# Your job/career timeline (past to present) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 3, 2009, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552 "2009-06-03T06:33:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NRichards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@NRichards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NRichards)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/1 "2009-06-03T06:33:57Z")
I’m thinking that almost everyone started out with the average part-time highschool jobs. But I’m interested to see how the jobs progressed. Make a list, first job to present, and explain below, if desired/needed. Here goes: Gardener Laundromat Retail (clothing) Pharmacy Rehab I’m young, so my list isn’t long. Hopefully won’t get much longer, I have my current dream job working overnights in a rehab. Love it! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/2 "2009-06-03T12:39:04Z")
We’ve done this before, and I’ve had so many jobs that it’s hard to remember them all. I’ll give it a shot: Paper route Babysitting Burger King McDonald’s Clown at the Ground Round Pumped gas Office work at a furniture store Sold cameras and CB equipment Convenience store Refrigerator repair company Waitress Dry cleaners Construction company Answering service (and we used the old-fashioned plug boards) two waitressing gigs up in the mountains Credit insurance company Accounting firm Telecommunications admin assistant Steel industry Educational publishing - editorial assistant Fire safety Construction company Defense contracting Temp agency placement specialist Temp agency again as Admin Asst. (ditzy co-worker used to tell me “Smile when you talk to Sarah!”) Admin in Sears legal dept. Admin in Sears soft goods Admin in Sears hardware offices Admin in Sears IT dept. IT administrative work on 5 separate accounts ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/3 "2009-06-03T12:40:27Z")
Paperboy- middle school afternoons Prep worker at restaurant- HS summers Fry cook at restaurant- HS summers Deli/meat market- college summer (1 month) Stagehand- college summers Deliveries for sandwich shop- during college Stagehand- college summers Stagehand- post college Bartender- during law school Lawyer ---
**Author:** ![Coil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Coil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coil)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/4 "2009-06-03T13:04:33Z")
HS jobs (can’t remember the order): Chocolate factory (one summer) Assemble electric motors (one summer) Data entry Putting papers in envelopes (Or whatever it’s called. I helped out a company when they were doing large mailings to all their clients) During university: Politician Campaign worker Post university jobs: Researcher in Parliament Consulting Government Agency Pharmaceutical Company ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/5 "2009-06-03T13:10:11Z")
High School NASA - summer high school internship NASA - came back for more the next year Burger King grill cleaning / floor sweeping monkey Gas station clerk College Computer repair technician / New PC sales Hotel front desk clerk Telephone computer tech support guy Wireless phone sales Real Life Aerospace engineer ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/6 "2009-06-03T13:10:24Z")
For over twenty years of employment, my resume is quite short: [ul] [li]Burger King (progressed to assistant manager)[/li][li]Office Max (became a supervisor for the electronics department)[/li][li]Manpower Technical (performed tests on printers)[/li][li]Call center agent (booking travel for credit cardholders)[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/7 "2009-06-03T13:15:35Z")
Fast Food Cashier Retail Employee US Army Buyer Facilities Buyer IT Buyer Purchasing Manager Mechanical Buyer ---
**Author:** ![Walkabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walkabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walkabout)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/8 "2009-06-03T13:15:36Z")
State Park worker (High school) Waitress (HS) Fast food worker (HS) Poultry farm worker (College) Research Tech at poultry farm Hardware store clerk Hardware store manager Accounting clerk Accounting supervisor Accounts receivable manager IT Tech Junior database administrator Database administrator Senior database administrator ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/9 "2009-06-03T13:17:20Z")
Tobacco ground leaf gatherer Tobacco leaf sprayer Tobacco chopper and spearer Tobacco hanger Lawn maintenance Chicken thief Sales scammer Janitor Pool shark Computer operator Soldier Computer programmer Microwave Communications Communications Plt Sgt Military operations planner IT support helpdesk Systems Analyst Testing Team lead Systems designer Senior Analyst Bar Owner/DJ SW Engineer Manager/Lead Systems Engineer ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/10 "2009-06-03T14:03:39Z")
Paper boy Gas station attendant Pilot (scenic flights) Gas station attendant Airborne radar operator Twin piston engine pilot Twin turbo-prop pilot (first officer) Twin turbo-prop pilot (captain) It’s all pretty much gone to plan apart from a small glitch in the middle where I was without work. I’m 34 so plenty of time for advancement, though there is no real practical advancement left with my current employer. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/11 "2009-06-03T14:13:09Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > Chicken thief > Sales scammer > Janitor > Pool shark Chicken Thief? Here are my jobs, ages 15-36: Janitor/light maintenance - retail craft shop Picture framer - retail craft shop (a promotion! Still minimum wage.) Library drone (pasted barcode labels in books. Thousands of them.) cafeteria worker (Christ, that job was gross) research assistant to a political science professor (I got mentioned in the acknowledgements!) construction laborer print shop drone (counted tiny pieces of film) Red Cross disaster relief Bartender at a club for rich pricks IT analyst (later manager)- manufacturing company Database developer - legal aid organization IT analyst/security - healthcare organization IT analyst/security - another healthcare organization IT analyst - yet another healthcare organization IT security officer - same place as above There were a few volunteer IT gigs in there too – mostly Access development, some security assessments. And… hopefully I’ll add another to the list soon. I’m moving to Columbia, Missouri this year. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/12 "2009-06-03T14:15:48Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > Tobacco ground leaf gatherer > **Tobacco leaf sprayer > Tobacco chopper and spearer > Tobacco hanger** > Lawn maintenance > Chicken thief > Sales scammer > Janitor > Pool shark > Computer operator > Soldier > Computer programmer > Microwave Communications > Communications Plt Sgt > Military operations planner > IT support helpdesk > Systems Analyst > Testing Team lead > Systems designer > Senior Analyst > Bar Owner/DJ > SW Engineer Manager/Lead > Systems Engineer I hear tobacco bugs are pretty fucking creepy. Is that true? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/13 "2009-06-03T14:43:18Z")
A lot of these overlap. I seem drawn to small family firms where I end up doing two or three disparate jobs under one paycheck. Telemarketer Waitress Running Children’s Birthday Parties Assistant to Wardrobe, Blackfriar’s Theater Photon (Harvey - Chicago South) Manager Teen Dance Club Concession Stand Drone Costume Mistress, College Theater\* Newborn Nanny CSR, Blockbuster Video Manager, Blockbuster Video Perfume Sprayer, Hugo Boss Administrative Assistant, alt med clinic Person Who Gets Shit Done Around Here, herb and massage school\*\* Massage Therapist/Medicinal Herbalist Nanny, redux SAHM/babysitter And, in two years, I get to add: Nurse 😃 I feel like I’m leaving stuff out, but I can’t think what… \*Included design, build and archiving. And occasionally talking a bulimic college actress off the roof. \*\*I was one of two employees. The one was the herbal pharmacist, the other was me. I did everything: designing and printing flyers, signing people up for classes, processing payroll, billing and payable for two businesses plus the personal accounts of the owners, writing student handbooks/course catalogs, getting and renewing state approval, maintaining a student database and grades, issuing transcripts, scheduling classes, changing sheets in the treatment rooms and more. And I was still working as the AA for the alt med clinic in the same building. Nearly killed me, those jobs did. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/14 "2009-06-03T14:51:29Z")
Retail clerk (family store) Medical assistant (did EKGs and drew blood for testing) OTB betting parlor manager TV technical worker TV sports talk show host Assistant manager at a Spencer Gifts Radio advertising sales Editor of directory for Human Services organization Information and Referral specialist Assistant editor for a newsletter Volunteer coordinator Software documentation Technical writer Administrative assistant for a power plan construction project Technical writer/computer graphic designer Freelance technical writer Desktop publishing specialist & general computer guru. User Services specialist Instructional technologist. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/15 "2009-06-03T14:56:48Z")
Bus Boy Hooters Cook Waiter Bouncer Substitute Teacher Gun Range Manager/Firearms Instructor Machinegun/Special Weapons Dealer, SWAT Instructor Dolphin Hospital Volunteer US ARMY Some of those were concurrent. That’s the general timeline, though. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/16 "2009-06-03T15:01:10Z")
I’m sure I’m leaving some out, but I remember: Lawn Maintenance Orchard Maintenance Fast-food grill jockey Semi washer Assistant photo hut builder Security Guard Retail manager – photo Retail – record store Retail – agricultural products Free-lance photography Camper shell construction and sales Courier Courier manager Substitute teacher High School teacher ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/17 "2009-06-03T15:02:36Z")
My sister volunteered as an addicted baby cuddler at the hospital for a while. :(🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kiber](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiber/32/317_2.png) [@Kiber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiber)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/18 "2009-06-03T19:48:30Z")
Child Care Cafeteria Worker Writing Tutor House Cleaner Environmental Scientist / Consultant Consultant to National Nuclear Security Administration Still haven’t made Fire Fighter though, which at age 8 I swore up and down would be my career. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/19 "2009-06-03T20:39:15Z")
> [@Kiber](#): > > Still haven’t made Fire Fighter though, which at age 8 I swore up and down would be my career. Me neither. I got as far as volunteer for a rural department. I scored well on the series of tests to qualify for the St. Louis FD, but didn’t make it in. I am likely too old now. Alas. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552/20 "2009-06-03T20:48:10Z")
> [@Kiber](#): > > Child Care > Cafeteria Worker > Writing Tutor > House Cleaner > Environmental Scientist / Consultant > Consultant to National Nuclear Security Administration > > Still haven’t made Fire Fighter though, which at age 8 I swore up and down would be my career. I was a house cleaner, too. And I worked for a roofing company, as well. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-job-career-timeline-past-to-present/498552.md?page=2)