Is your area of expertise/profession useful in a post apocalyptic world?

Peetrik

One of the points raised in World War Z was the role reversal experienced by society. Previous high earning professions like directors, corporate executives, accountants etc were next to useless whereas plumbers, electricians, farmers etc were valuable sought-after skills.

How useful/applicable are your current skills?

evilmonkee

Officially, computer programming is my qualification... I have previously worked as an IT tech, so pulling apart, repairing or building technology as well as programming.. so em, give me that and yes.

Unofficially, I can breed and train hunting dogs (I don't do this, but I can),
I'm a decent shot with a rifle (although I don't have one).
Cook from scratch (with / without a cooker/oven),
grow own fruit and veg (working on being less dependent on supplies from garden centers ie. DIY ways of monitoring soil, amendments, fertilizer etc.)
Usual basic DIY skills - wiring lightsockets, plug sockets, building shed's, safely felling trees, repairing piping etc.

I think that a lot of people who are interested in outdoors/survivalism/DIY will have a large percentage of skills applicable which are not their primary profession.

Grizzly 45

Just call me a GOATS.
Generalist Of All Trades Survival.:D

colonel-yum-yum

Programmer here too. So I'm pretty screwed. Just going to have to try and get by on my looks...
OH CRAP I'M REALLY SCREWED!!

Manach

IT type as well but I've have some legal skilz - so no problems injunctioning the zombie hordes.:o

Doc Ruby

I've no skills, advantages or useful attributes either I'm afraid...

Nothing ta see here...

Have ye no homes to go to...

baords dyslexic

Interesting how many computer related professionals we have here.

Me 20 years odd as professional gardener, forester, tree surgeon and the last 15 as a network engineer (MCxx times more than I can remember).

eth0

Looks like we could end up in a post apocolyptic world where we all still have internet, power and gadgets but feck all to eat

Everyone will be too busy writing C to milk the cows

Tabnabs

Peetrik wrote: »

One of the points raised in World War Z was the role reversal experienced by society. Previous high earning professions like directors, corporate executives, accountants etc were next to useless whereas plumbers, electricians, farmers etc were valuable sought-after skills.

Actually, just to play devils advocate for a minute and one small example; during WW2 many of the outstanding resistance fighters and officers in the various services either came from a white collar background or went into business and/or the professions after the war. You have to remember that these people are highly intelligent, self motivated and leaders in their "community" in many cases. History has countless examples of how these people adapted, overcame and were highly successful in their new roles during times of crisis.

I wouldn't be so quick to write them off (convenient as that may be to a tv/film scriptwriter for example!).

bonniebede

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Just call me a GOATS.
Generalist Of All Trades Survival.:D

I'd never have the nerve to call you an old goat.:)

kildare.17hmr

Doubt ill be sellin too many motors after tshtf so my profession is probably usless to me but i dont judge myself on what i do for a living but more on what i can do

bonniebede

Skills: Childcare and basic nursing skills.
Team leading and community building, negotiating and trading.
Learning to garden, forage for wild food, fish and trap.
Literacy and teaching skills...libraries are important!
Sufficient cop-on to prep
Developing self-defense and community defense skills.
Handy with a screwdriver. (this should be understood in relation to the next item on the list not the last one.:))
Sewing and general crafty skills.
Developing food storage and canning skills.

Hmm. definitely a work in progress...but every day a bit further along.

robdsherlock

skills on paper: NONE, not even leaving cert.
BUT....
i can pretty much do anything i put my hands to thankfully .
my main skill would be mechanic work, have rebuilt engines,service cars,all that crack but that may or may not help in a post apocolyptic world, might be handy for making mechanical bits and bobs.
have tried my hand at gardening, wasn't too succesfull but was still able to feed myself from it( still have seeds actually:D)
family is builders of all kinds so i am pretty knowledgeable in that area and have experience in building houses from block laying to plumbing and electric work.
have done all kinds of welding.fas courses.
i cant think of anything else at the moment but either way im good at stuff with my hands;)

Khannie

My day job is as a geek. The programmer / computer knowledge bit would be more or less useless of course, but I have built up a fairly wide range of understanding on how a lot of technologies work over the years. Couple that with the "engineering mindset" (which I think is by a stretch the most important thing I learned in college) and you're fairly useful in a lot of ways.

One thing I noticed in that show The Colony was that when you couple a decent engineer with a handyman you can achieve more or less anything. That came through in that National Geographic documentary about preppers that Rew linked too. The best prepped group of people on it were the two families where one of them was ex-military and the other guy was an engineer. The ex-military guy had made a point of deliberately hooking up with the engineer. I thought they made a formidable team.

batm!ke

Unless we'll need some very eye-catching signage and graphic design to help build a new world then I'm no help I'm afraid. :eek:

baords dyslexic

batm!ke wrote: »

Unless we'll need some very eye-catching signage and graphic design to help build a new world then I'm no help I'm afraid. :eek:

You could always print out a few signs before the power goes....

DANGER MINEFIELD

DANGER TOXIC CHEMICAL - CLASS 2d RESPERATORS MUST BE WARN AT ALL TIMES

PLAGUE CONTAMINATION - DO NOT ENTER

.... and other such bullsh1t to keep unwanted people away, but get the spelling right

bonniebede

batm!ke wrote: »

Unless we'll need some very eye-catching signage and graphic design to help build a new world then I'm no help I'm afraid. :eek:

Perhaps you can reverse engineer your skill and become a camoflage specialist?

Grizzly 45

Actually, just to play devils advocate for a minute and one small example; during WW2 many of the outstanding resistance fighters and officers in the various services either came from a white collar background or went into business and/or the professions after the war. You have to remember that these people are highly intelligent, self motivated and leaders in their "community" in many cases. History has countless examples of how these people adapted, overcame and were highly successful in their new roles during times of crisis.

Very true..However dont get resistance confused with gureilla fighter.
Resistance can take on many forms to occupation,from mild,say blocking the local Kommandants toilet on a daily basis.:) To blowing up a factory where you work.
Doubtless getting caught as either a gureilla fighter or a resistance,or willfully engaging in acts of sabotage.Got you a last ciggerette and a firing squad at dawn.
So yes were we in a "Red Dawn " situation... [Technically said we are in the 1st stages of one here in Ireland!:eek:] You computor geeks would be invalueable resistance fighters..Think of how much damage a full blown cyber war could do to an enemies comms,and computor systems or if vital files or data banks were erased like the Garda PULSE computor of who holds firearms in Ireland?:D
Same as back then these admin folks made sure five in ten pistols left the FN arms plant in occupied Belguim in a potentially dangerous condition or wouldnt fire at all.
However if we are talking a "survival situation needing gureilla style fighters" not everone would be cut out for that either.Anyone can be a resistance fighter,not all can be a gureilla fighter.

Tabnabs

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

However if we are talking a "survival situation needing gureilla style fighters" not everone would be cut out for that either.Anyone can be a resistance fighter,not all can be a gureilla fighter.

No, my point was; don't think just because someone is white collar professional or not the outdoors type, doesn't mean they should be written off post-SHTF as the OP stated.

I'm thinking about people like Pierre Schunck, Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema, Bram van der Stok, Max Manus and Gunnar Sønsteby.

Grizzly 45

Ah ok got you...Although Van der Stork,Roelfzema,and especially Sønsteby. Had previous military training,Van der Stork and Roelfzema being RAF pilots in ww2..
Sønsteby would be your classic ideal of a gureilla type resistance fighter,and Schunck more the resistance chacter IE a civvie doing what he could to help the underground movement.
Seems like though they all had sucessful busisness lives after their wartime exploits.Still and all a well intresting bunch of people.:)

On the point of skills ,is there any courses in Ireland that are up to intl accredited for paramedic or first responder??

Peetrik

Tabnabs wrote: »

just because someone is white collar professional or not the outdoors type, doesn't mean they should be written off post-SHTF as the OP stated.

Sorry my bad here as I wasn't clear, I didn't mean to imply that the person would be useless or should be written off, simply that someone who worked for 'Irish psychics live' for example might not find their profession of obvious benefit or survival relevant.

I understand that a person never really knows what they are capable of until they are put to the test... but that said I'm sure anyone who posts here or that is into survivalism is wary of how complacency or a safe environment might take the edge of your survivalist instincts

Maudi

hmm...lets see..back ground in construction..and trapped\snared and fished with the old man from wahyyy back...walk .hike..grow..sow..all round naturey type...self taught re..fire builds..storing food..preserving...and yea id be pretty self sufficent and more so CONFIDENT in self pres....and am teaching daughter the same....(missus dosent approve..and knows nothing about food/meds stored in attic)

Grizzly 45

Peetrik wrote: »

Sorry my bad here as I wasn't clear, I didn't mean to imply that the person would be useless or should be written off, simply that someone who worked for 'Irish psychics live' for example might not find their profession of obvious benefit or survival relevant.

Dunno fortune tellers have survived through the ages,and have been able to influence many a superstitious monarch or ruler to do silly things by consulting a chickens innards!!:)

bonniebede

Maudi wrote: »

hmm...lets see..back ground in construction..and trapped\snared and fished with the old man from wahyyy back...walk .hike..grow..sow..all round naturey type...self taught re..fire builds..storing food..preserving...and yea id be pretty self sufficent and more so CONFIDENT in self pres....and am teaching daughter the same....(missus dosent approve..and knows nothing about food/meds stored in attic)

Good for you, for teaching skills. If one is planning for a possible multi-generational societal upheaval, it is possible that it won't come in your lifetime, but someone somewhere down the line will be glad that those skills were passed on. That being said there are many reasons why teaching all that stuff is good for you and your child... bonding, developing a healthy active lifestyle, teaching self reliant thinking, problem solving etc etc. Much more real learning than trying to solve artificial problems in a classroom setting.

krissovo

I am currently in IT as a solution architect. A large part of my role is crisis management and business continuity consulting so I guess that has some value during a crisis. The worst aspect of my job is knowing many Irish companies do not have plans for even minor incidents that would quickly make the business ineffective and have follow on effects for the supply chain.

Before IT I was in The British Army for 15 years as a Military engineer. I was trained as combat engineer (explosives, bridge building, basic building, fresh water supply) initially but then specialised in mechanical engineering for construction plant, water supply, generators). Spent 8 years in bomb disposal with a lot of that time spent in Bosnia and Kosovo advising on minefield/bobby trap clearance and monitoring minefields.

Unfortunately a lot of my military skills are perishable, mechanically I can fix most machinery built before 1998 but engines and hydraulic systems have moved on to a new level where you replace parts and circuit boards rather than “repair” them.

colonel-yum-yum

krissovo wrote: »

I am currently in IT as a solution architect. A large part of my role is crisis management and business continuity consulting so I guess that has some value during a crisis. The worst aspect of my job is knowing many Irish companies do not have plans for even minor incidents that would quickly make the business ineffective and have follow on effects for the supply chain.

Before IT I was in The British Army for 15 years as a Military engineer. I was trained as combat engineer (explosives, bridge building, basic building, fresh water supply) initially but then specialised in mechanical engineering for construction plant, water supply, generators). Spent 8 years in bomb disposal with a lot of that time spent in Bosnia and Kosovo advising on minefield/bobby trap clearance and monitoring minefields.

Unfortunately a lot of my military skills are perishable, mechanically I can fix most machinery built before 1998 but engines and hydraulic systems have moved on to a new level where you replace parts and circuit boards rather than “repair” them.

I vote we all move in with Krissovo

baords dyslexic

krissovo wrote: »

I am currently in IT as a solution architect. A large part of my role is crisis management and business continuity consulting so I guess that has some value during a crisis. The worst aspect of my job is knowing many Irish companies do not have plans for even minor incidents that would quickly make the business ineffective and have follow on effects for the supply chain.

Thats not a job its an exercise in futility

Grizzly 45

You should try advising them in counter industrial espionage measures,threat assesments to personel and basic security procedures when their CEOs,fammlies and minions travel abroad to the more lawless parts of the world.And basic checks for electronic surveillance.
Might as well try draining the Shannon with a leaky bucket!:(

bonniebede

colonel-yum-yum wrote: »

I vote we all move in with Krissovo

Didn't realise this thread had turned into post-apocalypse job interview.:D

colonel-yum-yum

bonniebede wrote: »

Didn't realise this thread had turned into post-apocalypse job interview.:D

Would be great to see the responses to the standard "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" question!

waterfordham

IT, specifically networking and security. With a healthy dose of radio communications thrown in. I know where your coming from re Irish company Disaster preparedness, its a terrible state of affairs really.

Working on getting myself EFR trained later in the year, which is always useful.

+1 for moving in with Krissovo

bonniebede

waterfordham wrote: »

IT, specifically networking and security. With a healthy dose of radio communications thrown in. I know where your coming from re Irish company Disaster preparedness, its a terrible state of affairs really.

Working on getting myself EFR trained later in the year, which is always useful.

+1 for moving in with Krissovo

Is it going to be a democracy? Surely one doesn't vote for a king.
+1 for whatever it is.

eth0

waterfordham wrote: »

IT, specifically networking and security. With a healthy dose of radio communications thrown in. I know where your coming from re Irish company Disaster preparedness, its a terrible state of affairs really.

Working on getting myself EFR trained later in the year, which is always useful.

+1 for moving in with Krissovo

Any particular kind of radio communication?

waterfordham

eth0 wrote: »

Any particular kind of radio communication?

I guess we covered a lot of it before in this thread. No point in re-hashing a lot of it. HF-UHF, analogue and digital commercial/amateur kit.

Grizzly 45

bonniebede wrote: »

Is it going to be a democracy? Surely one doesn't vote for a king.
+1 for whatever it is.

Hmmm,so long as it doesnt end up like this!!!:D

[/YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOOTKA0aGI0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

Deise Musashi

Pharma-Chem. manufacture so not a lot of use. :rolleyes:

Aulld lad and all my family are builders/plasterers/plumbers and I've done a bit of all that from when I was a kid. Looking to learn a bit of welding, think I'll have to do it by firing up the big stick welder in me shed and blowing holes in steel for a bit as FAS courses are scarce on the ground atm.

I've a basic knowledge of knife making so maybe I should look into becoming a blacksmith post Z Day. I sharpen most things that have edges on them for a hobby. I can shoot and use a bow, make slings, atlatl, dutch arrows and some basic traps and snares. I know how to load bullets if the right gear can be sourced (unlikely in this country)

I'm a first aider (out of cert. first responder) and have a good bit of experience of camping out with very little kit and making shelters, starting fires with boyscouts etc.

I can make home brew that won't kill you


Waterfordham, you probably know my father in law...EI8IG

I know where there's a bunch of radio kit and solar and wind generators...

evilmonkee

krissovo wrote: »

I am currently in IT as a solution architect.

So along with all your other skills, you can train me in architecture...........

All hail the mighty Krissovo!:D

Ophiopogon

Horticulture...I can grow pretty much anything and even if I do say so myself I have the magic touch when it comes to growing. Also, have an interest in permaculture and medicinel use of plants. So I think I'd be good with setting up a permentant food source with limited resources.

I have first aid skills and use to be a dental nurse in a past life so could sort of help on the teeth front.

Working on my bush skills...

Peetrik

IT also, hardware as opposed to software but as Khannie said its all just about being technically minded.

I'm a professional ring fighter, next to useless when faced with someone with a gun but I am lean, used to proforming on a calorie deficit and in peak physical condition.

So Krissovo... where did you say you'd be setting up 'camp superior ordnance' again?

Grizzly 45

Deise Musashi wrote: »

Pharma-Chem. manufacture so not a lot of use. :rolleyes:

Actually proably one of the more useful things...I take it as a "lab rat":D
you know your way around a basic lab set up?So with a halfway decent setup and maybe a decent book of formulas [Henleys formulas]from days of yore[IE the late 19th early 20 th century].You could be making everything from aspirin to bleach to explosives to booze?;):D

Aulld lad and all my family are builders/plasterers/plumbers and I've done a bit of all that from when I was a kid. Looking to learn a bit of welding, think I'll have to do it by firing up the big stick welder in me shed and blowing holes in steel for a bit as FAS courses are scarce on the ground atm.

Proably better off...I did the Fas welding and qualified under it to "city and Guilds" standard,but was never awarded the C&G as Fas was in no position to award it in the first place!!!:mad:.So a qualified welder in arc,gas,mig and tig,but no way of proving it on paper.:mad:

I've a basic knowledge of knife making so maybe I should look into becoming a blacksmith post Z Day. I sharpen most things that have edges on them for a hobby. I can shoot and use a bow, make slings, atlatl, dutch arrows and some basic traps and snares. I know how to load bullets if the right gear can be sourced (unlikely in this country)

You mean a knife or swordsmith:)?Blacksmith makes everything in iron from nails to gates,and is a well lost art now .Proably better off as a farrier,as "four hoof drive" will proably be back in fashion.
The reloading gear is out there..;) Its just the components like powder and primers that will be hard to find...Ah! isnt there a former pharma chem now survival chemist around here somplace,who might be able to homebrew nitro powder and primers??

I'm a first aider (out of cert. first responder) and have a good bit of experience of camping out with very little kit and making shelters, starting fires with boyscouts etc.

Dont mind me asking...where did you pick up that skill?Ireland or abroad?
Am looking to do a course like this...

I can make home brew that won't kill you

Even with that skill alone you are sorted! :D:D

waterfordham

snip..

Deise Musashi wrote: »

Pharma-Chem. manufacture so not a lot of use. :rolleyes:

I can make home brew that won't kill you


Waterfordham, you probably know my father in law...EI8IG

I know where there's a bunch of radio kit and solar and wind generators...

I do indeed know him, not chatted with him in a while though.

bonniebede

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Hmmm,so long as it doesnt end up like this!!!:D

[/YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOOTKA0aGI0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

Hmm, argumentative and opinionated peasant, I think I just found my post apolcalypse niche! Thanks Griz!

Science so Im screwed too.

Did cub scouts for few years but all we did was play indoor soccer so we were all decent at soccer but could only manage the reef knot

johngalway

Peetrik wrote: »

One of the points raised in World War Z was the role reversal experienced by society. Previous high earning professions like directors, corporate executives, accountants etc were next to useless whereas plumbers, electricians, farmers etc were valuable sought-after skills.

How useful/applicable are your current skills?

Farmer

juice1304

I studied horticulture for a while and am pretty savage at growing anything if i do say so meself, other than shooting/hunting ,camping/bushcraft one of my other hobbies is picking locks and can open pretty much anything bar a few high security ones eg. some safe locks but i'll get them in time.

baords dyslexic

johngalway wrote: »

Farmer

[dyslexic dveils advocate]

While a Farmer would have the location and land that could be ideal for long term survival what farming skills would be relvant in a SHTF situtation with no artificial fertilizer, no diesel, no chemicals and no electric?

[/dyslexic dveils advocate]

Grizzly 45

Actually be quite revelant even if peak oil happens as well.
As Western agriculture is based pretty much and is 100% reliant on oil ,oil produce or oil power.
We would proably have to go back to some form of perma culture in which we stop fighting nature and work with it.

Intresting prog on this here.

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/farm-for-the-future/

sfakiaman

baords dyslexic wrote: »

[dyslexic dveils advocate]

While a Farmer would have the location and land that could be ideal for long term survival what farming skills would be relvant in a SHTF situtation with no artificial fertilizer, no diesel, no chemicals and no electric?

[/dyslexic dveils advocate]

Farming would have to go back to 'Low input, low output but the skills would remain much the same, the farmer would still need to know when to do what but might have to learn to do it with horses instead of a tractor. It would really wipe the smile off the faces of the horses and donkeys if they were hitched to a plough or cart .

Grizzly 45

And reduce either your acrage or recruit a load of "peasents" to get back to doin everything by manual labour!

TBH,I doubt there would be very many of us who could go back to a lifestyle of dawn to dusk six days a week of physical[hard] labour.
Its kind of been bred out of us over the last century.Not to mind recouping skills that are all but lost.IE working with big Shire horses,these lads can put about 1 tonne plus on the scales in body weight and can cause immediate serious injuries to you if you dont know anything about controling them,when they just want to play!!:eek:.There are dwindling amounts of pro work horse men around to pass on their skills,and then where will you get the Tack necessary for working horses.Saddlemakers and tack makers is becoming a thing of the past too.
Even old style farmers themselves are becoming a dying breed with the average age now in their 60s!!

Think we would head back to a mix of small holding,perma culture,and possibly a salvage of modern technologies,like hydrophonics to keep ourselves alive and for possible sale or trade of surplus.As well as possibly the resurgance of steam driven machinery and tractors,updated of course from a 100 plus years ago. TBH,its not THAT difficult to "reverse engineer" an internal combustion engine to work on steam again,as it came from the steam engine.

johngalway

baords dyslexic wrote: »

[dyslexic dveils advocate]

While a Farmer would have the location and land that could be ideal for long term survival what farming skills would be relvant in a SHTF situtation with no artificial fertilizer, no diesel, no chemicals and no electric?

[/dyslexic dveils advocate]

1. The current ability to farm my land without a tractor.

2. Subdividing my land via internal fencing to better graze it to encourage clover. This has two advantages, clover takes nitrogen from the air and fixes it to it's roots therefore providing an amount of free fertilizer. Managed grazing also gives less breathing room to weeds than set stocked grazing. Managed correctly it also produces more grass.

3. I can within a certain degree pick and choose to lamb later in the year should I want to. Current situation says I should lamb start of April, but I can do later which would allow me to be farther into the growing season so my grass would be farther ahead without need for artificial fertiliser.

4. I hand shear my sheep so I have no need for electric, I don't have an ESB connection on the farm.

5. I can't think of a weed I can't kill without chemicals. It would just take longer and require more physical labour to do so. All weeds need certain conditions to thrive, deny them that and they'll die.

6. I'm right beside the shore, seaweed is one of the best soil improver's going.

7. Farming was done successfully long before any of the things you mention, just to a less intensive model.

8. I've a spade, drag (grape), dung fork, shovel, mattock, and a lot more hand tools that I somewhat know how to use in anger. I do all my own draining, diy projects, and land clearance by hand.

9. I've made a start on planting an orchard (fingers crossed). I've planted over 100 Ash trees. In wet spots I'm planting Alder, which is also nitrogen fixing like clover. I've 22 or 23 Sweet chestnuts to sow. I have hundreds if not thousands of hedging seeds, and various other tree seeds I plan to germinate myself, that just needs time. I'm currently chitting spuds, and I've thousands of veg seeds bought and need to get digging in a hurry.

10. As an interest I have gained through farming I can if I need to hunt, trap or snare wild animals for food.

Basically, I'm experienced senior management

If the SHTF I'll be sitting back and carefully watching how many headless chickens are squawking, quite a feat for a headless thing.

Grizzly 45

johngalway wrote: »

5. I can't think of a weed I can't kill without chemicals. It would just take longer and require more physical labour to do so. All weeds need certain conditions to thrive, deny them that and they'll die.

QUOTE]

Ragwort and all types of thistles!!I'm infested with these.About 40 acres of the place grows them well.:(