# What jobs have you held? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 30, 2004, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881 "2004-09-30T17:28:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DaddyTimesTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/41 "2004-10-01T01:04:48Z")
I’m 36. [ul][li]grass cutting[/li][li]kitchen help/dishwasher/busser[/li][li]grocery store clerk (college years)[/li][li]video store clerk (college years)[/li][li]UPS package sorter (college years)[/li][li]various temp jobs in the summers (college)[/li][li]grocery store clerk _and_ video store clerk (college graduate!)[/li][li]computer programmer (Yeah! - then laid off)[/li][li]various temp jobs again (job hunting)[/li][li]photo lab clerk (still job hunting)[/li][li]programming (three different employers, with escalating responsibility)[/li] [/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Burrido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Burrido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burrido)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/42 "2004-10-01T01:14:52Z")
In order: Busboy/Dishwasher Wendys Retail (Headshop) Construction (Renovated old houses) Assembly Line Data entry Gas Station Cashier/College Graphic Aritist Life Insurance Rep Disability Rep Life Insurance Rep (Different company) and now currently working for Commerical Developement Company while attending Night classes. I’d love to work for my current job permanently if it paid more. I get a company truck and work pretty much without supervision. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/43 "2004-10-01T01:16:41Z")
bus boy salad maker pizza cook fryer cook car hop (on rollerskates!) line cook at a fish and chip shop line cook at a small italian place mail sorter union carpenter asphalt laborer union carpenter carpet wharehouse worker union carpenter slaughter house: flank steak trim non union carpenter apartment maintenance man slaughter house: tongue saw operator fire extinguisher technician fire suppression system installer fire alarm technician lead fire alarm technician ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/44 "2004-10-01T01:28:27Z")
[Sigh…] Lessee if I can remember 'em all: Lawnmower (church) Dishwasher/Frycook (fast food) Meter-reader Gas station attendant/grease-monkey (yeah, I’m old) Sailboat race commiteeman Airport linecrew (push 'em around, fill 'em up, put 'em in the hangar) UPS Sorter UPS Deliveryman School bus driver Ambulance EMT Computer Sales (apple IIe anyone :)) Flight Instructor Offshore semi-submersible driver Crane driver Programmer That’s all I can remember at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Tamarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tamarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamarin)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/45 "2004-10-01T01:49:52Z")
babysitter McDonalds Pizza Parlor worker Cashier @ a different hamburger joint Laboror @ a gold mine receptionist/aide in a financial aid office (community college work study) Waitress Baker Ocean Systems Technician Analyst/Sonar Technician (Navy) Retail cashier Retail customer service rep Retail cash office assistant Warehouse worker (receiving) Phone operator/Delivery driver @ a Chinese restaurant Help desk tech/Network support specialist ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/46 "2004-10-01T02:07:11Z")
Starting with my very first job… Mowed lawns Dishwasher for a Bill Knapps Restaurant Camp Councelor at a Boy Scout Summer Camp Janitor for a veterinary office Stock person for Toys R Us Wahsed delivery trucks for UPS Sales person for a computer software store Freezer warehouse stock person/order fullfillment Inventory Data entry Help desk technician Software Trainer Webmaster Computer Technician Assistant Systems Administrator Systems Administrator ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/47 "2004-10-01T03:16:56Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > … were you flying them more recently as vintage planes. Nobody ain’t never going to get me into no 60 year old airplane. No siree, Bob!!! ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/48 "2004-10-01T03:35:31Z")
grass cutter photo lab helper petroleum transfer specialist (sounds better than pumping gas) 😛 newspaper circulation sales newspaper district manager auto mechanic auto body tech school portrait photographer wedding photographer emergency room technician paramedic electronics/hi-fi sales electronics service forklift operator tractor-trailer driver bank equipment tech bank equipment regional manager auto diagnostic equipment sales alarm/cctv equipment sales remodeling construction business owner ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/49 "2004-10-01T04:26:00Z")
Including all the temp jobs I can remember: [ol] [li]lCar washer for a local used car lot. Was paid $2 per car washed.[/li][li]Cashier at Wal Mart[/li][li]Toys Associate at Wal Mart during Christmas '99[/li][li]Layaway Associate at Wal Mart during Christmas '00[/li][li]Bakery drone: loaded bread on a conveyer belt[/li][li]Gas station attendant[/li][li]Sanitation Technician (Janitor) at a hospital.[/li][li]Assistant Manager of Records and Recieving at a Christian printing press.[/li][li]Worked for three days at a pallet factory before walking off the job.[/li][li]Office drone for Lincoln Benefit Life for two weeks.[/li][li]Personal Caretaker (for the Doper **Gr8Kat** )[/li][/ol] I’m 22. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/50 "2004-10-01T04:56:01Z")
In chronological order: 1. Neighborhood lawn mowing boy 2. Bus-boy at local Chili’s restaraunt (1 summer) 3. Flower Delivery boy (1 summer) 4. Engineering technician/EIT (3 summers) 5. Resident Advisor (3 school years) 6. 1st-line help desk operator (3 semesters) 7. Programmer/Analyst (2 jobs, 5 years) 8. Teaching assistant (3 semesters) 9. Sporting goods retail associate (3 months) 10. Business Systems Analyst (1 month, got laid off 3 weeks ago) ☹ :mad: 11. Business Analyst (start 6 month contract on Monday) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Daftbugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Daftbugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daftbugger)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/51 "2004-10-01T13:41:01Z")
I’m 26 and so far I’ve job Barstaff Data entry Bar manager Metallurgy lab Assistant Filing Data Entry And now I’ve got an MSc (nearly finished a PhD) I’ve now got a job as Barstaff again ☹ ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/52 "2004-10-01T14:10:16Z")
I am 34 years old and have been working since I was 18. I have had very few jobs in that time: [ul] [li] **1988-1994-** Burger King. I worked there part-time while going to college. Once I graduated in 1992 I still could not find work related to my field, so I moved up to working as a manager.[/li][li]**1994 (two days)-** Laborer in commercial construction. I took this job out of desperation on the advice of a fellow former BK managed who fled to take this job when a new owner took over the franchise and screwed everyone over. I hated this job more than I hated the first one.[/li][li] **1994-1998-** OfficeMax, electronics department. Not as bad as Burger King, but still low paying and dealing with the public.[/li][li] **1998-** Two-month stint doing tech support work. I was in over my head with this one and had trouble talking to the callers and sounding confident enough on the phone.[/li][li] **1998-2000-** Returned to work at OfficeMax.[/li][li] **2000-present-** Contract work for Hewlett-Packard, doing printer testing. Great job, better pay, weekends off, no dealing with the public, can dress casually for work. The work itself is nicer, too.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/53 "2004-10-01T14:31:31Z")
Let’s see: Lawn Mowing/Yard Work (with some combination of brothers from age 10 to 16 - there were 4 of us boys of varying ages. I left the bidness to my younger brother who carried on til he was 16 and the dynasty ended) Part Time Store Clerk (my three month foray into retail hell) Burger Cook for Hardee’s (unofficial slogan when I worked there: “Have It Our Way And Get Over It” :D) Packing and Shipping Department of a small textile mill (while in college. loved this job! 3 hours a day in the evening Mon. - Fri. 8 hours on Sat. while in classes. During school breaks, 8 hours Mon. - Fri. 11 AM - 7 PM. perfect hours for a college guy. party till 3 AM, wake up at 10, go to work at 11) Elementary School Teacher (loved the kids, loved the teaching, hated the bureaucracy) Adult Education Teacher (just me and whatever adults wandered in to get em some leaining. fun job) Program Manager (a vocational program for adults with developmental disabilities. wrote plans, did job placements, got my master’s in Rehabilitation Counseling) Rehabilitation Director (where I work now. supervised vocational and residential programs) Assistant Director/Rules and Regulations SOB (present job. you don’t wanna know the details here) The last three jobs have encompassed what I call my “professional career.” Been at it for 26 years now. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/54 "2004-10-01T14:58:09Z")
This should be fun trying to remember them all - I’m 45. Not necessarily in chronological order: Babysitter McDonald’s flunky housecleaner grocery store clerk blueprint girl tittie dancer liquor store clerk grocery store clerk again Then I went to school and became a: mechanical draftsman, which turned into a: mechanical designer, which I’ve been doing for 25 years. ---
**Author:** ![JerH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/55 "2004-10-01T15:12:55Z")
I’ve been (in order, starting at age 13): [ul] [li]paperboy[/li][li]clerk/stockboy at a baseball card shop[/li][li]sales clerk/stockboy/cashier at a toy store[/li][li]maintenance crew at a die casting plant[/li][li]various jobs for a college’s night school, including office clerk, A/V deliverer, movie projectionist, and receptionist[/li][li]press office intern for a U.S. Senator[/li][li]clerk at a law library[/li][li]Receptionist/researcher/systems administrator for a small trade association[/li][li]shelver at a public library[/li][li]inventory analyst for a power equipment company[/li][li]marketing intern for a plastics company[/li][li]project manager, contract manager, and other jobs for exhibit companies[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/56 "2004-10-01T16:12:13Z")
-Cashier at Target -Courtesy clerk (i.e. bagboy) for a grocery store -Knife salesman -Technical writer -Gofer -Crossing Guard -Tutor -Piano teacher -Driver Currently, I am still working in the last four(!) jobs on that list. Plus I’m a full-time student. I really like my arragement right now because they day is broken up by each respective job/class, so the day doesnt feel as repetitive as if, say, I was just going to school, or working at one job. Plus, when anybody I know whines that they are overworked, I can (truthfully) say, “You think you have a lot on your plate? I’m working _four_ jobs and going to school!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/57 "2004-10-01T16:29:15Z")
All of these jobs paid for college (and made me appreciate getting a good job after I graduated): - Burger Flipper - Door to door vacuum salesman - Pizza delivery guy - Underpaid Radio Shack dweeb - Delivered radioactive drugs to hospitals (pays better than delivering pizza, plus you glow in the dark at night which saves on your electricity bill for lighting) I’ve spent the last 16 years designing hardware and software, under various job titles that have the word “engineer” in them somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![alphaFemale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecb155/32.png) [@alphaFemale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaFemale)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/58 "2004-10-01T16:48:39Z")
i am 24. [ul] [li]shop girl at the house of fabrics[/li][li]cashier at Marshalls retail outlet[/li][li]real estate marketing[/li][li]regulatory associate in biotech[/li][li]property manager at a public storage (PT)[/li][li]editor for environmental consultants[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/59 "2004-10-01T19:56:10Z")
I’m also 24 [ul] [li]Camp Counselor[/li][li]Lifeguard[/li][li]Asst. Aquatics Director[/li][li]Ski Instructor[/li][li]State of MN Wildland Firefighter[/li][li]US Forest Service Wildland Firefighter[/li][li]Paramedic[/li][/ul] I was also a volunteer firefighter for about 4.5 years. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881/60 "2004-10-01T19:56:50Z")
> [@tremorviolet](#): > > Hey **mouthbreather** , did you manage a record store in Atlanta? If it was, which one and where? I managed a Turtles in Atlanta from 1990 to 1994… Nope, I managed them in PA and in NC , last time was in 1995. I didn’t move to Atlanta until '96. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/266881.md?page=4)