After college I worked a ton of temp jobs in order to save enough money to move from my parents house in the Chicago area to my girlfriend’s in Charlotte. The agency asked about my skill set and I told them just give me the highest paying jobs you have that nobody else wants. I did a lot of different things but the most memorable was probably the six glorious weeks I spent working in the quality control department of a maxipad factory.
I got hired for a summer job with US PIRG (Public Interest Research Group?) in 1993 in Washington, DC. They hired a lot of college students. I went to orientation, which was somewhere near Capitol Hill. They gave us an hour or two of training on how to canvass people, then sent us out to collect signatures on a petition. I remember that the petition was for something I didn't agree with. I realized pretty quickly that I'd be spending my summer outside in 90+ degree heat and humidity trying to get tourists to listen to me and sign whatever I had. I didn't go back after that one day. I got a job in the Georgetown University hospital GI department instead, doing filing and answering the phone. It was dull but it was also indoors in the AC. I think that GI dept job was only on my resume long enough for me to get hired in the IT department the following summer.
My very first job was when I was 13. I was a farm laborer detassling corn. Seed companies grew fields of two different breeds of corn, alternating 6 rows one variety with two rows of a different variety. The hope was that the natural cross pollination would create a field full of a new hybrid. To ensure the cross pollination, laborers would walk the fields and remove the tassels, the brown tops of the corn plants that makes the pollen, in the row of six so that only the remaining rows could fertilize the middle rows.
It was hot, muddy, corn leaves can cut your skin, tedious, and I had to meet a bus at 4:30 am so that we could be done for the day before it reached 100degrees.
Learned nothing from that job, hated every second and definitely never put it on my resume.
My shortest job was one month -- longest was 27 years. Total number of jobs was 10-12. I had several part-time jobs during high school. My best friend and I worked summers for two years at a small amusement park in the Chicago suburbs. That was actually a fun job. We were outside and the kids and parents were having fun so it was mostly enjoyable. I was a commuter in college so I was always working part-time. One of my summer jobs during college was the worst job of my entire life. I was running a punch press that stamped out metal parts. Absolutely horrible job. It was a brutally hot summer in a shop with no A/C and there was a fine mist of oil in the air at all times from the punch press. Your skin would always have a thin layer of oil on it. Truly unpleasant in a hot and humid building. That was the one month job. Over the next couple of years I did typesetting for a couple of print shops and graphic arts shops. I could type very fast and accurately so it was an easy way to make some money while in school. I started my IT career in 1980 at Wilson Sporting Goods. That was a great place to work. I still have two very close friends from that job. I was there for 5 years then a benefits consulting company for 4 years. The 27-year job was at a large pharmaceutical company. That was a very good 27 years. I worked with some truly awesome people. I have several very good friends from that job. I retired from the company in 2016 and I've been happily retired since.
After college I worked a ton of temp jobs in order to save enough money to move from my parents house in the Chicago area to my girlfriend’s in Charlotte. The agency asked about my skill set and I told them just give me the highest paying jobs you have that nobody else wants. I did a lot of different things but the most memorable was probably the six glorious weeks I spent working in the quality control department of a maxipad factory.
I got hired for a summer job with US PIRG (Public Interest Research Group?) in 1993 in Washington, DC. They hired a lot of college students. I went to orientation, which was somewhere near Capitol Hill. They gave us an hour or two of training on how to canvass people, then sent us out to collect signatures on a petition. I remember that the petition was for something I didn't agree with. I realized pretty quickly that I'd be spending my summer outside in 90+ degree heat and humidity trying to get tourists to listen to me and sign whatever I had. I didn't go back after that one day. I got a job in the Georgetown University hospital GI department instead, doing filing and answering the phone. It was dull but it was also indoors in the AC. I think that GI dept job was only on my resume long enough for me to get hired in the IT department the following summer.
I remember having to get people to sign petitions one summer for local elections. It was brutal.
My very first job was when I was 13. I was a farm laborer detassling corn. Seed companies grew fields of two different breeds of corn, alternating 6 rows one variety with two rows of a different variety. The hope was that the natural cross pollination would create a field full of a new hybrid. To ensure the cross pollination, laborers would walk the fields and remove the tassels, the brown tops of the corn plants that makes the pollen, in the row of six so that only the remaining rows could fertilize the middle rows.
It was hot, muddy, corn leaves can cut your skin, tedious, and I had to meet a bus at 4:30 am so that we could be done for the day before it reached 100degrees.
Learned nothing from that job, hated every second and definitely never put it on my resume.
that sounds dreadful!
My shortest job was one month -- longest was 27 years. Total number of jobs was 10-12. I had several part-time jobs during high school. My best friend and I worked summers for two years at a small amusement park in the Chicago suburbs. That was actually a fun job. We were outside and the kids and parents were having fun so it was mostly enjoyable. I was a commuter in college so I was always working part-time. One of my summer jobs during college was the worst job of my entire life. I was running a punch press that stamped out metal parts. Absolutely horrible job. It was a brutally hot summer in a shop with no A/C and there was a fine mist of oil in the air at all times from the punch press. Your skin would always have a thin layer of oil on it. Truly unpleasant in a hot and humid building. That was the one month job. Over the next couple of years I did typesetting for a couple of print shops and graphic arts shops. I could type very fast and accurately so it was an easy way to make some money while in school. I started my IT career in 1980 at Wilson Sporting Goods. That was a great place to work. I still have two very close friends from that job. I was there for 5 years then a benefits consulting company for 4 years. The 27-year job was at a large pharmaceutical company. That was a very good 27 years. I worked with some truly awesome people. I have several very good friends from that job. I retired from the company in 2016 and I've been happily retired since.