What jobs have you held?

OMCHamlin said:

How about "daystic..." Nah... Too obnoxious, even for me.

Okay, I'm just going to edit on to this thread and answer...
MD, Early 70's
Prep slave at a body shop
Bin monkey at a Ford dealership parts dept
Laborer for construction co
Moved to TN, Mid 70's
Laborer for flat roof co
Laborer building log cabins
Clerk at grocery store
Dish washer at Pancake joint
Stocker at Dept store
Dish washer at Steak house
83-06 US Navy for the next 23 years
CT, Mid 80s
PT Pizza Delivery
Part time Gun Store Clerk
VA 2000s
Part time Tax preparer
Hardware Store gun counter clerk
Defense Contractor

Click to expand...

Daystic wow lol

Work??? I don't do that. Been all over the world on somebody else's money . That's the way I liked it. Now retired and love to sit on my porch watching all the suckers going to work. Work - NO.

Living off My Rich Uncles Trust fund.

Ok got that out of the way, now for real.

Mowing Lawns (1st guy hired me for the summer when he was away, the second year he came back and started talking about how good Germany was under Hitler) He had to find someone else after that.
Shoe sales. (was fired)
Grocery Store (Stock Cashier bagger and Bottle sorter. One of the worst Jobs.
Shoe Sales. Young women's shoes. Met my wife there.
Bank (Started at the bottom . Worst part was being a collector uuuuugly. )
Banking some different bank
Got Laid off with purchase of the bank
Mortgage Boker
Banking
Commercial Mortgage Broker (current)/ Semi Retired.

Been retired for so long that I can't hardly remember what I did and we don't use that 4 lettered word around here. time now.

When I was about 12 or 13 I started dragging a lawnmower around the neighborhood asking people if they wanted their grass cut. My first real job was washing dishes for a restaurant a guy I went to school withs parents owned. That didn't last long as my parents made me quit to go on vacation with them. Next was working at Richway's warehouse as a contingent employee until that ran out when things slowed down after the Christmas rush. After I graduated high school I shuffled papers for the State of Georgia for about 6 months then I took a job working in the shipping department of a printing company. That led to me moving over into the pressroom working as a press helper. I stayed there 5 1/2 years but knew I didn't want to stay there. I quit & wound up getting into the Sheet Metal Workers apprenticeship program in 1989. I've been a Sheet Metal Worker ever since.

First 18 years as a farm kid, always plenty to do on a farm. Spent my first year out of school working in the office of an advertising specialties company. Then 4 years as a department mgr and sales for Montgomery Ward, one of my departments was sporting goods and gun sales. Next four years spent as a department mgr and sales for a large Coast to Coast Hardware store and once again sold lots of guns. Then the next 33.5 years was employed by the Maytag Co. in Newton, Iowa. Started as a scheduler in distribution and final assignment was a supervisor in logistics. I had some years in my life working for about $1.00 per hour. I am now enjoying the best job ever, been retired for going on 18 years.

After graduating from high school, I joined the Army, 1956~1959.


Sept. 1959 I went to work as a paint salesman with Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. (later to become PPG Industries).

May 1968 I went to work as a steel detailer (draftsmen) after gooing to night school.

Sept. 1975 employed by engineering/contracting firm. Draftsman, field engineering, re-bar inspector, field survey og grain elevators and soybean oil mills renovations, senior designer for package handling conveyors/sortation. Retired 2006.


2006~present: Chief cook and bottle washer. Yard maintenence, home repair. transportation for relative's doctors appointments. Good hours, short pay.

Bob Wright

OOOPS !!
Forgot I sold newspapers on Navy Bases while in 4th/5th grade; The marines TIPPED better than the Sailors.

Cut grass and other assorted things for a cemetery. That was my first real job.
Bussed tables at Shoneys ( it sucked).
Worked in a cannery. Entertaining, long hours, minimum wage.
Worked at the local mall in a cheese shop, that was fun.
Went to college, worked in the library for a while.
Insurance sales, that sucked too but it paid good enough.
Got into IT, enjoyed the work, management sucked. After 35 years with the same company my job got cut and I retired.
Already had an FFL for side work so just been doing that, going to gun shows etc and doing some gun work.
Run a fireworks stand for New Year's and Independence day.
Will probably get a part time job later this year.
That was 40 plus years of work in a nutshell.
It doesn't sound like much but I've had fun anyway.

12 years old (about 1955) I delivered prescriptions for a local pharmacy. Got paid 10 cents each, plus a tip. I learned that if I acted out of breath, saying I ran all the way because "doc said you needed this right away" I got better tips, sometimes as much as a quarter.

Worked as a general clean up person in a small candy store.

Spend a long summer as a dishwasher in a children's camp at 16
.
At 18, as a college freshman, needed a part time job. Found one as a part-time Ward Clerk in a big local hospital. That experience essentially determined the rest of my working life for the next 48 years.

First job after college was as a media buyer for a big NYC advertising agency.

Then 24 years as an Army officer.

Final job, sort of, as a Nursing Home Administrator for 23 years.

Also worked as a Motorcycle Safety Foundation Instructor for 10 years.

Now fully retired and sort of bored.

Started working on local farms when I was 8. Learned to drive a Farmall Cub that summer. The farms I worked on raised a mix of tobacco, cucumbers for pickles, potatoes, corn, hay and were also mostly dairy farms.

Worked in a machine shop running a turret lathe making suppressor parts for the gov. in high school.

After HS graduation, 1968, worked in the acid treating room at Millers Falls tool co. while I was waiting to leave for Navy boot camp.

Did six years in the Navy as an Interior Communications Electrician got out in 1974.

Spent 1 1/2 years as a Deputy Sheriff (corrections officer) and decided that this was not my lives work. Couldn't find anything else I wanted to do so...

In 1978 I reenlisted in the Navy, served on various ships out of Norfolk, Va. Did three years as a recruiter (hated it) and retired in 1991 as a Senior Chief.

The month before I retired my twins were born, making six kids under 8. My wife had started a newsletter the year before so I became a Mr. Mom and IT support for her business and all around Gofer for her.

Over the next few years I was a scout master, merit badge rifle instructor, served on the town planning board and then appeals boards, helped at various other volunteer projects.

In 2007 I got a little bored so I took a part-time job ( three evenings a week) as a drug runner, I delivered meds for a long-term care pharmacy. I did that until 2014 when they told me I was going to have to start using a Prius for my deliveries. This is Maine, we did deliveries 365 days a year in what ever kind of weather. Previously I had been driving a Forester which would go through a foot of snow with no problem, a Prius, not so good. I decided not worth risking my life for what they were paying.

Now I spend most of my time taking care of our property and being a Grandpa.

Turned 75 today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Jim!

Other than mowing lawns, house sitting and car washing as a kid: I worked as a box boy at a large grocery chain. Then night shift at a Chevron station (great job) until an auto accident side lined me.

Threaded thru all of this I working Saturdays at a machine shop cleaning floors and changing coolant tanks. Then spent two summers as maintenance man at an RV Park with pool, trout pond, picnic, live music etc. What a dream! Married one of the owners' four daughters ans immediately started a family in 1973 (still married after 51 years of bliss). My boss at the machine shop, and Motocross sponsor, offered me a full time machinist position at this time. Thus ended my motocross endeavors and began my career in manufacturing.

Manufacturing (machining, assembly and test) ended up being my life long career until my retirement in 2020. From small shops to huge companies. From hands on machining all the way up to Unit Manager and all points between.

At one time (around 2000) I was going to college full time, managing three "assemble to pack" areas and performing as a full time musician.
When that all came crashing down I bought a small motorcycle shop which did well until the ecomony took a crap in 2007. Then went back into manufacturing management until 2020.

Now we are "retired" and living in the trees/mountains of NE Arizona. I play music full time, shoot, RV, ride motorcycles, manage our own B&B and raise four Chihuahuas that we saved from extinction. Oh Happy Day!

If the idea of dying from lethargy is true, we will live forever! Save for all the other health issues of aging. Thanks for asking!

Lots of odd jobs between 1965 and 1971.
18 yr old (1971) worked in a gas station until Oct 1971.
Oct 1971, joined the USAF. 1989 got my FFL (was shooting competitively in the USAF and in the civilian arena)
Oct 1997, retired from the USAF
Worked for Comcast until Jan 1998
1998 - 2015 Field Engineer for Cannon Instrument Co. They are the worlds leader in viscosity measuring equipment.
2015 - Tired of the travel (on an airplane to somewhere in the world every other week (have been on 6 of the 7 continents) so I retired and opened my gunsmithing/retail business full time
2024 - Starting to wind things down a bit, but probably won't give up my FFL until I'm 80 or so

Here goes:

• As a kid, I mowed yards, shoveled snow, and delivered newspapers.
• Around 14, I had a summer job as a Kitchen Aide at a Boy Scout Summer Camp. I worked 16-hour days, up early to prep breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I washed a ton of dishes and kitchen pots and pans. Peeled potatoes in 50-pound bags and string beans in bushel baskets.
• I was a cashier at a food store, working stocking shelves and produce.
• I worked in a restaurant as a busboy for two weeks and then was promoted to short-order cook. I did this both full-time and part-time when I was in college.
• While in college, I was a student marshal, checking doors, escorting kids to their cars, and operating the information booth.
• I had summer jobs during college, cooking at a restaurant, and joined the US Forest Service as a Timber Stand Exam crew, I spent most of the summer on a hotshot crew putting out forest fires in Arizona, Oregon, and California. Also, a camp counselor overseeing 20 kids for the summer. I taught them about forestry, wildlife, hiking, outdoor cooking, archery, water safety, canoeing, etc. I had a great time. I also worked for two years as a surveyor's assistant in NH and ME. I loved the work and saw amazing sights.
• Graduated college and worked for an oil company doing shift work. Day shift for a week, one day off, afternoon shift for a week, four days off, midnight shift for a week, and two days off. Body and sleep never adjusted right. Worked boat to install oil spill containment boom, connected hoses to ships and barges for gas and oil transfer, gauged tanks and railroad cars, etc. After five years, I knew this was not for me.
• Volunteered as a firefighter in PA. I even took a short model job for an illustrator. I also did the flea market thing too. Volunteered for the Boy Scouts of America as an Assistant Scoutmaster for three years, and Baseball and Softball Association as Assistant Manager for a Little League Baseball team for three years.
• I applied to Maine as a Warden (Fish and Game). I took their written test along with 2,000 other people, and physical tests whittled the list to 100. I was smack in the middle. So I waited. I applied to NJ as a Conservation Officer, VA as a Game Warden, and several local police departments, including the NJ State Police. Scored high at State Police. The physical test was a breeze, and the boxing part was great. Meanwhile, VA called me and I passed all their tests. For 14+ years, I was a State Game Warden, patrol officer, police academy instructor (firearms, DT, and officer survival), State Drug Task Force, SWAT officer, first responder, etc. FOP lodge president for two years. Magazine editor for VA Game Warden Magazine.
• Left VA and went to PA as a park superintendent II, then Facilities and Maintenance Operations Chief (deputy director), and then after ten years, laid off as elected officials created a $55 million budget deficit. Entire departments were eliminated, and hundreds of people were without jobs.
• I landed in Texas as a Parks and Recreation District Manager, then a City-Wide Manager, and then acting Planning Division Manager.
• Took a job in AZ as a division manager, then as a senior manager. $12+ million budget.
• I retired on 3/24, after 39 years in public service.

↑ Yikes!

Astronaut, but you were never an astronaut

* 1970's: Translated Russian scientific documents; later military documents. Very long hours, very low pay. Still do translation sometimes.

* 1980's onwards: firmware engineer at three major companies you'd all recognize. Pay was good. I loved the work itself, so I rarely took holidays or vacations.

* 2018 retired. Discovered that my Hungarian peasant mentality wouldn't let me spend saved money if I wasn't earning money also. Was doing Doordash until gas got too high. One guy gave me a $20 tip for a simple $15 order. That actually stunned me: I felt that was the nicest personal reward I'd ever got in my whole life.

During High School, I worked for Kroger as a sack boy and stock clerk.
During college I worked as a right-of-way crew member for the local electric dept (chainsaw, tree trimming, bucket-truck, dragging brush, feeding chipper, etc.
After college, got a job in sales..............
43 years later I retired......

ex13F said:

Been retired for so long that I can't hardly remember what I did and we don't use that 4 lettered word around here. time now.

Click to expand...

The wife and are so busy in retirement we often wonder how we ever found the time to work.

Not listing it all and it's another topic a lot of people that are wary shouldn't answer.

Same job at the same location now for me for 23 years. Same job, different location three years before that. Different job, same industry the five before that.

Part time retail the year before that.

Summers in hot rod shops two years before that while in high school.