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zoelawton

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Posted 04 September 2020 - 12:02 PM

Since I was graced with member of the month (thanks!) I thought it only fair that I post!

 

I'm just curious - as my degree is completely unrelated to my current job / sector, how did you find yourself in this industry? 

 

I wasn't really aware of this kind of work, would have never been on my career choices growing up. I finished uni, had nothing to do and everyone always needs some extra cash, i got asked to help out for 2 weeks by a relative, whilst most of the staff were in a different country for an employees wedding. So i went, did 2 weeks, and got asked to stay. So, i'm just curious, did you fall into your job, did you always want to do what you do?

 

I think this will be interesting!



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amberlyda

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Posted 04 September 2020 - 12:28 PM

I went to school to be a biology teacher.  A friend I met in school introduced me to being a USDA commodities inspector/grader.  I found that I loved the job and that quality control was a lucrative and largely untapped industry.  I had planned on staying in agriculture.  My husband got a job transfer and I applied for a job at an industrial bakery as a quality control tech. After working here for several months my manager quit and they offered me the position.  Now im learning on the fly as our SQF audit is in just a few months.



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olenazh

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Posted 04 September 2020 - 12:43 PM

That was my career initially: I've finished Technological college, then got MD in university (specialization meat & meat products) - back in Russia. In Canada, finished 2 colleges, specialization food safety & HACCP, and 1 year in Guelph University. I'm glad my Mom forced me to pick the same career as her and my Dad had: they both finished the same university I've studied at after. 



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zoelawton

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Posted 04 September 2020 - 12:45 PM

That was my career initially: I've finished Technological college, then got MD in university (specialization meat & meat products) - back in Russia. In Canada, finished 2 colleges, specialization food safety & HACCP, and 1 year in Guelph University. I'm glad my Mom forced me to pick the same career as her and my Dad had: they both finished the same university I've studied at after. 

 

Wow - i didn't even know this was something that could be studied at college / uni! Interesting about your parents also being in the same industry! 



olenazh

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Posted 04 September 2020 - 12:49 PM

Wow - i didn't even know this was something that could be studied at college / uni! Interesting about your parents also being in the same industry! 

No, my parents worked in different industries: my Mom was bacteriologist and then CEO at ice cream factory, and Dad was Chief Engineer at the Cryogenic plant. They've studied at different faculties of the same university. 



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Posted 04 September 2020 - 03:00 PM

I studied for a degree in Quality Management back in the 90's; it was the first degree of its kind in the UK.  Prior to the degree I completed a HND in Quality Management and I only got into that because the computer science course I had enrolled for fell through.  I picked up a flyer for the Quality Management course whilst wandering through the college.  Is it fate? A curse? I don't know.  At school I wanted to be a welder, it looked cool with the mask and all the sparks. :lol:

 

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Simon


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Ryan M.

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Posted 04 September 2020 - 03:32 PM

I originally was going to go for engineering, more specifically materials engineering, because the college I attended you were required to pick a major and have a backup major.  My dad is an engineer and he told me, "Son...you are good with math and the world always needs engineers."  I wasn't sure which engineering I wanted specifically and narrowed it down to mechanical or materials (it just sounds cool, play with materials!).  My backup was Nutrition because, well I enjoy food dammit.

 

I got into the school and met with the department heads, which is customary, to discuss my educational path.  The engineering department head painted a very bleak picture, "You will be doing 80 hours of coursework a week on top of going to classes and lab."  I was thinking..."Well, I'm here to have fun too....so this doesn't sound like much fun."  I head down to Food Science & Nutrition (same department) to talk to that department head.  I see they have a food pilot plant and a dairy processing plant.  I fell in love with the facilities.  The department head told me students make actual food products to sell in the campus store and in the regional area in stores.  I was thinking, "Wow...that's cool!  Something I make being sold in the store."  I was hooked.  It helped that during this time there were small numbers of men in the department, about 90% female.  I declared Nutrition as my major, and then switched to Food Science within the first year and never looked back.

 

Career wise I was more along the path of operations versus quality, but landed in quality because of an opening at my first company and the hours were a heck of a lot better than my production supervisor position at the time.  Had a chance to go from a night shift day shift hybrid schedule to a Tuesday thru Saturday daytime schedule and a bit more money.  Who would turn that down?  Some days I wish I would have turned it down....Quality can be quite the headache.



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SQFconsultant

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Posted 04 September 2020 - 03:39 PM

Without doing the life story - I'll start here... I was working for a sanitation chemical company as a food safety inspector, doing inspections on supermarkets and big box clubs and I saw an ad for a company near my home in NJ and they were looking for people to do food safety inspections on food manufacturers, DC's and packaging companies - plus the odd related ones such as disposable diapers and gluten test kits. So I called the company and got an interview the next day.

 

I had already worked with a large hotel company as an international hotel and restaurant inspector, so when asked if I minded traveling 90% or more of my time I said YES - I had gotten so bored with driving a tri-state area including NYC that I longed to get back on the airlines again.

 

The next day we started training for conducting 3rd party inspections at over 7000 locations each year - I racked up so many miles that I was in two of the big airline FF programs and from upgrades never had to fly coach/economy again - that also meant I lived in airports and hotels all the time.

 

But, I loved it - until I started getting burned out, doing 5+ inspections every week, a different hotel each night and flying upwards of 20 flights a week got to me after five years.

 

In my 4th year with the company we heard about this new SQF thing and I was asked to get qualified as an SQF Auditor because the company thought we'd be doing at least a couple of SQF audits here and there.  So, I got qualified at high risk and 28 food sector categories and became one of first 5 SQF Auditors in the US and the first one qualified to handle the Ethical Sourcing audit in the world for the company - let me tell you something, being first is great - but the guidelines were terrible at the time and that meant I had no one to reach out to to ask for assistance, so that first Ethical Sourcing audit I did was a nightmare - but got through it and would find later that helped a lot in going forward with others.

 

It was my 5th and last year with the auditing company that I started looking into SQF Consulting as there was most certainly a need and while I offered to create a separate division in the company that would only do SQF Consulting, they said no and that I'd be better off continuing what I was doing - I had other thoughts, I had gotten tired of telling people what was wrong and not being able to tell them how to go about fixing things. I was in effect being under-utilized and would most weeks come home and tell my wife that how bad I felt about this small business or that small business, how they could do so much better if only someone could help them - like an SQF Consultant.

 

Thus, with also being qualified for BRC, IFS, FSSC - SQFI let me transfer all 28 food sector categories over to being an SQF Registered Consultant and with my wife saying - Glenn, you want to help people, it's who you are - let's do this...  I left the company and the next morning sat down and blasted out about 10,000 emails to every contact I had in the industry.  

 

Glenn Oster Consulting, LLC was born about 12 years ago and while their have been some ups and down with running our own business I absolutely love what I do - I get to tell people the bad and then help them to fix it, create entire SQF programs, even write programs for companies that haven't even poured their foundations yet.  And over the past 12 years we've added consulting on so many things - it's downright mind boggling all the things we offer consulting on. Some of which is on our website, otherwise people call us up and if we can't assist we will find someone in our network that can.

 

The only issue I ever have is that I prefer to talk to owners and presidents of companies that need consulting, since I'm an owner of a business and they are an owner or close to it, it is much easier to converse about pricing, etc than attempting to go through an employee that may not convey the same message - it's what it is.

 

Overall this SQF thing (as the auditing company called it) has led us into so many different avenues, off-shoot businesses and we've been able to meet so many wonderful people and have been able to help people, especially the small to mid-size family operations - love working with families!

 

Not a job, it's an adventure.

 

Now, back to work, we are working on an SQF project today for a gluten free dry blend packing facility - another brand new one that only has a slab foundation.


Edited by SQFconsultant, 04 September 2020 - 03:40 PM.

All the Best,

 

All Rights Reserved,

Without Prejudice,

Glenn Oster.

Glenn Oster Consulting, LLC -

SQF System Development | Internal Auditor Training | eConsultant

Martha's Vineyard Island, MA - Restored Republic

http://www.GCEMVI.XYZ

http://www.GlennOster.com

 


YNA QA

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Posted 04 September 2020 - 05:11 PM

I lucked into this amazing career and field! 

 

I have a Biology Degree, and I was 1 class (4 credit hours) from having a double major in Life Science Education.  I specifically wanted to be in non-traditional education in a museum-type setting.  So I packed my car and moved to KY to be near family and work in a Science Center.  After a couple of fun years of teaching science to kiddos, I had to leave as my hours were cut and I couldn't afford my loans (ahh welcome to adulthood).

 

So I took the first job I was offered which was being a temporary Quality Tech at ConAgra foods.  I was hooked.  Every chance I had to learn a new position or task I jumped right in.   I got hired full time and worked my way up to being the Supervisor Support.  I learned it all. Then one day they said "Hey we need someone to create these new FSMA plans, want to learn how?" and so I got to go to all kinds of training and found that I really loved Food Safety and that I could definitely spend my career doing this.

 

I've since moved on to two other facilities and I've worked as a Food Safety/QA Manager.  

 

I love this field because it's a challenge but it also feels so secure.  Being in Food Safety/QA has really allowed me to develop a voice and the confidence that I don't think I would have found in another profession.  



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Spidey

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Posted 04 September 2020 - 05:17 PM

This is a fun thread.  My background is in forensic chemistry and I spent 3.5 years working for a consultant that set-up and managed LC/MS/MS urine drug testing labs for doctors offices and hospitals.  I started out doing data analysis and sample preparation, but because of my attention to detail, I was selected to be the Compliance Officer.  I was in charge of the laboratory compliance and accreditation for 17 urine drug testing labs across 7 states.  I was very good at what I did, unfortunately, I was overworked and started to burn out.  My Dad owns a very small flavoring company (<10 employees total, we are so small we are exempt from FSMA) and had been wanting to obtain an SQF certification.  Since I'm a QA guru, he figured I would be suited to figure out how to get us 3rd party food safety certified.  He offered me a job and I accepted.  The lab consulting company was not happy, they told me I wasn't allowed to quit because I was the only person who knew how to do my job.  14 months after I started working for my Dad, we passed our SQF Fundamentals Basic audit.  This year we are upgrading to Fundamentals Intermediate and we hope to upgrade to the Food Safety Code next year.  IFSQN has been instrumental in the development of my food safety knowledge.



pHruit

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Posted 04 September 2020 - 05:21 PM

Is it fate? A curse?

Definitely the latter!

 

I'm another one that ended up here entirely accidentally. My undergrad/postgrad degrees and research specialisms mean my theoretical area of expertise is quantum electrodynamics, although I use it surprisingly rarely in the food world...

About 15 years ago I had a research thing that didn't work out, so I took a job in food because it was available and I needed to pay the rent. In hindsight it was a terrible error of judgement on my part :ejut:

I gravitated towards this end of the industry due to the relatively scientific background, was very lucky and had an absolutely amazing mentor, and just kept reading/learning, taking on more things, getting promoted, reading/learning more, and repeating in a similar fashion. A few years ago I got my first invitation to speak at an industry conference (admittedly on a fairly niche topic) and I still feel weird about it now - sooner or later someone is going to realise I'm an escapee from the physical sciences and don't really belong here :lol2:



QualityKel

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Posted 04 September 2020 - 07:39 PM

My story:

 

I originally wanted to go into Dental. Once I got into college for that, I saw all the other majors and changed it a few times and even switched schools. When I switched schools, I noticed they had a Food Science & Nutrition program. I got really interested in it because, at the time, I was going through a really rough time with my body and food. I have a rare gastrointestinal disorder and having it made me go into the food science field to learn more about it. I suffered really bad for a decade [2008-2018], and then at the beginning of 2019, I finally started to feel normal again and not nauseated 24/7. It was a complete 180 turn. 

 

That is how I got into Food Science. As for quality, I started to apply for jobs in this field near me, and mostly quality jobs were available. I actually really enjoy quality, but have always wanted to go into Research and Development. Quality is a very necessary job in the food field, but really in any field. In my opinion [totally not biased] quality jobs are of the most important jobs that people can hold. It is often underrated. We are often called the "Petty Police", but I would much rather receive/ship/make good quality food than turn a blind eye. 



Padfoot

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Posted 04 September 2020 - 08:34 PM

Here we go....

2012 i was starting college and decided to get a summer job in a tortilla manufacturing company where some of my family members worked. (I was actually majoring in theater and minor in political science... nothing to do with food lol)

So I was a quality tech and in that summer i grasped the Quality managers attention and she offered me a position as the lead of the Quality department in 3rd shift and i took it. I started learning a lot from her and then the production department saw something in me and took me as a production lead.

The company got bough by a bigger company and I went to the New company for a month but got called from a manager from company A to come work in a hot sauce back in a quality supervisor position where i learned a TON from the USDA inspector of that place but there was no real growth.

I went back to company B when i was offered Production supervisor of that plant. I loved production but there was so much more i wanted to learn about food safety. I saw an add on indeed for an SQF practitioner and decided to apply. I honestly just applied thinking i would never get the job. Surprisingly I got the call with an offer; funny thing is I even told my boss "Sorry but i don't want to waste your time i don't think I'm Qualified enough" and he said they wanted to get SQF certified and they wanted to take a leap of faith with the little guy because they saw a drive. They told me they would give me all the resources necessary for me to get us certified and all the training necessary, plus we have a few plants in different parts of the US that were certified so help was just a phone call away. The fact that they were willing to take a chance with me made me want to take that leap of faith as well. I's been like a year and a half and I'm loving it.... It was supposed to just be a summer thing and it has been the longest summer of my life  :rofl2: . I really do miss being on stage tho hahahaha. 



zoelawton

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Posted 07 September 2020 - 11:01 AM

 

 

I had gotten tired of telling people what was wrong and not being able to tell them how to go about fixing things. I was in effect being under-utilized and would most weeks come home and tell my wife that how bad I felt about this small business or that small business, how they could do so much better if only someone could help them - like an SQF Consultant.

 

 

 

This is exactly why i hope to become a consultant!



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Marloes

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Posted 07 September 2020 - 12:05 PM

I studied Nutrition and Dietetics in University because of a love for food. After my first two-day internship at a dieticians office I knew this was not for me. Too much tiptoeing aroung the problem and very little progress made. After some reflection I decided to finish my degree and get as much business experience as possible (management courses, quality related projects, extra curriculum). It is better to have a degree than no degree I figured. I landed a internship in the quality department of a nearby trading company. The quality manager left as I was just about to graduate and they asked me to fill the role. Was very happy to do so! You don't always get a job handed to you.

A trading company was a great low-risk start for me, but soon got a bit too easy. Luckily was able to combine it with a much wanted masters degree in Food Innovation Management. All of my degrees to touch on food quality (either law, HACCP or microbiology), but none are actually designed to prepare you for a career as quality manager. There are very limited food safety or food quality degrees anyway. So companies are happy to fill in the gaps anyway. And I find that a background in other fields as wel (marketing, management, business, finance) also helps me level with the other departments in my company. I am not easily fooled since I know (at least the basics) of what they are talking about :biggrin: .



zanorias

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Posted 07 September 2020 - 12:20 PM

 

My undergrad/postgrad degrees and research specialisms mean my theoretical area of expertise is quantum electrodynamics, although I use it surprisingly rarely in the food world...

 

I'd be more surprised if you used it frequently :lol:

 

I studied Nutrition at university with an interest in working with the public - weight loss etc. During this time I found myself getting less patient with 'people'. Who wants to go and see a qualified nutritionist who has studied the subject for years, when they can get dietary 'advise' from people on instagram :glare: Anyway, one module I covered was food safety, which appealed to my scientific side too, and post-degree I got a job working in Technical for a distributor. Decided there I'd like to be more hands on with the process, so later joined a manufacturer and here we are. I'm hoping long term I'll be able to make a (modest) difference in the food safety world, and perhaps look forwards FSA or something like that.

 

 



MsMars

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Posted 08 September 2020 - 03:48 PM

I was pre-veterinary in undergrad and even though my grades were good, they were not up to "snuff" enough to get into veterinary school.  My state did not have a vet school and out-of-state spots were very competitive, even if you were to have the perfect GPA.  Then I learned that even if I were to get into vet school, I would be hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt that would barely be covered by a veterinarians salary. So I switched gears. I love biology and chemistry, so after undergrad I pursued a masters in Food Safety.  Got my start as a HACCP clerk at a poultry facility and have bounced around a bit between laboratory positions and FSQA management but love where I'm at now (animal feed safety/quality).



MDaleDDF

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Posted 08 September 2020 - 04:18 PM

This is an interesting topic indeed, thanks for posting everyone.  I enjoyed reading your stories.  

Yeahhhhh, I got my job because I was in a band with the owner of the company, lol.   True story.  I have 3 degrees, but none of them have anything to do with food.   I was playing guitar in a band, and the Technical Director at the facility owned by the bass player was retiring soon.  He said to me "I need someone I can really trust in this position.  She'll train you.  You can do it!  No big deal!"....   No big deal, I figured I'd work there for a month or two.  That was 12 years ago and that owner is gone with the wind, and I'm still trucking along.  It took a great deal of training, hard work, ongoing education, but it worked out well.  

 

I'm kind of like Kramer from Seinfeld, I fall bass-akwards into jobs, money, relationships, etc.   Things always seem to end up even for me...lol.    But I love the work.  I mean hey, I get paid to eat waffle cones all day.   Can't beat that...



MMQA

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Posted 08 September 2020 - 06:45 PM

Hello, I have been using this site as an educational resource/frustration mitigater for a while now and this topic called my attention to finally post. 

 

I started out applying for a chemical engineering degree and it stuck to me when a professor said that it was a career for times past. That and a few other minor details had me switch to a Biotechnology engineering degree which was under the Food and Science program. The university was in an area where agriculture was big and suddenly I saw myself in the middle of a field at over 110F and bugs all over (as it was nicely put by some professors) poking tomatoes, so young me did not want to be dealing with such a thing (I am pretty sure this is an awesome degree and i was really drawn to it at first). I recalled a conversation with another student that was in the Food Technology program telling me that there was always going to be work in food (we all eat), so that was motivation enough, as a broke college student, to switch over to the Food Technology degree. This was a big decision as I had only been pursuing engineering degrees due to a lot of push from math and physics professors through the years. The program covered everything from product development, entrepreneurship stuff, certification, QA, equipment and a lot if microbiology. To be honest I barely remember these years and always figured I would end up in nutrition or dietetics since it interested me, and my thesis was in nutrition. After graduating there was an opportunity to take a 3 day HACCP course which was intense and had a lot of the people crying. 

2 years later I still had not found a 'real' job and saw an add for qa tech at a baked goods production facility. Now I am the QA manager, PCQI, FDQI, etc person. Not exactly what I pictured when I was a typical college student.

 

I became a person that believes in procedures, knowing (memorizing) codes and regulations, because there is always going to be someone that thinks you made it up, because of course I have nothing better to do I guess. Sadly it has even affected my personal life where if I don't follow step 1, step 2 and step 3 I might breakdown. 

 

Most of the days I wonder why I am doing this but the drive to improve has kept me going. And I learned that even though its not ideal, the only option you are sometimes left with in a tough situation is to throw the book at people, and maybe looking for another job where they actually appreciate improving the system and process (hint management commitment).

 

So in summary, without knowing back then, I did this to myself :) That tomato field doesn't look so bad now.



zoelawton

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Posted 09 September 2020 - 09:33 AM

 Sadly it has even affected my personal life where if I don't follow step 1, step 2 and step 3 I might breakdown. 

 

 

Hey MMQA - interesting story! In hindsight, nothing ever looks as bad as it seemed at the time...the perks of progression! 

 

Also, i can completely relate to the above. I am so stuck on this for silly things - a daft example, my kitchen floor is tiled and we are getting wooden floor instead, one contractor said he would just put the floor over the top of the tiles, that way it's easier and cheaper- no, no, no. I would have a breakdown every time i stepped into the kitchen knowing the original issue wasn't removed just covered! I guess that makes us good at our jobs - shame about the personal side! 



kfromNE

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Posted 09 September 2020 - 12:41 PM

I went to school with the plan of working in community nutrition. I have a bachelors in nutrition, minor in biology. Masters in Nutrition and Public Health. I'm also a registered dietitian. My first job out of college was a nursing home dietitian. My second job was in community nutrition and I realized it wasn't the right fit. I was at the time teaching a lot of ServSafe to restaurants so I knew the US state food code well and enjoyed doing it. While looking for jobs, I came across a Food Safety Director position at a small FDA food manufacturing plant. They gave me a chance. I had some previous experience: a QC intern for a USDA plant and I worked in a USDA plant on the line while in college.

 

I like others, I learned fast and on the fly. It was a brand new position for them. Within the first month I was there, I was learning FSMA and writing their food safety plan (took the FSMA class after I started writing their plan). Also wrote their food defense program and had my first AIB audit in 4 months. I read a lot and used this forum to help me get through. I spent about two years there and moved onto a larger plant (plus it was closer to family). Now I work in a FDA/USDA run plant. My first job had 10 people employed, my current job has around 225. It was a big transition that I don't regret.

 

I'm glad I found a career path - food safety. There are a few of us dietitians working in the food manufacturing business though it is rare. You'll find a lot more in food service and at grocery stores.



Bo16

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Posted 09 September 2020 - 02:12 PM

I started as a Medical Technologist, then migrated to Veterinary Laboratory in a Pharmaceutical Research Facility - Total FDA regulatory over site!  Then on a whim after many takeovers and bosses in the Pharmaceutical world, I applied to a small, specialty ingredient manufacturer.  Now I use that background in Pharmaceuticals to stay ahead of the FDA standards.  (And they thought I was a little crazy creating so many SOPs and processes 20 years ago when I first started here!) Small company, great management, open to new ideas.  Next step is to the Senior Manager level.....  as soon as the Virus is contained and my Boss retires.  WISH ME LUCK!   



Nikki R

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  • Interests:Painting, Spending time with my little men, Food Fraud and writing childrens books

Posted 09 September 2020 - 07:12 PM

I kind of fell into the job. I finished 6th form with every intention of training as a paramedic as soon as possible. First I had to get my driving licence and then keep it clean for two years so in the mean time I signed up for agency work where I worked everywhere! With cleaning chemicals, stationary warehouse, injection moulding, cardboard box manufacturing etc. I always told the agency I didn't want to work with food! (Fear of ending up in a meat factory 🤣). One day I was tricked and dropped of at a factory which makes curry concentrates and pancake rolls despite my annoyance i loved the staff and the atmosphere so stayed for my two years. When it was up I had a mortgage and couldn't afford to take 6 weeks unpaid to train as a paramedic so went full time as a curry packer. I worked my way up to supervisor and then was pulled in to help with internal audits as the technical manager couldn't cope with them and our BRC audits were not going wel, and there i stayed eventually becoming technical assistant (doing his job without the recognition!). Safe to say with have a new technical manager who is brilliant and I love the job. I have been working in my little curry factory for 20 years now, only planned on staying out the day before I complained to the agency about the cruel deceit and dumping outside the gates and refusing to go back 🤣



liberator

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    Model Kit Building
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Posted 09 September 2020 - 10:00 PM

I was always interested in flight, I was keen on being a pilot, joining the airforce or even air traffic controller but that never happened. I also have a love of science and I'm a bit of a  geek.

 

I was offered a traineeship as a food technologist and thought why not? Did a few years in product development but then the Co I worked for shut down. Wound up working in a college as the Lab technician preparing the science pracs and maintaining the science labs. Nine years of that then moved into a dairy company initially in manufacturing. The went into the lab as a technician. Progressed from that to Calibration Specialist, to Lab Supervisor, then Manager.

 

I gave that all up for a stint running my own retail business. That broke me, literally and figuratively.

 

I moved back into the dairy industry and repeated my first career cycle, started back as a lab tech, then Calibration Specialist. Lab Supervisor and again Manager. Management kinda broke me. So I stepped aside and I've now been seven years in Vendor Assurance. We're a small team but are responsible for the maintenance of the companies vendor assurance program.Supplier audits, approvals, material approvals, risk assessments and managing our VA database.  No two days are ever the same - always challenging. I'm getting on in the years and sometimes look at alternatives. I'd love to do some full time auditing but as SQF Consultant said, lots of being away from home, flying and nights alone in motel/hotel rooms. I do that occasionally with the VA role but its not a full time requirement. The odd occasion being away from home and in the air (closest I got to flying!)  and on the road is OK, but not full time. I think I'll stick out VA until I retire.



zoelawton

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Posted 10 September 2020 - 07:37 AM

I kind of fell into the job. I finished 6th form with every intention of training as a paramedic as soon as possible. First I had to get my driving licence and then keep it clean for two years so in the mean time I signed up for agency work where I worked everywhere! With cleaning chemicals, stationary warehouse, injection moulding, cardboard box manufacturing etc. I always told the agency I didn't want to work with food! (Fear of ending up in a meat factory ). One day I was tricked and dropped of at a factory which makes curry concentrates and pancake rolls despite my annoyance i loved the staff and the atmosphere so stayed for my two years. When it was up I had a mortgage and couldn't afford to take 6 weeks unpaid to train as a paramedic so went full time as a curry packer. I worked my way up to supervisor and then was pulled in to help with internal audits as the technical manager couldn't cope with them and our BRC audits were not going wel, and there i stayed eventually becoming technical assistant (doing his job without the recognition!). Safe to say with have a new technical manager who is brilliant and I love the job. I have been working in my little curry factory for 20 years now, only planned on staying out the day before I complained to the agency about the cruel deceit and dumping outside the gates and refusing to go back

 

 

Hi Nikki R, this is an amazing story!

Shame about the paramedic thing - i work with a girl who dreams of being a paramedic and i tell you now she is made for the job, but unfortunately she had an accident a few years ago and due to the trauma of it and medication she can't do it anymore. Glad you're happy in your job, it's rare! 





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