That's a pretty loaded question, but hopefully I can answer that to give readers an insight into my life.
My real name is Matt, but almost everyone calls me Iggy. Iggy is a nickname I got from friends when I was really young and it just stuck. I'm 25 (I turn 26 in February) and I was born and raised in Pittsburgh. Most of my life was spent living in the suburbs of Pittsburgh but over the last 5 years I've lived in the city.
I was a good kid growing up. I never really got into any serious trouble but like any kid, I didn't listen too well. I loved playing baseball and roller hockey with video games thrown in there when not doing something athletic.
I did good in high school graduating within the Top10 percent of my class with pretty good SAT scores. I was too smart for my own good knowing that I could do pretty much nothing at all and still coast through high school with good grades. Had I applied myself just a tiny bit, I would have set myself up greatly when it came to college.
I really wanted to take a year off before going to college but my parents were having none of that. I procrastinated my admissions form for Penn State, which lead me to not get into their main campus. I was stuck going to an off campus which I absolutely hated. It was like 13Th grade for me as my first semester was taking all classes I had during my Junior and Senior years of high school. I eventually dropped out before my first year was over.
I was lucky enough to get a job as an office clerk at a Civil Engineering firm my mother worked at. It wasn't good money, but I had a steady job and health insurance so I couldn't complain much. This job made me realize though that as much as I hated school, I had to get my butt back and get a degree. After a year of being "bitch boy", I got myself back to school.
This time around, I went to the University of Pittsburgh. I had grown up as a Pitt fan my whole life and it just seemed right to go there. I started off majoring in Computer Science and did great my first semester. Soon after starting school though, I realized that Computer Science just wasn't for me. It wasn't that I couldn't do the work, I just didn't have the dedication that was needed.
When I first started, I found out that Pitt had a dual major in my department with Business. It was just general Business, and instead of taking electives, you'd take random Business classes. Since I started taking those classes and I hated Computer Science, I decided to change my major to Finance. I then found out that Finance "wasn't me" either and I was in a state of limbo when it came to school.
This really killed all ambition I had, not only with school, but life in general. I "thought" I knew what I was going to do with my life, and when that all came crashing down, I had no backup plan. I lost interest in any classes I was taking and stopped going to them, which lead to my eventual failing out of school.
During my last semester at Pitt, the above mentioned Civil Engineering firm relocated to a new building just a few miles away from campus. This move led to them needing a lot of extra hands moving, unpacking and organizing things. I got a call to see if I was interested in working part-time and since I wasn't attending my classes anyways and needed money, I went for it.
My main duty was to unpack and organize our equipment room because the girl who ran it was 8 months pregnant at the time. When she went on leave and shortly after her boss left the company, I turned into the "equipment guy", even though I really knew nothing at all about this equipment. When not taking care of equipment duties, I was doing general office clerk things. I was only hired for 15 hours a week, but as long as there was work, I could stay as long as I wanted. This pretty much led me to working 40 hours a week but still as a part-time worker.
One day my boss, who is also head of the Environmental department, needed an extra body to go out in the field. He asked me if I was willing, I said yes, and soon after I had the title of Environmental Field Technician with full time status. I've now been in that role for 2 1/2 years and have gained a ton of experience and training. I'm now finally making a wage that I think is reasonable for the work that I do.
I do a lot of the same work that people with degrees do because of my training and experience. While I'm almost always complaining about my job, I haven't even tried looking for a new job. Since I don't have a degree in something like Environmental Science, Civil Engineering or a related field, I'm not sure how valuable I am in the open job market.
I hope to one day get back to school and finish up a degree, but I still don't know for what, which is why I haven't gone back yet. I do know that I need to though or else I'm going to be struggling to survive on crappy jobs for the rest of my life.
Although I have had my down times over the past years, I am a very happy person and love life. When I'm not working, you can catch me watching sports, listening to music or hanging out with friends. I love all Pittsburgh sports teams, especially the Steelers and Pitt basketball. When listening to music, my tastes range depending on the mood I'm in, but R&B and hiphop are my bread and butter. When with friends, I love going out to bars and clubs and enjoy a beer or two. Miller Lite is my staple beer, but I'll drink most beers. You can catch me drinking a Jack & Red Bull from time to time also.
Here are a couple pictures of me :
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