things we do for money
 

tell me the jobs you've had.
especially the worst ones.
and the best.
curious.

and why?
and what did your family do when you were growing up?
did that influence in your career choices in anyway?

what would you like to do?

working in a factory shaving ball bearings talk about monotonous. Worked in tire warehouse changing truck tires filthy work. Worked in a steel Mill for a while some of the jobs were ok some sucked one in particular where I made rubber insulation from scratch. The powder used to get in your skin so bad you'd take a shower right after work and go out at night and start sweating and that shit would start coming out of your pores. Flippin burgers as a kid.

Two favorites my career as an electronic technician in a semiconductor house. Basically R&D work where I could pretty much make my own hours and work with limited supervision. Supervisor in homeless shelter where I worked 32 hours on the weekend and had the rest of the week off.

My first was at burger king. I made $4.25 an hour to stand in a grease pit. Then I worked my way up to manager with 11 hour shifts. Fast food is the hardest job I have had. There is so much stress and the work really sucks as much as the pay.

THen I worked awhile for an insurance company as a temp. I alphabetized insurance files all day. It was boring and the pay was not much to speak of, but it was easy.

Then back to Burger King Manager. I needed more money and bit the bullet to go back. Then one day I had enough so I quit I was lucky enough to soon after find a position at a small lighting store. I liked this job even though the pay was not much. It was my first Interior Design related job.

Then I got pregnant and quit working until my son was 6 (minus the 3 month internship I did for my degree at a furniture dealership during the last trimester of my daughter).

Finallly after I was tired of being a housewife and I found a position at the place I did my internship. I thought they were going to keep me there for awhile, but unfortunately for me they had to let me go due to the economy.

Now I am here Holmes & Brakel Business Interiors. By far the best I have had yet. I get paid to talk to you guys in between specifying furniture and making quotes. It gets a bit stressful at times here, but at least I am finally getting a foothold on my career.

My mother was a secratary at a dentist for a bit. Then she schemed up an idea to play her music for the elderly in rest homes. She made good money doing it, and the old folks LOVED it. She was a musician more than anything.

Daddy worked deisel mechanics. Grease monkey. He hated it. I did not want a job like his that would bring me home full of irritation.

I wanted to be a musician, an artist or a writer. In college I picked Interior Design. It was the closest to art, but I could get paid more and have more opportunity.

I hope to one day be in a design firm. I would like to be a great designer and be able to get some projects like I dreamed of in class. I want my license, which is harder to get than going through college. I must work directly under a Licensed for 4 years to even qualify for the test. The test according to my partner in crime here who took it last week is BRUTAL. I really hope she passes so that I can begin to get some of my 4 years in. I really want to make great spaces for people to enjoy.

When I flipped burgers it was for $2.00 and hour. I actually started at $1.80 and after 3 months got the raise to $2.00.

Holy fuck! I thought you were closer to my age.

I used to:
- work on a construction site (during highschool)
- work in a call centre in a bank (during university)
- shake hands with Amish people in a camping in Colorado
- sell cigarettes in a convenient store in bad neigborhood in Baltimore
- work in a factory in Flint in Northern Wales
- work as an auditor in Ernst&Young
- work in a pharmaceutical company on controlling finance (got fired after 3 months)
- work in 2 various media agencies until now

mowing lawns
building the foundation of a geodesic dome house
shipping dock
movie theater concession
legal assistant
teaching assistant

Worked at Toyota for a week, it sucked.

Worked at Wal-Mart for 5 years, 3rd shift, frozen foods manager. Started out $9 an hour, now make $13.

That's it.

I can type 149 words a minute, hoping to be some kind of secretary, or a stenographer, or something, someday. Something without a lot of responsibility, really, that pays alright. A job's a job. It's just a means to an end. I have no interest in a "career". People make fun of me for working at Wal-Mart, but I've saved a shit-ton of money working there, they give me whatever days I want off, I've called in a thousand times and not gotten in trouble, and it's STABLE.. no worries about them closing or anything. So, yeah, honestly, if I just did this forever, that'd be okay too. I just want something that won't become my life, and won't get in the way of the things I want to do in life, and it doesn't.

dude wal-mart pays you $13? i didn't know nazis were so generous.

Yeah, people are idiots. Unfortunately we do live in a society where most tend to base other people's worth off of their careers and incomes.

When meeting someone new, if one of the first questions I'm asked has something to do with what I do for a living, I am instantly turned off by the person.

i've only held two jobs - camp counselor for pre-K kids and i worked the register/phones for a kosher chinese take-out place. both sucked untold amounts of ass, but the latter was far worse. at least being a camp counselor was rewarding in the long run, though i didn't think so at the time.

i'm probably going to have to get a job this summer since i'm not doing any courses. thinking of applying to a bookstore.

worst jobs include working in some tower blocks in leeds. i was a regular target for junky's, i had a job where all they wanted me to do was press the f5 key and print what happened, worked in a bacon factory once too and that was sucky.

i work at a department store. i get paid $7.50/hr to sell duvets to elderly women.

1st job (@)15, Wendy's - mostly on registers (drive-thru).

[moved to Guam]

worked at Wendy's again off the bat. It was owned and staffed by all Palauan (Palau natives) and they thought it was amusing to watch the American do all the work. Some good times their either way, but moved on...

worked at a beautiful golf course Mangilao Golf Course as "guest relations". when I wasn't roaming surrounding jungles, finding caves, etc., I was driving around the course interacting with the guest, 99% were Japanese. Met my wife there.

then, Dominos pizza as delivery. I left the golf course for this for the money. I worked night time, delivery and by far this was the most gratifying and fun job I've ever had. I still miss it. got fired because they wouldn't give me leave for honeymoon.

in between, worked random shit from staffing agencies: assembling office furniture; promotions stuff, like Budweiser at parties, cereal at groceries, etc.

then held two jobs together: worked in pre-press at print company (p/t). Got introduced to graphic design there. Meanwhile worked at a Pretzelmaker, twisting pretzels in a mall. Eventually the print co. hired me full time.

[moved back to the States]

worked at a variety of printing companies, ad agencies, sign companies (4 different total), eventually created my own design co. (7 yrs. ago)... still doing it (as we speak)


My mom, a Nurse (pre-op, I believe) / my dad, military-Coast Guard.

UPS package handler

worked at arestaurant owned by my brother

now I drive trucks for me father.

oh yeah...I also worked at a pizza joint.

as for my dad....He grew up in Mexico mainly Mexico CIty and he shined shoes and sold 'chicles'....but after he moved here he started a business and now is somewhat successful

Wal-Mart makes a lot of money, they pay a lot of money. Always opportunities for overtime too. Any business has its ups and downs. I don't shop at walmart, I hate that place as a store, but honestly, it's not much different than any other business that makes money.

is that considered a lot of money? just asking.