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Apprentice Electronics Engineer.

Site Electrician

Instrumentation engineer - developing oil for Gulf War military vehicles and control systems .

Assessent Controller - developing Typhoon aircraft jet engines, new aircraft carrier gas turbines and certification of Rolls Royce Trent 500 aero engines.

Systems Engineer - shared data environments and simulation.

Jack of all trades - bought holiday apartments in Blackpool - everything from window cleaning, apartment cleaning, repairs and maintenance to marketing and web sites, Sold last Nov.

Spent winter & spring 2019/2020 reading lots on here and elsewhere.

Waiting since March 2020 to actually start cleaning windows!!!!

 
Had a warehouse job since I was 18 after leaving college. Got made redundant from that after 6 years. Started working in a factory making seat belt parts. Hated it. During one shift a jobsworth supervisor tried to talk to me like sh*t. So I told him to go you know what and literally put my tools down and walked out the factory there and then on the spot. Made a living as a musician for the next 10 years. 

One day a mate who knew I had days free, mainly working/gigging on weekends, asked me if I fancied trying to start a window cleaning business. I said yes. That was 7 years ago next month luckily still going. Not doing any gigging currently the way things are unfortunately. So I thank my lucky stars I said yes to my mate when I did.

 
Suhrly said:
Had a warehouse job since I was 18 after leaving college. Got made redundant from that after 6 years. Started working in a factory making seat belt parts. Hated it. During one shift a jobsworth supervisor tried to talk to me like sh*t. So I told him to go you know what and literally put my tools down and walked out the factory there and then on the spot. Made a living as a musician for the next 10 years. 

One day a mate who knew I had days free, mainly working/gigging on weekends, asked me if I fancied trying to start a window cleaning business. I said yes. That was 7 years ago next month luckily still going. Not doing any gigging currently the way things are unfortunately. So I thank my lucky stars I said yes to my mate when I did.
Click to expand...
Great timing for you. 

 
panescrubber said:
Great timing for you. 
Click to expand...
It really was. Isn't it funny how life is all about choices!?! If I had said no to my friend, my life (and his cos I don't think he would of went ahead with it all had I said no) would of went in a completely different direction, be it for better or worse. Crazy eh.

 
cleaniac said:
I was a salesperson. 

Started off with business insurance, then mobile phones, ended up in the city selling IT training after being headhunted, burned out by 2002. 

Did a bit of window cleaning with a friend to pay some bills etc. Yo yo'd back and forth working for my dad, and then doing some temping and window cleaning..basicly whatever work I could get I did, even painted the side of a house.

Started up on my own in 2003 and built up a fairly good window cleaning concern, had lots of commercial contracts and started making some serious money with a recently purchased brodex system. Bought a house when I was only 26 as a result and life was very very very good. 

1st Wife was bonking my one of my close mates behind my back, marriage fell apart, tax investigation meant that I had to pay back 50 grand in underpaid tax (I was very nieve back then) 

Sold house, sold business, went on 2 year partying & drinking bender...buried head in sand..complete breakdown. 

Met Debra, she saved my life (literally) my plan was to go out with a bang and take my life once all the money ran out.

She helped me face the music, we got married, I restarted the window clean ing business, Started to pay back my debts with the taxman..those were very hard times.

She fell pregnant, baby on the way, £1000 a week payments on the tax debt was simply not realistic anymore. Filed for bankruptcy. 

Kept going with the business, rode it out 2nd baby on way, Debra by my side all the way. Battled depression.

Now own a Ltd Company, just me and the wife with 2 kids life is good again, it's been a rollercoaster 12years, fingers crossed we might be able to buy our 1st home soon.

All the way through that, I still paid my rent on time, my kids still had clothes on their back and debs didn't go without.

I have had a love-hate relationship with this job since i lost everything back when my 1st wife decided to cheat. 

I keep trying to leave it, even been back at my dad's engineering business a few days a month to see if I can get out of window cleaning, it's just window cleaning is better paid.

Even started studying law to get a law degree, but realised my brain is mush, and it's going to take a lot of time to retain the information.

Back window cleaning again.. tssst

Its a love-hate affair for me. It's very well paid for what it is.

I do the work, go home and forget about it. .my accountant does all the tax, PAYE and I don't lift a finger other than go out clean  the windows and come home..  

I love my motorcycle, hi-fi and model making.. and of course the woman who saved me..Debs and my two kids..
Click to expand...
Bloody hell that’s unlucky although you must have owed a whack to be paying back a grand a week. A woman who my wife knows got caught doing benefits fraud claiming single parent when she wasn’t and owed nearly 20 grand and only paid back £200 per month. 9 times out of ten you only get caught because someone dobbs you in. Probs one of your so called mates that was jealous of the money you was earning for just a mere window cleaner.? Did you get to keep all your work when you filed for bankruptcy as I suppose they can’t take customers good will off you can they?

Oh and I’ve been doing this job since I left school. Worked for and with others before I decided to go it alone and never looked back. 

 
Many.. in no particular order:

civil servant (boring, underpaid, constant financial struggle, no progression etc). Got fed up and walked..
retail assistant
Council job.. bullying was rife, after 3 years it cracked me
Night porter in hotel - easy job, most of the shift was spent dossing in the lounge watching traffic go by.
Call centre - for distribution company that does the magazines where you build something month by month for a stupidly excessive cost - walked when i got told i was taking too long doing postal correspondance.. only for it to then be discovered the others in the team weren't even doing all the things on the system they were meant to (eg sending a letter to the old address telling the customer their address has been changed - I was sending them, nobody else was). Despite this i remained the black sheep for doing it properly..
Betting shop.. only did it for a day but the boss paid for my shirt / trousers lol. I didn't like it so didn't go back. I often look back and think i should have stayed - tons of customers, job security, lovely owner - he'd even let us spend his money placing our own bets! (no we didn't get to keep winnings lol).
Gas and leccy sales - door to door.. utterly useless at it lol
Cab driver.. money was awful but the social side of it was amazing.

Had some years out of work due to ill health too.

 
Tango said:
Many.. in no particular order:

civil servant (boring, underpaid, constant financial struggle, no progression etc). Got fed up and walked..
retail assistant
Council job.. bullying was rife, after 3 years it cracked me
Night porter in hotel - easy job, most of the shift was spent dossing in the lounge watching traffic go by.
Call centre - for distribution company that does the magazines where you build something month by month for a stupidly excessive cost - walked when i got told i was taking too long doing postal correspondance.. only for it to then be discovered the others in the team weren't even doing all the things on the system they were meant to (eg sending a letter to the old address telling the customer their address has been changed - I was sending them, nobody else was). Despite this i remained the black sheep for doing it properly..
Betting shop.. only did it for a day but the boss paid for my shirt / trousers lol. I didn't like it so didn't go back. I often look back and think i should have stayed - tons of customers, job security, lovely owner - he'd even let us spend his money placing our own bets! (no we didn't get to keep winnings lol).
Gas and leccy sales - door to door.. utterly useless at it lol
Cab driver.. money was awful but the social side of it was amazing.

Had some years out of work due to ill health too.
Click to expand...
Bet the social side of your cab driving would make a movie

 
10 years as London Fireman then retired due to knee injury.

Supervisor in alarm company monitoring centre.

BA ground crew at Heathrow.

Class 1 HGV driver & HIAB crane operator

S/employed driving Instructor

Started window cleaning in my mid 50's to supplement my p/time NHS job driving GP's to home visits...still doing that over 11 years later !!!!

Window cleaning now my full time job and NHS adds cream to the cake !!!!

 
mike007 said:
Bet the social side of your cab driving would make a movie
Click to expand...
Why not?! We've had phonebooth lol

I was out in the country and met all sorts of interesting characters. Rich, poor, super rich, embarassing bodies patient, sky divers, **** heads, party goers, prisoners.. you name it i met them! Only one i didn't meet was anyone famous.

 
Many jobs in my time but previous to becoming a window cleaner I worked as a upvc door and window fitter (10yrs). Wish I’d have taken up window cleaning earlier in life.

 
cleaniac said:
I was a salesperson. 

Started off with business insurance, then mobile phones, ended up in the city selling IT training after being headhunted, burned out by 2002. 

Did a bit of window cleaning with a friend to pay some bills etc. Yo yo'd back and forth working for my dad, and then doing some temping and window cleaning..basicly whatever work I could get I did, even painted the side of a house.

Started up on my own in 2003 and built up a fairly good window cleaning concern, had lots of commercial contracts and started making some serious money with a recently purchased brodex system. Bought a house when I was only 26 as a result and life was very very very good. 

1st Wife was bonking my one of my close mates behind my back, marriage fell apart, tax investigation meant that I had to pay back 50 grand in underpaid tax (I was very nieve back then) 

Sold house, sold business, went on 2 year partying & drinking bender...buried head in sand..complete breakdown. 

Met Debra, she saved my life (literally) my plan was to go out with a bang and take my life once all the money ran out.

She helped me face the music, we got married, I restarted the window clean ing business, Started to pay back my debts with the taxman..those were very hard times.

She fell pregnant, baby on the way, £1000 a week payments on the tax debt was simply not realistic anymore. Filed for bankruptcy. 

Kept going with the business, rode it out 2nd baby on way, Debra by my side all the way. Battled depression.

Now own a Ltd Company, just me and the wife with 2 kids life is good again, it's been a rollercoaster 12years, fingers crossed we might be able to buy our 1st home soon.

All the way through that, I still paid my rent on time, my kids still had clothes on their back and debs didn't go without.

I have had a love-hate relationship with this job since i lost everything back when my 1st wife decided to cheat. 

I keep trying to leave it, even been back at my dad's engineering business a few days a month to see if I can get out of window cleaning, it's just window cleaning is better paid.

Even started studying law to get a law degree, but realised my brain is mush, and it's going to take a lot of time to retain the information.

Back window cleaning again.. tssst

Its a love-hate affair for me. It's very well paid for what it is.

I do the work, go home and forget about it. .my accountant does all the tax, PAYE and I don't lift a finger other than go out clean  the windows and come home..  

I love my motorcycle, hi-fi and model making.. and of course the woman who saved me..Debs and my two kids..
Click to expand...
That's a fair amount to share ?

All I am saying is my past was too colourful to share on a public forum.

 But I do fully get the life saving partner, it was the same with me over 21 years ago when I met my wife she 100% saved me, we were married exactly one year after meeting and she has kept me going and on the straight and narrow as she takes no ?

 
Iron Giant said:
That's a fair amount to share ?

All I am saying is my past was too colourful to share on a public forum.

 But I do fully get the life saving partner, it was the same with me over 21 years ago when I met my wife she 100% saved me, we were married exactly one year after meeting and she has kept me going and on the straight and narrow as she takes no 
Click to expand...
I'm looking for hard headed woman
One who'll take me for myself
And if I find my hard headed woman
I won't need nobody else, no no no

I'm looking for hard headed woman (hard headed woman)
One who'll make me do my best
And if I find my hard headed woman
I know the rest of my life will be blessed, yes (yes), yes, yes

I know a lot of fancy dancers
People who can glide you on the floor
They move so smooth but have no answers (ooh whoa oh)
When you ask them, "What you come here for? (I don't know)
Why?"

I know many fine feathered friends
But their friendliness depends on how you do
They know!
Many sure fired ways
To find out the one who pays
And how you do

I'm looking for hard headed woman (hard headed woman)
One who will make me fell so good
And if I find my hard headed woman (ooh whoa oh)
I know my life will be as it should, yes, yes, yes

I'm looking for hard headed woman (hard headed woman)
One who'll make me do my best
 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
cleaniac said:
I'm looking for hard headed woman
One who'll take me for myself
And if I find my hard headed woman
I won't need nobody else, no no no

I'm looking for hard headed woman (hard headed woman)
One who'll make me do my best
And if I find my hard headed woman
I know the rest of my life will be blessed, yes (yes), yes, yes

I know a lot of fancy dancers
People who can glide you on the floor
They move so smooth but have no answers (ooh whoa oh)
When you ask them, "What you come here for? (I don't know)
Why?"

I know many fine feathered friends
But their friendliness depends on how you do
They know!
Many sure fired ways
To find out the one who pays
And how you do

I'm looking for hard headed woman (hard headed woman)
One who will make me fell so good
And if I find my hard headed woman (ooh whoa oh)
I know my life will be as it should, yes, yes, yes

I'm looking for hard headed woman (hard headed woman)
One who'll make me do my best
 
Click to expand...
Cat Steven’s I believe?

Have you thought about getting a hobbie? 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
steve garwood said:
Cat Steven’s I believe?

Have you thought about getting a hobbie? 
Click to expand...
I have a few. 

I collect and repair vintage Hi FI Equipment.

I do a lot of model making, although recently i havent had the time for that.

And of course, I like to ride my motorcycle. Had a great time in the isle of wight going up and down the military road with my mates back in August. Looking to buy a 4 or 5 year old  s1000rr next year and get some track tuition.

My wife is very much into craft, needlework and repurposing old furniture.  Kids, Chloe my daughter loves painting and basketball, James, is just Minecraft mad..

 

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