What jobs have you held?

WHAT HAVEYOU DONE LATELY?

U.S.Air Force: Enlisted for four years. Sep 1961
Two months Basic @ Lackland AFB, TX
November 1961 began at Beale AFB, CA as an Air Policeman (Security) as part ofthe 4126th Bombardment Wing. Strategic Air Command
Assigned Security for Titan Missiles @ Lincoln (two weeks), Chico (one 24 hourshift) and the Buttes (all the rest of my time in the missile squadron of 19 months)
Feb1, 1963 Re-designated as 456th Strategic Aerospace Wing
Jan1, 1965 Became the 4200 Strategic Recon Wing.
Sep 1965 Separated from the Air Force and moved to Reno, Nevada
Porter @ Washoe Co. Hospital (now Renown Hospital)
Security Officer @ Horseshoe Club
Route Driver for Sunshine Laundry
University of Nevada 4 yrs. B.A. in American Civilization
Route Driver for Nevada News Two Summers
Material Clerk, Records Clerk, Costing, Accounting, Purchasing Agent, Sales, Service, Bar Manager for Mills, Jennings & Keeney Slot Machine Manufacturing Companies, TJM Corporation and World Famous Stagecoach Bar (located in the Greyhound Bus Depot Reno – Bldg. Has beendemolished.
Purchasing agent for Ponderosa Casino One Week
Cashier for Comstock Casino Ten Months
Lead Cashier for Peppermill CasinoThree Months
Cashier Harolds Club Eight Years
Cashier Supervisor for Fitzgeralds Casino/Hotel and Nevada Club 13 Years
Cashier Supervisor for Bonanza Casino Ten Years +
Retired in 2008 as I was independently wealthy...LOL

WOW, everybody here independently wealthy???

I was an exotic dancer for a while. But my ears started hurting from all the screaming NO NO NOOOOOOO GET OFF THE STAGE.
Found out I don't like the taste of pepper spray or nightsticks.

But I was a retail alcohol manager for most of my adult life. And a bunch of different retail stores experiences.
(That last paragraph is true)

Real estate broker through college as I was getting my teaching degree. Taught school in the states and over seas as a missionary. Next was national customer service manager and VP of Operations for a multi/million dollar manufacturing company which resulted in me being a lousy husband and dad. Resigned and bought a septic pumping business and never missed a school event again. After selling it I started a small custom furniture business which is transitioning right now to offering custom revolver grips.

Spent 6 months cleaning horse stalls in 1989 for $3/hr (I was 13)
Worked for a taco time clone for 6 months when I turned 16
Sold Christmas Trees Dec. 92 and sold plants for the same nursery the summer of '93
Went to basic in Aug '93, then stationed at Schofield from Jan '94 - Aug '96 when I got out.
Worked as shipping clerk on swing shift for 6 months
Started construction summer of '97, by '98 I was foreman of a concrete crew
During the winter months I waited tables, bartended, and was a substitute teacher
2002 I hurt my knee and decided to find something that wasn't going to make me old before my time...
Ran a collections department for a home alarm company for a year while I went to school for Accounting and Business Management
In 2004 I left the alarm company to go work for a real estate developer as an accountant and project manager. Had to learn how to fix computers since the boss didn't like to pay his bills. By 2005 I was strictly IT and Project Manager until the bubble burst in 2008. By this time, I had a 3-year-old daughter and a newborn son.

In July, 2008 I was hired by a small international company (less than 800 worldwide, only about 80 in North America) as head of IT in North America. They also asked if I could help sell this new rental and point of sale software program they were trying to market.

16 Years later I am still there, I am now their Enterprise Software Specialist and still manage IT although we have more than doubled in size and I have 2 guys working under me dealing with the low-level IT crap.

Started as a strawberry picker/paper boy at age 12.
Worked at a woolen mill until 18 1/2.
USN for 4 years.
Back to the woolen mill.
Industrial mill wright for 14 years.
FAA certified aviation mechanic/test cell operator 25 years.
Retired10 years so far........

1965 - tile man's helper, summer job about 4 weeks.

1967 - grocery clerk, bagger, cash register about 3 years.

1969 - on the job trained Inhalation Therapy tech. Went to school, received an AAS degree in Respiratory Care Sciences (1976) held a number of positions including department director (1978-1998). Was "allowed" to resign (Dec 1997), worked as an agency (rent-a-tech) for about 6 months, was hired by to work in a very busy pediatric ER, there from June 1998 until I retired in 2017. Stay on as contract staff for 1 year as Pediatric Advanced Life Support instructor. 49 years and I got out at just the right time.

Now during all this I was a reserve police officer from 1979 (sheriffs office 1979 -1984, then local police 1984 until I retired in 2019) for a total of 40 years.

After retirement, I became an election clerk and now am a precinct judge. Very intermittent.

The running joke in my life is that I was born in the morning because I was scheduled to work afternoon shift that day.

When I was a kid I worked on the family farm and hired out to other farms during hay and picking season.

My dad had a sawmill so I worked there doing anything that needed to be done.

While in high school I started working on boilers and all the related equipment. Summers I worked on construction equipment and on a logging crew. I also gathered scrap metal and sold it to a junk yard

After I graduated from high school I worked as a Stationary Engineer for several places and also drove truck for several other places. They were flatbed for produce and logs, dump truck for contractors and even a fuel oil truck until I got pissed on by a kid while delivering home heating oil in the ghetto.

I then worked for a school district starting as relief cleaner and worked my way up to maintenance mechanic/engineer before they screwed us and privatized the service staff.
While working for the school I also worked as a bartender and still drove truck. I also still helped in the family sawmill. After we got privatized I found other work to get out of the school system.

Sometime during the l started repairing medical dental and chiropractic equipment. I had my own business and also worked for a couple of companies as a service technician. I kept this business from about 1984 to June 24th 2007 when my son was hit by a texting driver on his motorcycle.

In the late 1980's I got married and took a job with the State for the benefits and ran my own business as well. I started with the State as a Stationary Fireman and then went to school for my Journeyman's card as Stationary Engineer. I spent 15 years 3 months 2 weeks 1 day and 8 hours working for the prison system. I then was promoted to Chief Engineer for a college running a 7200 horsepower boiler system and 11500 horsepower diesel generator plant. I retired from the State in 2015.

After I retired I went to a hospital as an Engineer for most of 2016 and part of 2017. I told them to stick their job in 2017 and worked moving vehicles and campers for a couple of dealers as well as fill in at the college where I retired from as an on call Engineer.

In January of 2018 I took a job at a different hospital as a part time Stationary Engineer and worked until September of 2021 when I switched to full-time and am still working for them at this time. Matter of fact I am at work now....

After high school, 8.5 years USMC, then 30 years as an ASE certified Master auto repair technician, mostly electrical repairs, brakes, suspension and alignment. 8 years as commercial sales manager for large chain auto parts store. Got sick and retired December 2021.
Now, I am stay at home Dad with a ten year old son and a wife who teaches elementary school.

My work history might sound like a soap opera, but it's proof that if ya want to work it's out there.

Industrial maintenance & Tool & die my mainstays till interesting times, then,
Rigging & millwrights
Pole barn builder
Motorcycle mechanic
Heavy equipment/ big truck mechanic
Gun shop manager

Early years, butchers helper, restaurant custodian, gas pump jockey & windshield washer, Check your oil?

I helped work cattle a few times & my brother asked, are you crazy? 60 years old & working cattle for the first time? get your azz outta there.

Late in life experiences, sometimes fun, but for dang sure interesting.

Paper route at ten to 14
Pizza maker at 15 ( 6 months)
Bar help at 15
Bar help at 2 bars and clothing sales at 16 (same time) ignored child labor laws
Clothing sales and carpentry 6-8 months
New car prep ( basic mechanic) 4 years
Mechanic 7 years
Test technician ( prototype mechanic) 8 years
Test engineer 5 years
Engineer 15 years
Retired 6 years

Unemployed a total of 6 weeks from age 10 to retirement.

Dishwasher then bus boy at a big diner. I stocked grocery shelves. I lasted 2.5 days at a warehouse that shipped books. I had enough out of the warehouse bully's mouth and decided to, um, resign from that position with great satisfaction.

Got the perfect job for me delivering cosmetics to drug stores, no boss hanging over me. I really liked that job, but it was dead end. Worked on a crew building above ground swimming pools. The excavator liked me and I went to work for him driving dump trucks. I thought the world of Tommy! These were good times!

Bummed around the Country in '73 for 2 months on my motorcycle. Worked in a gas station. Decided to go to college (LOL) Got a job in a plant and worked my way up to middle management in HR. Suit and tie didn't suit me.

I said there's plenty of $ to be made if I worked hard and found my niche. I cleared woods, cut trees/brush, and used a walk behind bush hog where tractors couldn't go. I was the Dirty Jobs of the outside world and I charged accordingly. Made enough to buy a big Kubota tractor with all the accessories and specialized in new lawns, some seeded but mostly sod.

Bought a good business cheap and ran that for 22 years until I retired in '16.

I still regret never becoming a traveling carnival barker LOL

Joined the army as a diesel mechanic straight out of high school, 9 months is SWA during Desert Storm. Got caught up in Slick Willie's draw down in the mid 90's and was involuntarily separated with just under 4 years to go to get my 20 year retirement. After a 20 month break I joined the Air National Guard as a weekender and did 18 years with them, retired with 34 years total service in 2018.

24 years in the elevator trade, 20 installing and 4 servicing. Retired in the fall of 2022.

I've also driven truck, done auto repair, tree and stump removal in NC, cut firewood, landscaped, mowed lawns, plowed snow, and been a night janitor on the side.

Sounds like most people here have had lots of different jobs and been successful.

I'm currently the chauffeur and chef for a teenager. But before that I was a barista at Starbucks.

Before that I was an IT guy at Albertsons grocery stores. I traveled around the country cataloging computer equipment to be returned lest it get "misplaced" when the store closed.

Before that I taught English with the Peace Corps in Bulgaria and before that I held a CDL and drove a school bus full of drunk people for a canoe rental company in Southern Missouri.

I skipped my college graduation for that job (didn't miss much) and before all that I worked at Dominoes Pizza.

Picked STrawberries
Picked up pecans
home/apt Maintenance for room and board (high School Sr Year)
Shipping Clerk (Blue print supplies)
Truck driver (delivering frozen food 1st year of college)
Quality Control Tech ( Resins for floor tiles, etc)
Paint Quality Control Tech (DeSoto Paint and coatings <sears paints>
US Army ( Osan Korea) Commo
Paint Chemist
Production Mgr( DeSoto again)also a Company in Baltimore
Quality Control Manager (RustOleum Corp Hagerstown Md.)
Production Manager ( couple of Fla Paint companies)
Misc jobs- Chip repair on used autos etc.
RETIRED !!

work in a factory (one summer) in high school.
doorman in college. worked a George Harrison concert, said hello to George, he said "hulloo" to me.
tree work out of college 1976 (until I chainsawed my wrist)
high school teacher, football coach 1977-1979.
college football coach 1980-2015.
took 2016 off.
junior college football coach 2017-2019.
deliver cars for car dealership 2021-now.

really wanted to be a jet pilot, until I got eyeglasses.

Farm hand from birth to about 15 (gardening, getting up hay, cutting firewood, working with livestock, fencing, building barns and sheds, no pay but hot homemade biscuits every morning)
Studied vocational electronics in high school which led me into my main career
Community College - drafting and design (76-79)
Painter - interior and exterior, brush only no rollers (75-78)
Construction worker - mostly residential (78-80)
Mechanical drafter - tobacco manufacturing (80-83)
Electrical drafter - industrial can manufacturing (83-90)
Electrical controls designer/engineer - industrial… you name it, chemical manufacturing, pulp/ paper, tobacco, power distribution, amusement park rides, bullet proof vest manufacturing, commercial food manufacturing, ethanol manufacturing, conveyor systems, power boilers, as I mentioned previously pretty much anything and everything (90-24)
Retired - 4/24

As a lad: shoveling snow and paper route

Hi Schl: helping out the janitor at the local "cat-lick" school

USMC 1964-1968

After graduating from college worked as an adjudicator at the VA for 2 years, then transferred to the now defunct US Dept. HEW, and then to the US Dept of Education from which I retired in 2001.

Age 12 started working wheat harvest and then drag a disc, seed drill full of mùng bean seed and old steel landing mats. Then combine mung beans, bale bean hay and sack beans at the feed mill
Summer I turned 13 as soon as beans were planted I worked oilfield roustabout crew building cattleguards and building fence and production pipe til school started then bean mill sacking mung beans after school.
When I turned 16 I started working well service rig tailing rods and working a well swabbing rig.
That winter I drove a 10 wheel vacumn truck traveling with the Hot Oiler truck.
Did same routine til I joined the Navy when I was 17.
After honkrable medical discharge from Navy I worked in a mailroom of a large bank in Tulsa.
Then went back to working well service rigs.
I got on as a machinist in a rig & seismic equipment plant.
Ran a truck tire shop
Did landscaping on expensive houses on the west coast
Worked loading bacterial powder for produce fields in a Stearman cropduster
Back to oil rig working floors & Derrickman
Worked as ER Tech and Transportation orderly at a hospital while taking EMT Paramedic training
Worked recovery room foŕ St Johns in Tulsa
Worked as rig safety man and logistics for a Canadian drilling company.
Air freight forwarder local truck route for a shipping company in Tulsa shipping oilfield supplies worldwide.
Commercial construction crew and rough in wiring new houses.
Environmental tech, project mgr, field lab operator for a government contractor doing DOD, FAA, HUD and FDIC projects nationwide.
Sr microscopist and environmental lab mgr
Guitar player in a 3 piece rock band playing biker bars
Did a 3yr merchandising contract teamed with my wife for plumbing, kitchen & bath in Home Depot stores.
Private security for property mgmt in KC
Doorman of Shady Lady Strip club
Parts counter at a motorcycle shop
More security work

Delivered flyers door to door for the local Western Auto store
Lawn mowing
Deckhand on ferry crossing the Mississippi 2 or 3 summers
Summer farm hand during hay season
Delivery guy and TV antenna installer for local TV / Appliance / Furniture store
Counter salesman at lumber yard ~ got fired and deserved it
Muffler shop laborer
Salesman at a Curtis Mathes store
Bill collector
Business owner
Retired