We have a very diverse crowd here at DodgeForum.com with people from all walks of life in the United States, Canada and other countries around the world and our 2nd generation Dodge Dakota section has a relatively young thread discussing what our Dakota owners do for a living. While this thread is fairly short since it is just a few months old, it offers an interesting spread of the jobs (or education programs, as the case may be) held by our 2g Dakota owners here on DF.
The Dodge Dakota owners who have posted in this thread have a wide variety of jobs which make up their daily tasks along with a handful of members who are still working their way through college. In addition to a handful of Dakota owners who have worked as mechanics at some point, the members participating in this thread have had jobs ranging from law enforcement officers and members of the US Armed Forces to civil engineers to a carpenter. Regardless of what our members do today for work, it is interesting to see how many of our Dakota owners have – at some point – served in the Armed Forces.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
