canning + honey) as a quality control laboratory assistant.There I found it mostly female staffed,which was a real eye opener for an extremely naive 16 year old () - but I survived and learnt a great deal (I even learnt a little about food production LOL).

I also did a gliding course with the space cadets and went solo,so when I joined as an apprentice in 1970  I also became a gliding instructor with the air cadets at the same time.

Cutting a long story short I then went on to do 45 years as an Airframe/Engine technician,the engine bit I picked up as I went along as I never had any formal engine training but I did have a mis spent youth messing around with cars and motor bikes,which gave me a good grounding in the basics.

I was an active glider pilot from 1969 - 1996 and in the last few years of active flying I owned both a nice little single seater and then had a half share in a big metal 2 seater.

 

 

[Bud]

@SWBoy

 

Are you Dilbert?

 

http://dilbert.com/strip/2014-03-02

 

[MickA]

I trained as a plumber ended my working days as a postman (worked indoors though)

 

Was able to take early retirement and took my pension early, now holding out for my state pension around 2 years away and doing ok thus far.

[SWBoy]

1 hour ago, Bud said:

@SWBoy

 

Are you Dilbert?

 

http://dilbert.com/strip/2014-03-02

 

No, but I have a Dilbert calendar 

[tweenster]

Airfield infrastructure specialist with a large(ish) government organisation, now working in recruiting for same organisation. Public-funded final salary pension scheme that will pay at age 55 so I could take it in 10 months time, but I will probably hang on for another year until my daughter finishes her A levels (because my employer pays 90% of her school fees).

[AdamJonezy]

I finished school in 2009 so only a baby compared to most of you lot haha, I trained as a mechanic and got to my Level 3 Diploma in Light Vehicle Maintenance. Got offered an apprenticeship in a Small Aerospace Engineering company local to me so snapped it up and I'm still here 6 years later. Finished my apprenticeship 2 years ago but chose to carry on with my HNC and now I'm currently half way through getting my HND. Got to say i love this job and machining different components everyday for various Aerospace companies and other places like Alstom is really good. 

[Aspman]

Trained as a research scientist (biochemistry, pharmacology and genetics) now work as a cyber security specialist in public sector.

 

[tempra007]

Trained as a Hotel chef/manager,with a very large stint as a forensic accountant, retrained to be a prison warder/psychotherapist/drug counsellor/ relationship counsellor and general dogs body or teacher by it's true title.

[Ttaskmaster]

Trained as an Infantry mortar gunner, magger and designated marksman... ended up as a sewer repair technician :(