I've worked as a labourer, driven taxis and school buses, and been a car mechanic - whatever I could do just to get by. But it does mean that I know a little bit about a lot of things.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I've always felt that work - learning from people who know more than I know - is what keeps you going.
I wouldn't presume to know something, but I have lots to learn and that's what I attempt to do through my work.
I find the education I got from living in Derby and being streetwise and knowing the people that I know, the lessons that I had to learn growing up, have set me in good stead for this kind of working life.
I was painting sets, working in editorial as an assistant, driving their trucks, lying that I knew how to drive a truck, and doing commercials and documentaries.
I think I have enough of a sense to know what works for me and what doesn't, without going into some big thing and analyzing what I do. I'm in a position that allows me to do what I want to do, and I do it.
I've been a DJ, janitor, ditch digger, waitress, computer instructor, programmer, mechanic, web developer, clerk, manager, marketing director, tour guide and dorm manager, among other things.
Now I can walk into a room full of people I don't know and do my job. That's quite a massive thing to learn, I think.
As you may know, I am a mechanical engineer.
I tried being a mechanic and I tried catering, but I realized I had even less aptitude for semi-skilled labour than for academic work.
My entire career, I've been a worker.