What Skills Do You Find Useful/Not Useful?

[steelyman]

I used to pull out this "GRRRRR" noise on occasion when some bum interrupted my lunch outside.

I probably could have used it in meetings, too.

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy." - Red Green

Ha, but I don't really want to be anyone's handyman...

I figure many of my alleged skills are mostly useful in judging whether a contractor or auto mechanic is trying to screw me, say with a $120 four-wheel alignment... :-P

[CaliforniaMan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR Ha, but I don't really want to be anyone's handyman... I figure many of my alleged skills are mostly useful in judging whether a contractor or auto mechanic is trying to screw me, say with a $120 four-wheel alignment... :-P

A-hey girls, gather round
because of what I'm putting down
oh babe, I'm your handy man

I'm not the kind to use a pencil or rule
I'm handy with the love and I'm no fool
I fix broken hearts, I know I really can

If your broken hearts need repair
I-i am the man to see
I whisper sweet things, you tell all your friends
They'll come runnin' to me

Here is the main thing I want to say
I'm busy 24 hours a day
I fix broken hearts, I know I really can...

Edit: Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

[Car-Guy]

I've learned a lot of things over the years, but without a doubt, for me, the most "rewarding skills" I learned were in the corporate computing and networking fields. Those skills allowed me to ER at least 5 years earlier and with a lot more $$ than I would have expected. Now in retirement, I find those skills are of very little value since home PC's and networking are pretty much plug and play these days.

[Elbata]

What does a medium sized pizza and a professional pool player have in common?
Neither one can feed a family of four.

One of my favorite sports to watch at the highest level is professional pool. I'm in greater awe of these guys than those of other sports. But these guys make woefully low income.

As a kid I was installing a stereo system in my dad's car. He was watching and I felt pretty good that I knew something he didn't. Ever since then, I've been fixing appliances, ac and whatever else. Of course this knowledge will serve me the rest of my life. And neighbor's best friend when something breaks.

Got a degree in political science, and what fascinated me about PS is that it's the same thing as fixing an appliance, just more elegant.

[Sarpy]

Most Useful:
Writing
Public Speaking (Speech, drama, presentation skills)

Not Useful:
Well, all had value in one way or the other: Architecture, music, statistics, production management, watercolor, accounting.

[jollystomper]

Most useful career skills:
- Problem solving
- Listening
- Writing
- Speaking
- Programming (ability to pick up and apply any required programming language)
- Staying calm

Most useful personal skills
- Cooking (I was amazed, when I was single, how that made me a "babe magnet")
- Math (a surprising amount of home improvement/repair items become easier with math knowledge)
- Listening
- Staying calm

[Brett_Cameron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst When I was 10, I discovered that I can move the muscles in my scalp which wiggle my ears. One ear at a time, or both! Other kids couldn't do it so it is probably a useless ability, versus a useless skill. But it's definitely useless. A.

We found that ability useful to pass the time before electronic entertainment was plentiful.

[martyb]

I have probably annoyingly good ability to spot grammatical errors in printed material. I even annoy myself with it. What I mean is I'm a natural proofreader, and I can't seem to turn it off. I wish somebody wanted to pay me for this annoying habit.

I'm really good at it, and find myself finding all kinds of mistakes in newspapers, on-line articles, forums, tv shows that have editorial content scrolling across the screen etc. (news shows, etc.). Don't get me wrong, I commit a typo now & then myself, but it's not because I don't know how to spell, it's just that sometimes my fingers don't cooperate with my brain..lol.

That said, I do type pretty fast, and relatively accurately too. I rarely use spell-check. Over the years, when somebody mentions spell-check...my reply has always been "I AM spell check". I'm the guy people come to at work to look over their writing (sometimes) before they turn in a project or submit something important.

Not bad for a guy who's career has mostly been blue collar, turning wrenches on aircraft weapons systems. Only for the last 6 years have I been an office-type.

[scrabbler1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by martyb I have probably annoyingly good ability to spot grammatical errors in printed material. I even annoy myself with it. What I mean is I'm a natural proofreader, and I can't seem to turn it off. I wish somebody wanted to pay me for this annoying habit. I'm really good at it, and find myself finding all kinds of mistakes in newspapers, on-line articles, forums, tv shows that have editorial content scrolling across the screen etc. (news shows, etc.). Don't get me wrong, I commit a typo now & then myself, but it's not because I don't know how to spell, it's just that sometimes my fingers don't cooperate with my brain..lol. That said, I do type pretty fast, and relatively accurately too......(snip)

+1 to this part....

[Mr._Graybeard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by martyb I have probably annoyingly good ability to spot grammatical errors in printed material. I even annoy myself with it. What I mean is I'm a natural proofreader, and I can't seem to turn it off. I wish somebody wanted to pay me for this annoying habit. I'm really good at it, and find myself finding all kinds of mistakes in newspapers, on-line articles, forums, tv shows that have editorial content scrolling across the screen etc. (news shows, etc.). Don't get me wrong, I commit a typo now & then myself, but it's not because I don't know how to spell, it's just that sometimes my fingers don't cooperate with my brain..lol. That said, I do type pretty fast, and relatively accurately too. I rarely use spell-check. Over the years, when somebody mentions spell-check...my reply has always been "I AM spell check". I'm the guy people come to at work to look over their writing (sometimes) before they turn in a project or submit something important. Not bad for a guy who's career has mostly been blue collar, turning wrenches on aircraft weapons systems. Only for the last 6 years have I been an office-type.

I worked for 30 years as a newspaper editor. Just about everywhere I worked, there was a guy in the production department or pressroom who regularly spotted typos that otherwise would have made it into that day's edition.