Back to Work YOU!! What do you DO?|Pad Chatter 1.2.2019

Let's see... I started with babysitting at about 12 or 13 years old. Then at 14 started at McDonald for 3 years until I went off to college. Then I worked in the cafeteria in one of the dorms during the school years and in the summers I worked at a Tool and Die shop in the office and then in the Engineering/CAD department. I also took all kinds of odd jobs at school doing cleaning, yard work, laundry, babysitting all for cash. That was through the University... local people would contact them for odd jobs and they kept our names/numbers on file and called when someone needed work done. I also worked weekends one summer as the world's worst cocktail waitress for a fancy local restaurant... but I made TONS of money, so that was awesome. I paid cash for my first college car with that job!

After I graduated from college I got the job I currently have (working on 23 years) I worked as a mechanical engineer for 9 of those years and then transferred to the CAD department (which is what i really love doing). I get to model parts in 3D and then put all those parts together like Legos to make the full assemblies of what our company sells... which is fancy analytical instruments like what you'd see in the lab on CSI. I love my job!

 

I'm a 24/7 carer now. I used to be a Structural Engineer before the children were born, and a work at home mum digi-kit designer for a few years before the medical condition took over.

 

I work in wholesale travel. It's not as glamorous as it sounds, but I get some pretty sweet travel perks.

I just switched companies at the end of 2018, so it feels like a New Year at a new company that seems like a better/healthier fit for me. However, as high season approaches, we will have to see what it brings.

 

Great question!! I love seeing everyone's journeys.

I quit law school after my first year. I had a baby mid-year and decided that raising him needed to be my priority over creating a career. At the time, I was privileged to not HAVE to work.

I threw myself into being a stay at home mom. It was tough on me emotionally. I found FlyLady, dabbled in selling Tupperware, and got involved with the local mothers club.

When both kids were at school full time and I basically lived at the school, the principal asked me to start subbing. That turned into the principal suggesting I get my teaching credential. I did and then the economy crashed and the school district stopped hiring new teachers.

I refocused on my kids. My son was a tough teenager. After he graduated, i started back subbing. My daughter liked me subbing at her high school, so I would bounce back and forth from kindergarten to high school. I also started helping her speech and debate team and helping the local League.

As she was heading off to college, a head coach position opened at a nearby private school. I was hired to teach middle school and high school speech and debate and redevelop their program.

It's been a ton of work. I'm on year two. In fact, even though I don't go back until next week, I'm hopping in the shower now so I can go meet the Ethics Bowl kids so they can practice for their competition on the 12th.

I'm trying to get as much scrapping in this week so I can keep on with MOC when I'm back at work. Fingers crossed.

 

My first job was working the counter at a pharmacy and I did that for one summer. Then, I spent the next four summers working at a full service car wash/detail shop. I loved that job! I got to be outside all the time and made pretty good tips. The last summer they put me in the convenience store, and I hated every minute of it!

I have now been teaching high school special education for 30 years. My original degree is in working with kids who have learning disabilities and emotional disturbances. When I interviewed for my first job, they offered me a position working with students with severe and profound disabilities and offered to pay for additional classes to add that endorsement. I agreed, but went in having no clue what I was doing lol. Since then, I have worked with students of every ability level. I spent many years in a Community Based Instruction class teaching students with moderate and severe disabilities real world skills. Then for a few years, I moved to doing basic skills classes for remediation and co-teaching in Algebra and Geometry classes (I love math), working with students with learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, emotional disturbances, and autism in the general education environment. About 5 years ago the county started a pre-vocational program for students with disabilities that works with them on sampling about 250 job skills within 5 different areas, and I was asked to head that program. We also have a work training component where we actually take students out to local businesses that have agreed to work with us and teach them actual job skills. Two years ago, we had one position cut from our staff, so I still do the pre-voc/work training program AND the Community Based program.

Within that time, I've also been transition coordinator for 2 different high schools, working with students on plans for after graduation, I was Child Study Chair for 2 years, and Special Education Dept. Chair for 14 years. I turned it over to someone else last year because of all that was on my plate and nearing the end of my career I didn't want the headache anymore...no extra pay for it either. Oh, and I did a little stint of half days at the elementary school in there, working with students in the general education classroom. Little ones are not my cup of tea. I will take the big smart a$$ teenagers any day!!

Whew! I think it's definitely time for retirement haha.

 

Many, many moons ago I started my working career in fast food. First job was 3 hours a week in an ice cream stand. Then a local restaurant as a waitress followed up by McDonald's.

My college education was a degree in business education or teaching students to do secretarial work. But to get that certification I needed on the job work skills so got a secretarial job that I stayed at for 7 years! I then tested the teaching waters but found it wasn't for me. Spent a couple of years at a military contractor doing clerical work then a few more years as a secretary in a radiology department.

After leaving that job I was at a crossroads and decided to go back to school and get an accounting degree. 2 weeks into my 1st quarter I ended up with a job at a CPA firm as a secretary. Ended up being promoted to staff accountant after finishing my schooling and a position opened up. Spent 5 years there but the tax season was too stressful for me. Ended up getting a job as an accounting clerk at a local company... just 8 minutes from my house.

Loved the accounting clerk job. It was everything I ever wanted but no tax work at all! Ended up staying there for 16 years and retired from that position in 2017.

So my job these days is to take care of myself by doing whatever I want! And, lots of playing with the pup as well. And, getting all those things done around the house that I've put off for too many years.

 

In high school I started working in the public library as a "page", ie. errand runner and book put-away-er. They liked me so much that I worked there summers during college and when I was home on breaks. I did move up to circulation desk and other odd jobs. For awhile, I thought of getting a librarian degree.

In college, I studied Computer Science as part of the Engineering college. Upon graduation, I worked as a programmer in Ky. Probably the most interesting project I had was writing a program to analyze and collecting breeding statistics of stallions for a thoroughbred horse farm where Seattle Slew was busy making babies. Then I moved to NC and started working as a contractor with the EPA, doing programming for air-pollution modeling and became a manager. Even got my name on a government publication about reducing ozone pollution. Then I went to Glaxo (pharmaceutical company), made it through the Glaxo Wellcome merger, even made it through the GlaxoSmithKine merger - and then they booted me out. It was just as well, as we were adopting a girl from China and talking of me being a stay-at-home mom. So I worked 20 years in Information Technology before I came home.

Since 2002, I have been at home, a kept wife, home-schooler, and full-time mom. I have had some part-time jobs like delivering veggies, working the election polls, babysitting, and tutoring math. Right now, I tutor and run the home-school daughter around to her various places. She is graduating this year, so I may look for a steady part-time job after that. I would love to work at the outdoor bird store, sell seed, and talk birds all day.

 

I started working when I was 15 1/2, I think. As soon as I could really (work permit via school).
My first job was at Long John Silver's.
Then Sweet Tomatoes.
I worked at an insurance brokerage office for about six years. I left there after my boss started sleeping with one of the ladies he hired. She got all bossy and I don't do well with with that. I even told him that until she signs my check, I will not be taking any direction from her.
When I quit that job (in 1999), I started working part time at an intermediate school as a paraprofessional and Long's Drugs in the photo dept.
I took a full-time job with the same district in the Maintenance Dept office in 2005.
Started my current job with the same district in 2006. So, I have been with this district for almost 20 years. I'm an Administrative Assistant for the Technology Department. Sounds all professional but sometimes I feel like I'm baby sitting adults.

 

Oh, I love reading all these!

In Jr. High and High School I baby sat and worked at the local daycare. I cleaned and did dishes and all that fun stuff. My senior year in high school, I applied for a part time teacher's aide position and got it. From there, I continued to work at the day care/preschool and got my associates in Early Childhood Development.

Well... I regretted that decision and my dad suggested I go into Radiologic Technology (X-ray)... which is what he started out in then went into Radiation Therapy. I did that, barely made the cut off to get into the program at the college, and went on to being at x-ray tech for 7 years.

Decided at that point (after getting a divorce and facing a cross roads in my life), I decided to further my career and went back to college to be a Radiation Therapist. I have been a radiation therapist for 11 years now! I love it. I cure cancer and make a very tough road for my patients just a little easier.

Currently, I'm praying about making a change in career, and stepping out of patient care and into the business part of Radiation Therapy. It would be a big change, and one of those decisions that if I go, I can't go back. Our field is so saturated, it's next to impossible to find a full time opening for radiation therapy. There in lies the praying!

I see a lot of changes in my hubby's and my life coming up with one kiddo graduation this year and the other in 2 years... changes and opportunity. And I LOVE it!

 

What an interesting thread!
I started my working life as a horse riding instructor, which I did for many years.
Then, when my son started pre-school, I got interested in that and retrained as a nursery nurse. I worked in nurseries and spent several years as a teaching assistant.
More recently, I worked as a private nanny for a couple of years. Now I am a supply Nursery Nurse. Which means that I get sent to whichever Nursery is short of staff and needs cover for that day. I love it. Every day is different and I could be looking after babies or teaching 4 year olds. I choose which days I want to work and how many hours. Fabulous!

 

Back to high school/college, I worked in the toy section of a "5 and Dime" store - kind of like a small Walmart - as a clerk, then the same in a drugstore on Sundays, and finally in Hickory Farms, a cheese and sausage chain. I loved that last one but also got experience in flirty men and ones who tried to confuse you at the register switching various denominations of money. All jobs were mostly to kill time (once my future husband joined the Air Force) or as my Nana used to say... to keep me off the streets!

In my first marriage, I was prohibited from working any place other than the US Embassy. I had servants in most of the countries we lived in so those Embassy jobs were really sought after since there wasn't always a lot else to do. I worked as a teachers aide for ESL students in one place and an assistant to the Director of Voice of America in another. I also was a Consular clerk and later would have taught English at an Iranian military base. The Iranian revolution put a stop to that one...

I am now very happily retired after twenty years with different branches of government. 10 on the federal level and 10 on the state level. I also had a temp job in between those with the county so the only branch I've not worked with is the city. I worked for two female politicians which I really enjoyed though the two women were like night and day in temperaments. When you work for a politician (in the US at least) you 'serve at the pleasure of...' which means you can be asked to leave with no given reason. Our salaries are also set by whichever level of government you work for. In the state job, I never got a raise unless it was an across the board one, but I got a lot of free time off. That worked for me.

Now I volunteer at our local pre-K through 6 Elementary. I do whatever needs doing for the teachers as in endless xeroxing or assembling packets. I also tidy up the special reading section but don't work in the Media Room aka to us oldsters as the main Library. The shelves are only 36" high and leaning over to refile books is too hard on my back. Next week I'll be assisting the School Nurse with vision and hearing tests. Mainly, I'll be the one 'herding cats', i.e. rounding the students up and taking them back to their classes. At least that's what they plan! Right now I think I am the only volunteer!! eek. But it keeps life interesting.

 

During my teenage years I babysat a lot! I was also a secretary parttime for an architect and later for an insurance guy. In college, I majored in Computer Science and worked in that field for 16 years.

At that point it became obvious that my son needed a full time mom and we tightened our belts and made it work. I ended up homeschooling him from 6th grade on and my daughter from 3rd grade on. So 10 years of homeschooling followed! Those flew by!

While my daughter was still being homeschooled, I taught math to other homeschoolers. Then I got a part time job at a tutoring center doing high school math. They went out of business, but I kept the students I liked and did it on my own. Around the same time I got another part time job working at a local community college in the Continuing Ed department teaching computer skills. That is sort of the same job I have today and I have been there almost 10 years! However, starting in a couple weeks, I'm not the main teacher -- I'll be doing special projects. I'm not sure what that means, except that I'll probably be involved in updating our courses and training the other teachers.

 

Wow! You guys have interesting jobs! I love reading about them.

I've been a piano teacher, worked at Target, the Library, daycare, mortgage company and a few other odd jobs. The last 16 years I've been a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom. For over the last 10 years I've done digital scrapbook design and last year I took the position of Director of our local homeschool group.

 

I've had a lot of different jobs, mostly some sort of customer service.

Then in 2008 I was able to be a stay at home mom until Nov 2017 when I had to go back full time while DH was sick. I took some time off in August of this year when he couldn't drive at all. I was working as a Sales & Product Coordinator.

My old boss called and asked if I could come back a couple of weeks ago. I agreed to come back part time for now.

 

It's so fun reading everyone's jobs!

I started working at 14/15 babysitting my cousins in the summertime.

At 16- I worked at Mcdonalds until I went away for college.

During college, I worked one year for the admissions office cold calling prospective students (as part of my work study) and then the next two years as Chairs of the Entertainment Committee- we brought in/booked/contracted all the on-campus entertainment- comedians, concerts, etc.

Also while in college, I worked for our local county road crew as a flagger during my summer, winter & spring breaks- it was super easy & fun and paid VERY well for a summer help position! I was sad to leave when I graduated, as the crew had become like a 2nd family to me!

I graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene in 2004 & have been working as a hygienist ever since. After my son was born in 2011, I cut back from full time (4 days/week) to part time (2 days/week) and it's been a great balance for me!

I also 'sell' Rodan+Fields skincare products- but only because I use a ton of them & like the wholesale pricing!

 

My earliest jobs were babysitting and in the summer very early in the morning I'd go with my friends to pick beans for 2 1/2 cents a pound. In my high school senior year I did secretarial work and even learned how to use a telephone switch board which I LOVED doing. The switch board...NOT the secretarial stuff. I worked for several different places doing secretarial or helper jobs. And I also worked at a drive thru cleaners which was an okay job. After I got married I worked as a teachers aide at an elementary school until I started to show with my first baby. Back then, when you started to show they made you quit because you were working with children. Dinosaur age, I know!! And then we started our family and I became a stay at home mom. For which I have been so grateful to have the privilege of being. To help make a little extra money though I found odd jobs for companies that let you work in your home. I painted ceramics, plastic canvas for stitching projects, and things like that. I did some babysitting and I also did typing jobs for my uncle who was in school...I typed up all his thesis papers, etc. I typed for writers and for friends. Later I worked at my daughter's school as a playground aide. We went to school together and came home together. My other children were all in high school or older at that time. And after that I did transcription work for insurance companies which was an in the home job.

My most fun job of all though was working with my sister. We had our own little business of painting Christmas windows for stores. You know, all the cute little scenes and Happy Holiday greetings, etc. We specialized in holly and pine borders and Snoopy stuff. But we also painted snowmen and carolers and other things like that. I painted for about 17 years. We would line up our jobs starting about the end of October and into November and then start the actual painting around Thanksgiving time. It was a whirlwind time lasting about 6 weeks. We'd drop the kids off at school or to whoever was babysitting for us and we'd get home around dinnertime or a bit later.

So my actual working outside my home was only the times I was the the teachers aide, the playground aide and the painting weeks. I was a stay at home mom the rest of the time.

 

I never liked to babysit. I started teaching baton lessons when I was in high school - every Saturday - all day. It gave me some extra spending money. After high school, I got a great job - and was fortunate to get in on the ground floor of computing. The first main frame computer I saw was the size of a room. But it was SO cool - literally. It was temperature controlled and environmentally controlled. The very first time I saw it, I was hooked. All of the jobs I had in those years were computer related - some kind of "input" and "output" and CRT's. I was completely fascinated that we could sit in an office and interact with all of the different manufacturing plants - not only in our town, but all of the satellite manufacturing plants.

I have always maintained a love for all things computer-related and was so excited to be one of the first people I knew who had a hard drive - not just dual floppy discs. I joined AOL in it's infancy and there was nothing much "out there". I didn't care - I spent many hours - late into the night - just listening to that dial-up sound and "surfing around". Ahhhhhhh - that dial up sound. Haha

I worked for an entertainment attorney for a few years and got involved in another love of mine - editing manuscripts - he was also a writer and had a couple of books turned into made-for-tv movies. I got to talk to all kinds of entertainers when I worked there.

I sold real estate for a couple of years after that and was a member of The Million Dollar Roundtable in my first year - that was a great accomplishment back then. I have dabbled in writing myself and have had a couple of articles and some poems published.

Now, I'm a stay-at-home grandma and a full-time digital scrapbooker.

 

Maybe I should just post the resume I typed up about a month ago when we decided it is time for me to get a job.

I actually never babysat. I've always loved babies and children and one of my plans was to become a teacher, so that's weird, and I don't know why. I did take care of someone's cats once!
My first real job began the summer after high school: Mervyn's. A department store; I worked in the women's clothing department. I worked there for 6 years, right up until a month before I began my first professional job.
I was a teacher of primary grades for five years. It was fun and exhausting. Now that I've been homeschooling my kids for 18 years, I really don't want to return to the school system.
In the last 18 years I have done some unpaid work. Around 2011 and 2012 I was on a few digiscrap creative teams and store teams. I have written tutorials and given presentations for my local photography club. I was photo editor of my statewide homeschool organization's magazine from 2011 until last year. I ran my own homeschool group from 2003 to 2016.
Mostly, for the last 18 years, I've been a busy homeschooling mom. My oldest daughter will be 18 in May. My second daughter just turned 15, and my son just turned 12. In recent years, I've felt my job is primarily cook, advisor, and chauffeur.

And TODAY I've just been hired to work in the box office of a dinner theater near me.

 

Short version; babysitter, snackbar cook/server and bottle washer ,Hotel receptionist ,short order cook ( hated that )Restaurant and bar cashier ( but ended up doing all sort of jobs,including bartending and cooking when we were short of staff,-which was always lol ) worked a year + at that with hardly any days off because the money was good and we wanted to open a shop. We did , ( first Pets and plants, later Hardware ,and ran it for 29 years . Took early retirement nearly 5 years ago. Now I volunteer in a charity shop 2 mornings a week.