I design telcomm tower sites for a living. AT&T, T-Mobile, Nextel, Alamosa and Sprint are my clients. It's time to start a new quarter, so things are crazy. I plan to be pretty much glued to my computer monitor for the next few weeks as work pours in. Thanks goodness for home coffee grinders, high speed broadband and a killer .mp3 collection. Here's how it goes down every 3 months...

First, the work is never whats actually contracted. No, that would be TOO EASY. Minor changes in a single site can set me back an hour to a day. Because I do all of my work overnight, a 1 hour delay can screw a 12 hour deadline. It's either a small problem like no antenna information or something huge, like the equipment being moved 100' to a new location. Of course, I'm only told this AFTER the site affected is finished (!). This usually happens in only 1 in 10 or so sites, but its enough I see it several times a week.
Next, even though I work at home, I wont see my family. Well, I'll see them in passing, but for the most part Friday night movie time is out the window, and no more late nights with the wife. She'll be going to bed about 1/2 way through my work day.
The best part is getting a new client. Since I sub-contract, my clients assume I know everything that is telecomm. Mostly I do, but that doesn't include the exact dimensions of a new cabinet type, ice bridge layout or shelter spec. These things take time to learn, and usually I get about 30min to learn a new clients layout.

On the other hand, there are some good things about what I do. Nobody else in my industry does what I do like I do it. Most design firms work 8-5 and take a few days for a single project. I used to do that, but realized it was possible to do my job through broadband and the telephone. and to do it FAST. I'm able to turnaround multiple sites between close of business and start of business the next day. HUGE bonus for my clients, who are often behind schedule. I never leave the house, which means my dress code is my closet of worn skater wear.
I also have a great excuse to spend money on computer hardware. Since everything I do is digital, convincing the wife I need the latest Pentium or giant monitor is alot easier. The magic phrase "It will help me work better..." usually does the trick. Combo the work excuse with a birthday or Christmas and its a slam dunk.
The pay is good, its allowed my wife to quit her job and take care of the kids. Thats pretty important to us, and luckily I like my wife alot, so we really enjoy the time we do get together. She is super respectful of me 'at the office' and actually brings me dinner! (although I admit I protest over this, I didnt marry her to be my persoanl waitstaff)
The best part, I think, is that I have responsibility for everything I do. If I dont work, I dont get paid. If I do sloppy work, I lose clients. So its a constant goal of mine to make each project better than the last... if I hear a client review a project and the word "Wow" comes out of their mouth Ive either done really good or really bad...for the past few years it's been really good.

I know I'm rambling here. Perhaps this is one of my non-point whore blogs. We've got a decent community of bloggers here, just thought I'd share a little about what I do. Share your own work story if you like. I'll check back... after I do this next Alamosa site.