# What jobs have you held? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 5, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121 "2005-09-05T00:03:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/21 "2005-09-05T02:55:02Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > SAP BW Reporting Specialist I’m so, so sorry. Are you better now? I feel rather unexperienced. I’ve been: Lifeguard Dishroom monkey (I got promoted to the guy who runs the bigass dishwasher.) Web designer Software engineer (this is the one I’ve been doing for the past six years, albeit for four different companies.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/22 "2005-09-05T02:56:53Z")
Supermarket - bagger, stocker, cashier, office clerk Convenience store - cashier Drug store - stocker/cashier Trucking company - biller Pawn shop - clerk Paper distribution company - counter sales, assorted crap Hospital - insurance biller, contract management specialist ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/23 "2005-09-05T03:00:08Z")
In roughly accurate chronological order: Paper Boy Maintenance Runner/Gofer at a Private School Fast Food Burger Flipper (Hardee’s) Short Order Cook - Breakfast Busboy Short Order Cook - Greek Deli Waiter Warehouse Grunt Forklift Operator Tactical Comms Technician - US Army Recon/LRP - US Army (after Jump School, RIP et al.) Supply Flunky - US Army (after getting badly injured on a jump) Cold Weather Training Cadre - US Army (after healing up a bit and waiting to get out) Bartender (ahh, free at last - the salad days) Sales Executive - Marketing Firm Line Cook - Upscale Private Restaurant Grounds Maintenance (Private School on 200 acres - mostly just mowing) Professional Guitarist Professional Bassist Booking Agent Music Publicist Music Management Full time Photographer (out of the music game with tendinitis & frustration) Concert Promoter (starting to get the itch back) Music Manager Booking Agent Professional Guitarist And that’s where we stand today…occasional concert and festival promotion, full time touring musician, handling most booking and management duties for my group and booking a couple of others as well. Damn, it doesn’t seem like a long list until you type it all out… ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/24 "2005-09-05T03:19:53Z")
Summer Camp Staff KMart food counter ( **TellMeImNotCrazy** , you’re not the only one who did this thankless job!) Retail - Shoes Asst. to the News Director, FM radio Receptionist, FM radio station Traffic coordinator, FM radio Continuity Director, FM radio Continuity Director, TV station Customer service rep, online brokerage firm Margins Analyst, online brokerage firm Securities Lending Operations Analyst, online brokerage firm Currently, stable hand/groom, dressage/eventing training stables and, I homeschool my 7 yr old son ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/25 "2005-09-05T03:33:23Z")
Paperboy Lawn and yard work Fruit picker Dishwasher Pulled hay bales out of the baler and stacked them on a flatbed Built fixtures in a department store before it opened Construction laborer Library page Clerical work for insurance company Clerical work for business office at a university Read textbooks to a blind guy Pipefitter in a university “steam lab” Engineering intern at a nuclear power plant Automotive design engineer Lecturer at an engineering college Rocket scientist ---
**Author:** ![MadPansy64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@MadPansy64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadPansy64)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/26 "2005-09-05T03:33:24Z")
Well, this should be depressing. In chronological order: Worlds worst waitress Reprographics associate Diazo operator bill collector junkyard bookkeeper bill collector junk yard/repair garage office manager junkyard owner doctors office manager bill collector loan officer finance company office manager bill collector Machine shop manager HR drone bill collector And Homemaker/full time stepmom/part time student, except during the waitress stint and HR Drone. Some were simultaneous, and each “collector” was preceeded by a period of unemployment – a period just long enough for me to manage to forget “horrific & soul-sucking”, but to still remember “pays very well.” ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/27 "2005-09-05T05:03:27Z")
I don’t have very many, only being 22: Construction worker Lawn mower Hardware store stocker/cashier College work study (worked in the admisions office) Asbestos removal site air tester Lab assistant Wal-Mart Associate (I’m as emabarrased about this as you are) Biomedical technician (current job) ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/28 "2005-09-05T05:32:01Z")
At 22, having been (and remaining) a full-time student all my life: Babysitter Sleepaway camp counselor Bakery clerk Clerk in HR/Occupational Health and Safety (6 summers total, all my responsibilities are there when I get back. Sigh.) Data entry Research assistant to a professor TA for a university class ---
**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:** [September 5, 2005, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/29 "2005-09-05T07:36:25Z")
Crap jobs before/during college: Delivered newspapers Delivered advertisements door to door (those annoying advertisement bags that used to hang on your door knob) Slave labor in my uncle’s restaurant (he didn’t want people to think I got special treatment just for being a relative, so he was harder on me than anyone else, which in the long run ended up being a good thing since it taught me how to work hard) Worked the night shift in McDonalds Sold vacuum cleaners door to door (worst job I ever had) Delivered Pizza Radio Shack Sales Dweeb Delivered radioactive drugs to hospitals After college: Hardware engineer for a defense contractor that made airborne radar and flir systems Hardware/software designer for automation equipment in a power plant Hardware/software designer for a company that made medical test equipment and stage lighting Hardware/software designer for neurobiology research lab Hardware/software designer for company that makes industrial control systems (my present job) I’m 39, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Pixisis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@Pixisis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixisis)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/30 "2005-09-05T08:32:19Z")
junior outreach coordinator assistant to office manager cook tofu maker nanny filer (into card catalog at library) weaving instructor kitting instructor pre-catalog searcher (also at library) word processor graphic design artist personal line appraiser (how much would it cost to rebuild your home) field technology support network administrator ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/31 "2005-09-05T10:08:35Z")
Not even remotely in chronological order: baby sitter pizza maker insurance typist waitress student teacher for art class sandwich maker set builder car washer data entry housekeeper owner of housekeeping business switchboard operator receptionist telemarketer light operator’s assistant for a band at The Troubador wrangler care-taker for woman who had suffered a stroke horse trader live-in nanny restaurant manager banquet server database manager cocktail waitress encyclopedia salesperson cashier at hardware store bartender front office manager personal assistant freelance writer copy editor (print) news editor (print) insurance assistant office coordinator computer lab assistant car rental return driver historical society archivist ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/32 "2005-09-05T10:32:34Z")
- Sales assistant - Junk mail deliverer - Bartender (barman / cellarman) - Liquor store assistant (twice) - Asparagus picker - Chaff (animal feed) machine operator - Mail sorter /machine operator / forklift driver - Courier - Cleaner (janitor) - Typist/transcriptionist ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/33 "2005-09-05T10:39:02Z")
I knew I’d forget one: I was a Casino Pit Clerk (but not very long, it was one of the most soul sucking jobs of them all. And yes, **friedo** , I’m much better now, thanks 😉 ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/34 "2005-09-05T10:47:22Z")
Including jobs while at school. Woolies shelf stacker. Assistant to powder monkey on a construction site. “Gardener” at a motel. Rifle range target spotter. Chainman. Trainee Land and Engineering Surveyor. Salesman. Psychiatric Nurse. Storeman. Bookmaker’s clerk. Audio engineer. Band manager. Mail sorter. (Aussie rite of passage) Public Servant including many computer roles (QA management, info security, data analysis, project management) ---
**Author:** ![MizGrand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@MizGrand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizGrand)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/35 "2005-09-05T12:02:56Z")
Okay, les’see: Babysitting full time @ 15 during summers Burger King on the “strip” in Castro Valley (lots of fun in the drive-thru) Counter @ Otis Spunkmeyer’s Olde Tyme Cookies Wait tables at small seafood restaurant Clerical job with Chamber of Commerce (paid the rent during HS) Clerical job with MCI subcontractor Clerical job with ceramic tile distributor Admin for Regional Mgr of Paging company (when pagers first hit!) Clerical job with EZ-Go golf-cart dealer Salesperson/framer @ Prints Plus Manager for Prints Plus Cashier @ Grand Auto Asst Mgr @ Grand Auto Store Mgr @ Grand Auto Admin to Warehouse Manager @ Grand Auto Admin to Regional Vice-President @ Grand Auto Grand Auto bought out by Kragen - Admin to Regional VP @ Kragen (one of only 10 GA personnel kept!) Admin to Service Mgr @ #1 CAT dealer in CA…Peterson Power Offered Office Mgr position and turned down due to two small children and not needing extra stress. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/36 "2005-09-05T12:17:38Z")
Back in my university days, as a second job one summer, I sold roses on the street corner, in the evenings. ( I had lots of fun !) In the same vein, and during the same summer, I helped out some friends selling, helium filled balloons that said, “Praise The Lord”, on them, outside a hall where Billy Graham was speaking that evening. (Almost too easy !) ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/37 "2005-09-05T13:37:09Z")
Paperboy Production line worker at a booze bottling plant – holiday job. Dogsbody at a small classical record company. Audio equipment bench technician. Seismic survey technician. On a ship, mostly in the North Sea. PA sound guy. A friend and I ran a sound system hire company. Rock bands and raves mostly. White van man. This was pretty ghastly, driving around central London fixing cash registers. I walked out after ten weeks. Programmer/developer. Blimey, what a short list. I could throw in musician but I’ve never really made money playing, only as a roadie or sound engineer. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/38 "2005-09-05T16:05:38Z")
fast food peon movie theatre concession worker movie theater box girl (my first promotion!) retail sales clerk retail assistant manager retail manager administrative assistant (work study job in school) engineering intern structural engineer-in-training Hmmm, it’s not a particulary varied list and disguises that I spent a _long_ time in retail until I finished my degree. (15 year plan 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/39 "2005-09-05T16:53:18Z")
I haven’t seen one of my mom’s jobs listed – she was a chicken sexer for awhile, at a hatchery. 🙂 Mine: Babysitter Corn detassler Waitress Secretary for ISU Extension service right out of high school – the boss gave me a shorthand test before hiring me. It’s been 40 years but I’ll never forget his advice to a farmer about raspberry root rot. Secretary and Community Organizer at Neighborhood House in Seattle in the 60’s – that was my most interesting job Secretary for a bar review company Secretary at Evergreen Legal Services in Seattle – also very interesting, then legal secretary and assistant at a very progressive Seattle law firm Temp clerical in a factory, and then permanently in H.R. for 12 years Currently secretary for nursing instructors at community college --the two nicest employers I’ve ever had ---
**Author:** ![Gilligan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Gilligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gilligan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121/40 "2005-09-05T17:16:22Z")
Paperboy No job while in high school College bookstore clerk (4 years) The retail years (13 of them), in a drug store chain: Head cashier Receiver Asst manager Buyer at corp. office Currently: Programmer, at health care TPA [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-you-held/320121.md?page=3)