We enjoyed hearing from new member Terry Roddie giving his job talk on Monday 4 September. What quickly became clear was that Terry has not had just one job or one career, but rather his life has taken him down different paths and he has learned and gained from each opportunity given to him.

He posed the question at the start of his talk, how do we decide on what we do in life? Two avenues may be:
1) The family approach. There is a family business/profession that you go into. The benefits and targets are clear, the consequences may be less clear.
2) You decide for yourself. The benefits and consequences are less clear, and there is always risk of going down the wrong path.

Looking back on his own career path Terry discovered he had done 15 jobs in 15 different places, including national service in the military, life assurance and pensions, communications, industry, finance, and running his own business.

He had some interesting recollections from his time in the army on national services, including dropping his bayonet on the Regimental Sergeant Parade and incurring the wrath of Sergeant Wright (known behind his back as Sergeant Wrong). He learned a lot from a sharpshooter called Moran – not so much the shooting skills, but to have the courage to be different (Moran said his prayers every night despite ribbing in the barracks) and help that he received from Moran in a boot-polishing incident.

He learned that if it looks like there is an opportunity then you should grab it – he put himself forward for a post to Syria on the basis of his Italian language skills and perhaps to his surprise he was given it, which led to an enjoyable period in the beautiful area around Tripoli.

All in all, Terry concluded that the direction his life has taken has been a voyage of discovery in which he has built on opportunities and learning from each job that he has had. It has paid off for him, rewarding him with an interesting and varied career.