Jobs | Pad Patter 3.18

I had my share of jobs during high school and college... a few grocery stores, Hobby Lobby, a wallpaper store, a camp counselor teaching a photography class, door to door newspaper subscription sales, Galyan’s (a sporting goods store that got bought out by Dick’s Sporting Goods), a waitress at a Mexican restaurant, a sub sandwich shop, and radio communications at an arena. I know that is a lot, but I often did several at the same time.

Some were better than other for sure. The worst was selling newspaper subscriptions door to door. I don’t know what possessed me to take that job. I am not pushy, I don’t really like people, and I was a tiny blonde girl going door to door, often in poorly lit neighborhoods.

Doing radio communications at an arena was by far the coolest and most interesting of all the jobs. I got to work with my husband when we were dating and we both continued working there several years after getting married until we moved out of state. I was the middle man essentially between the event staff and everyone else in the arena. Event staff called in spills and throw-up (a frequent occurrence at rowdy concerts), any need for security or medical, basically any need at all. I recorded it and dispatched whoever was needed to attend to it. It was entertaining, busy some nights and slow others, and never ever the same. I often knitted or read while I waited for calls. I truly loved it.

It is my husband’s favorite job he has ever had too, though what he did was so different than what I did! He did such a huge variety of things including usher, floor access, dressing room security, parking, taking tickets, and more. He met so many people and has such incredible stories to tell... like helping Eric Clapton look for his grandson and having to ask CeeLo Green (a musician) to move to a different seat. We would work after school or our day jobs sometimes five days a week and we thoroughly loved it.

 

@IntenseMagic - I would have LOVED doing what you did with the cars! I would have HATED working at a cash register! I have loved cars my whole life, too. I think it was because my grandfather always had a used car lot. His nickname was "Honest Sam, The Used Car Man". LOL His profession was a fire fighter, but when I was a kid, he was off a lot. I think they worked every other day. I always hung out with him. If he wasn't trying to sell a car, he was hanging out with his car salesmen friends. He also took me to horse auctions. He liked to brag that "he sat me on a horse when I was just 3 months old". We hung out at the race track, too. (Great childhood, huh???)) I rode bareback all the time and loved to ride rodeo horses. That was what I probably wish I had pursued. It wasn't really a job, but I loved every minute of it.

I was a majorette and I taught baton lessons every Saturday (ALL day for peanuts) but I loved it! I made enough money to buy new shoes all the time. LOL

The "real" job that I loved was working as an HR trainer at seminars and off-sites. We all used to say that "we would do that for nothing". LOL

 

I worked in a library during high school and college. Stroking the books was nice since I love to read. I never worked at a fabric store, but I love to stroke the fabric. I think that would be fun to see what creative things people were planning to make.

I have delivered produce for a local CSA the past 4 years. I really enjoy the driving and toting fresh, yummy veggies to people's doorsteps. Last year, I didn't make any money once gas costs were deducted, but I did get my box free every week.

Another job that I think would be fun is working at the Outdoor Bird Store, selling bird seed, feeders, and chatting with people about birds.

 

I would work in any craft store if it paid what I get paid now. I would also love a job where I'm surrounded by books.

I never really had a job I hated, but I did have a job that I'm glad I moved on from. When I was 17-18 years old (late 80's), I did mammograms for our local hospital (that was before you had to be a state licensed x-ray technician to do them). I've seen & squashed more boobs than anyone should ever do in a lifetime. Who knew they came in so many shapes, sizes, textures, etc.? I could go on, but I'll spare you guys.

 

Sounds like we have a lot in common. That's funny about your dad changing cars so often. Poppy was the very same way. We never knew what kind of a car he'd show up in. He used to pick me up after school a lot and I never knew what kind of car to look for. He'd always whistle and wave. LOL One of his best farmer buddies had Tennessee Walkers and I did get to ride them - they were just pleasure horses. They were really different feeling to ride - compared to other horses. He bought me several different horses and he traded them about as often as he traded cars. I finally complained so much that he bought me a small horse named Thunder that we kept for a long time. We always had to board them which was kind of a bummer cause it was a real effort to go ride. It really was a fun childhood - I never knew what kind of adventure he'd get into. For some reason, he loved to let me tag along wherever he went. I was in some situations that probably weren't real healthy, but they were fun. I'll just say that Poppy was quite a gambler and a backroom card player. The smoke used to be so thick you could cut it with a knife. He always said "now don't tell your grandma I took you there". LOL I never did either. It was too much fun.

 

I really haven't had that many jobs in my 30 years of working. I did a lot of babysitting as a teen and then worked at McDonalds through high school. Then I worked at a couple different tool and die shops (they machined different kinds of molds) I was a secretary the first year and then started learning CAD (Computer Aided Design) and then that's what I ended up going to college for. I also worked odd jobs during college like cleaning houses, painting and worked at the Dorm cafeteria. But after college I've worked for the same company for the last 21 years doing Mechanical Engineering and CAD stuff and I really love it... I feel very fortunate to say that I am working the job I love and thankfully it pays well which is just an added bonus!

I do wonder if I would like working at a craft store like Michaels... I mean I sure do love to shop there and just wander around looking at all of the goodies, but I wonder if I'd get annoyed with the customers, or if it would be fun to help them pick out supplies. I kinda think that would be fun and especially if it paid really well!

 

Hmmmm...... At 15, my first job was a lifeguard for a YMCA, and that turned into a swim instructor gig after awhile. I loved the job, hated the boss. I was teaching the parent/infant class all the way through to teens. In college, I moved onto a children's play center, RompAround, and was managing a store, opening franchise stores, and working a lot. I got a lot of good experience from that job, good money, and was lucky that gave me a chance to prove myself and work up in management at my age (I was pry 19-20). After that, I moved onto the hospital scene - unit secretary work all over - ER, NICU, Admin, Med/Surge, etc. That was a lot of fun, and I learned tons. After I graduated, I worked for State Farm doing homeowners claims and catastrophe duty. Loved it! Found a job at AIG in the Reinsurance Dept NYC, then had kids. Took a big step back a couple years after 9/11. Got a job back in NJ, closer to home, flexible - at a bigger than the regular Mom & Pop stair and rail manufacturer. We supply and install for many East Coastnew construction development - Toll Brothers, K. Hovnanian, Del Weel, Pulte, M/I Homes, etc. I handle a mix of things - contracts, invoicing, receivables, insurance, and anything else they throw my way. I like what I do a lot, but I wish it paid a little better.

I do want to go back to school to be a nurse now. I think that was my favorite job in the past, and where I want to end up later.

 

My 1st real job was at McDonald's when I was a teenager- it seriously was a blast. I loved working the drive through! I doubt I would have 'loved' it to stay forever, but for a high-schooler, it was fun!

During my college breaks, I was a flagger for our county road department. I LOVED that job- mostly because of the crew! They were like a bunch of older brothers or dads or cool uncles! lol! We had a lot of fun but still got our work done. My county is pretty small, population wise, so flagging on the county roads was sometimes boring! We (the other girl flagger & I) did lots of other stuff too- like mark culverts, sign-vegetation (if a branch hung in front of a road sign, we cut it off- but really it was a code to use when we didn't really have anything to do & we just drove around town!) and shop maintenance (aka wash trucks, sweep floors, etc) It was easy & fun and paid $12 an hour- which I thought was pretty good for my summer/spring/winter break job while going to college! We also worked 4- 10 hour days, so I still had Fri-Sun & we started super early, so I was off really early in the day too. After I graduated & got a dental hygiene job- I really missed those guys! I did go back once for one of their retirement parties- it was a hoot!

 

I've actually liked all the jobs I've had in my life but two stand out. After 10 years in one job when I was between professional jobs, I decided to do temp work to try out a lot of the businesses/agencies/orgs in my area. Because it was via a temp agency, they only paid $8 and hour and this was in the late 90s. I knew I couldn't afford to do that long but it showed me that a lot of places that sounded really good were not and ones I though would be boring or whatever turned out not to be. The latter was working for one of the local branches of State Highways. My assigned job was to organize the filing system for the local Administrator. LOL...it turned out he was a one paper, one file man and I kept telling him that he would have a cabinet full of files but really not be any better off unless he could identify the broader subject area. We agreed to disagree and he was just happy to have me do whatever he needed office wise while he was out in the field. In any case what I loved was working with a lot of the men who drive the trucks that work on the roads, fix the roads/potholes etc. Under the surface, Annapolis was/is still a very segregated city but the men accepted white me who helped them fill in their time cards by hand every week. I quickly realized how many of the could not read and I could subtly ask them if I could fill it in for them if they 'were too busy'. I also became an honorary part of the "SnowBusters' team even though I didn't stay through the dead of winter. But I was photographed amidst the lineup of the county snowplows!

The other job that was so much fine I could have almost done it without pay was working with the school age children in a day care center. It was my first job back in the US after coming back to get divorced. I planned out the day to day activities for the 1st through 6th grade children who'd be there from 3:30 to 6:30 every day. Some of the 5th and 6th grade girls were already into their bratty stage but otherwise it was like summer camp year round. For me! In the one summer I also did have, with another woman, a 'summer camp' at the center where we did have the chicks all day and had a bus at our disposal to take them out for the afternoon while the little ones napped. We went all over the Baltimore -Washington area and even managed to teach them a lot of things. Fortunately, I didn't need much money because Fudruckers was hiring dishwashers for $6.50 an hour which was more than I was making- 1986/7 - even though the parents paid a pretty penny to have their children cared for all day. That summer co-worker and I often wished we could look at the books and see where the income actually went.

 

I love retail! love it, and working with people in general! I just don't like having a boss.
There was a new coffee shop in town, and the owner and I got to talking, laughing. I casually mentioned, how I would love to work there.
She said, really? I would hire you right now. What hours do you want!?
I said, seriously, I only want to work on the days I feel like it...
silence
are you serious?
yeah, sorry...but I love being at home, but every once in a while, I think...hmmm it would be fun to go to work today.
but not often
she laughed and laughed
I didn't get hired!
but.............
I drove a bus for the senior center and it was the best job ever. I loved those folks so much. The bosses at the center were not nice, and I didn't like them.
I now volunteer to deliver meals on wheels once a week., with my son.
we love it!
it is a great time
I can talk to people for hours about nothing or everything!

 

I think working in a library would be awesome. The job I had that I hated most was doing call center collections for Ford Motor Credit. UGH!!!!!

 

I worked at 2 different libraries. I loved it!

I had a part time job at Target while I was in college and I LOVED it!

 

I've been pretty lucky with jobs. Even though I've had some that should have been terrible (like working in a school cafeteria in college), I've had good bosses and coworkers, which makes up for a lot. As a teenager I babysat, worked in summer camps, and had retail jobs. The only one I couldn't do long term is retail. Being "on" and having to make small talk all day is too exhausting for this introvert.

Not counting part time high school and college jobs, I've always worked in education or had an office job in public health. My current job, teaching preschool, is one I could do forever if the pay was better. I wish preschool teachers were able to get the salary and benefits that elementary school teachers do. (A tiny fraction of preschool jobs in my area are through the public schools and have their higher salary and benefits. There are probably well over a hundred jobs in private preschools for every 1 preschool job in the public schools.)

 

The most boring job I ever had was helping people who worked at the city utility office. I remember sitting for hours and hours checking payment amounts on the adding machine paper strips while the office worker read them off to me. Bored to tears boring!! Almost more than I could stand. I was 16. I also worked at the Parks and Recreation office and loved that job. Worked one summer at a drive thru dry cleaners shop and enjoyed that one. Worked for the public schools office when I was a senior in high school and it was pretty boring with all the filing they made me do. But then one day they taught me how to do the switchboard and I really loved doing that. So I did that part of the time.

My most fun job of all though was painting store windows with Christmasy scenes and borders and greetings with my sister at Christmas time. We painted for about 6 weeks ending 10 days before Christmas and we just painted our hearts out. We worked very long hours and by the end of the 6 weeks we'd be so goofy tired. It really made good money for us though. And I loved working with her.

 

The one job I have always wanted is to design greeting cards. I don't know why really, but I think I would love it.

And of course, I wouldn't mind writing travel books and all the in the field research that would require!