From a frequent correspondent, a gentleman of the cloth (whom I have disguised heavily here):

“Mr Derbyshire—I hold a B.S. in [advanced technical field] and worked for several years as a [specialist in that field]. I’ve been [hobbying or working in that field] since I was 12. I’ve spent [X] of the past [Y] years in seminaries [5<=X<=Y<=15]. I am now a [minister of Christian denomination] who works half-time as a [specialist in aforementioned technical field].
“It’ll be a while before I can be full-time at the church. [Technical field] as a profession now stinks … due to the continuous importation of people who are willing to do the job for less. (That, and employers of technical people seem completely unable to place any value on experience, preferring instead to use junior people that utterly lack any perspective beyond today’s ‘hot’ tools.)
“I’ve been considering taking up electrician work myself, seeing as I have a solid understanding of the principles (thanks to [technical specialty] school) …. You’re giving me more motivation…..”

[Derb] What, not a… carpenter?