# Different jobs..



## GrilledSteezeSandwich (Jul 20, 2009)

Occupations have been discussed on here alot....what various jobs have you had over the years.  Did you have a favorite one?  If you have a short minute, add some details...

From youngest to oldest:::  Paperboy, grass-cutter, Italian ice scopper, Cashier at Wendys, Telemarketer, helper for contractor, customer service, insurance sales, financial service sales, satallite dish sales, window sales, furniture delivery, encyclopedia dish sales, worked in a brewary on an assembly line, worked in a deoderant factory on an assembly line, warehouse work, printing and promotional marketing sales, monument sales ...My favorites were being a paperboy not many kids had over 10K in the bank by age 15..least favorite..telemarketing..since 95% of the people you call are less than appreciative about the fantastic deal you are going them to educate them about..Working at Big Hole brewery in Montana was sick..I got to take home all the low fills..JEA!!!!


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## OldsnowboarderME (Jul 20, 2009)

paperboy, blueberry picker, supermarket bag boy/stocker, electrician's mate navy,  photocopier repair, pier construction laborer, plywood mill electrician, cardboard box factory worker, waste water treatment plant electrician, nuclear electrical maintenance technician, computer technician, nuclear instrumentation & controls technician. The navy was a lot of fun for me. Probably would have stayed in if I hadn't gotten married. She hated military life. I will admit I didn't enjoy leaving her either.


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## Riverskier (Jul 20, 2009)

Restaurant busboy/dishwasher, grocery bagger/cashier, bakery (mostly retail sales), pizza delivery driver, discount book retailer, beer delivery helper, beer delivery driver, accounting for large finance company, recordkeeper/ assistant team leader for retirement TPA firm, pension administrator- in that order.

Probably liked driving a beer truck the best. Hard on the body though (bringing kegs up and down stairs), irregular and sometimes extremely long hours, and not much career potential. Switched to the financial world after college, hoping for more career development and opportunites. Not thrilled with my current occupation though.


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## Trekchick (Jul 20, 2009)

I've been a dishwasher, waitress, records transcriber at a college office, truck driver(still have my CDL with a tanker endorsement), and the most interesting of all, Porta Jon Pumper.
At the moment, and for the past several years, I manage the office for a family owned business.

I do not recommend that you work with your spouse, but somehow we make it work.


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## Beetlenut (Jul 20, 2009)

Lots-O-jobs! Janitor at a machine shop, Fry cook, Columbia bicycle assembly line worker, Greens Keeper, Asst. Mgr at a Wallpaper store, Sold Hawaiian Tropic suntan lotion on Daytona Beach, Pool Cleaner, Package Store, Heating and Air conditioning, Helicopter Mechanic, Cable Converter tech, and Software Engineer.


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## Geoff (Jul 20, 2009)

Hmmm....

I was the neighborhood lawn mowing tycoon until I was 17

Lifeguard & swimming instructor for 5 years at a private beach.   Other than raking seaweed after big storms, I'd like that job for life.

Ski shop employee.  Drilling.  Tunes.   Rentals.  A little bit of filling in selling skis on the shop floor.

Every other job has been telecom-oriented high tech.   The usual progression of somebody following the individual contributor track rather than the "become a manager" track.  Junior Software Engineer.  Software Engineer.  Senior Software Engineer.  Principal Software Engineer.  Consulting Engineer.   Chief Architect.  I've had a VP title a couple of times when I was doing customer-facing things.

I spent a couple of years doing international business development in the late-1990's from one of the companies where I was on the founding team and sold it to a bigger fish.  I had an office in New Hampshire and another in Belgium.  That was huge fun being paid to travel the world on a generous expense account to talk to people.  I probably only "really" worked 8 or 10 hours per week since that was before you could get good internet connectivity on the road.   Lots of golf in Ireland.  I was told in the Munich Haufbrauhaus that I drank like a German.  Hong Kong was really cool.  I landed plenty of business so nobody cared that I was skiing in the Alps or doing French wine tours.


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## tarponhead (Jul 20, 2009)

As a kid cut grass in summer, shovel walks in the winter
As a teenager caddy at local golfcourse
As a older teen drive a forklift in a cheese factory
Through college I cooked
Post college was a biochemist for 17 years prior to moving on
Now am a medical writer in big pharma, love the flexability (read can work in bunny slippers from home....)


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## Hawkshot99 (Jul 20, 2009)

Started mowing grass at age 10, and still going strong.
Skate guard at local hockey rink for open skating
Worked at a haunted hayride/mansion scaring people
Part time ski tech/ sales at ski shop
Manager of ski shop
Delivery man for the furniture portion of the ski shop, will be a manager again when my store reopens.


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## mondeo (Jul 20, 2009)

At 15, washed dishes. Awful, disgusting.
16-freshman year of college (on breaks), stocked shelves at a supermarket
Also at 16, roadie every once in a while for a jazz band (big band, depending on the gig up to 16 piece + singer.)
Sanded doors and other odd jobs summer after freshman year, then on breaks thereafter.
Co-oped as an engineer after sophmore year in college
Research after junior year.
Engineer since college, and probably for the rest of my life.


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## gorgonzola (Jul 20, 2009)

turkey farm laborer, mowed grass/zoysia grass planter, porter dunkin dognutz, stockboy/sales/security retial clothing store, landscaping/construction laborer, busboy/waiter, architectural draftsman, intern architect, designer/project architect, landlord, husband, father, construction project manager


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## ctenidae (Jul 20, 2009)

Video store clerk, tobacco picker, florist, waiter, busboy, bartender, host, cook, dishwasher, expiditer, manager, general manager, writer, lighting director, light monkey, retail manager, Accounts Receivabo Ho, payroll clerk, Accoutns Receivabo Ho II, Accounting Supervisor, Hedge Fund Accountant, Investment Analyst, Investor Relations


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## andyzee (Jul 20, 2009)

Good thread:

Kielbasa Skin Cutter (serious), Jewlers helper, machine operator in wire fabrication company, machinst, cnc machinst, tool and die maker, PC Field Tech, IT Help Desk for two insurance companies, Network System Engineer, MS Exhange Admin, Windows Network Admin, NOCC Implementer/Manager, Internet Security Engineer.


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## ctenidae (Jul 20, 2009)

Kielbasa Skin Cutter to Internet Security Engineer, in 13 easy steps.

I'm trying to draw parrallels between teh two jobs, because they'd be funny, but I'm having a hard time.


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## ccskier (Jul 20, 2009)

Not too many: busboy/dishwasher, camp counselor, cash register attendant, landscape construction, bellboy/waitstaff, barback, house building, insurance sales.


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## billski (Jul 20, 2009)

my favorite job was the one that defined my destiny.
Worked in an electronics factory one summer, soldering wires onto switches.  After two days of it, I stopped and asked all the rotund middle-aged women how they could stand doing the same thing year after year.

The biggest, most rotund of them all responded, "sonny, after a couple of weeks, your mind goes blank!"  and continued soldering away.

That set in motion to a plan to have a thinking-person's jobs.

Best worst job I ever had :smash:


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## andyzee (Jul 20, 2009)

ctenidae said:


> Kielbasa Skin Cutter to Internet Security Engineer, in 13 easy steps.
> 
> I'm trying to draw parrallels between teh two jobs, because they'd be funny, but I'm having a hard time.



Obviously this was over a long period of time, the first one was when I was 16. That was a tough job, give a 16yr old a knife and some booze, lot of drinking at that job, and all of the sudden the kielbasa skins turn into blood sausage.  

Now for your link, you can't see how a knife handler and security would go hand in hand?


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## gorgonzola (Jul 20, 2009)

andyzee said:


> Good thread:
> 
> Kielbasa Skin Cutter (serious), Jewlers helper
> 
> ...


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## ctenidae (Jul 20, 2009)

gorgonzola said:


> andyzee said:
> 
> 
> > Good thread:
> ...


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## RootDKJ (Jul 20, 2009)

Fun thread

snow shoveler, audio mic mixer for school board meetings, lifeguard / swim instructor (2 different community pools, an apartment building, Seton Hall, YMCA, Spa 23), municipal court records clerk, , gas station attendant, EMT, retail sales clerk,  Customer Service / Sales, QA clerk, IT Coordinator, Controller Operator Engineer, Digital Video Engineer, Engineering Operations Manger, Regional Video Engineering Manager.

The last 7 are all at the same company. Best job ever was lifeguarding.  Worst was being an EMT, the company I worked for was so cheap, we would have to steal medical supplies out of the ER's.  

Gig I have now is the best I've had with my company, as I can totally disconnect from my work once I leave the office for the day.


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## OldsnowboarderME (Jul 20, 2009)

I forgot to mention chicken house cleaner ..


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## andyzee (Jul 20, 2009)

iwon't said:


> I forgot to mention chicken house cleaner ..



I forgot to mention muscle shucker.


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## OldsnowboarderME (Jul 20, 2009)

Just remembered another in high school summer job I worked in a sardine packing plant and was a cemetery grounds keeper another year.


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## wa-loaf (Jul 20, 2009)

Dishwasher
Cook
Waiter
Boat Boy
Lifeguard
Swim Instructor
Camp Counselor
Trip Leader
Translator
Interrogator
Ski Tech
Ski Sales
Bike Sales
Pre-press Specialist
Graphic Designer


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## andyzee (Jul 20, 2009)

iwon't said:


> Just remembered another in high school summer job I worked in a sardine packing plant and was a cemetery grounds keeper another year.



Hope you didn't get them mixed up.


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## deadheadskier (Jul 20, 2009)

farmers helper
clay pigeon technician
housekeeper 
bank teller
dishwasher
cook
bartender
waiter
restaurant manager
multi-unit restaurant manager
banquet manager
carpenter
sales


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## mondeo (Jul 20, 2009)

deadheadskier said:


> dishwasher
> cook
> bartender
> waiter
> ...


Which of these is not like the other?


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## severine (Jul 20, 2009)

paper girl
babysitter
grocery store bagger
video store clerk
gas station attendant
customer service for a plant mail order company
municipal secretary (Assessor's Office)
sales floor @ Target
ticket scanner @ ski area
and ultimately, Stay-At-Home-Mom (SAHM)

Favorite: video store clerk at the family-owned store (I also worked @ Blockbuster before that). I was under 18 so my parents had to sign a waiver allowing me to vacuum the "back room." On Sundays, we had to go through the cases to check that all the correct adult movies were in them and we played a game making a story out of the titles. It was stress-free, my coworkers were great, and the family was like the "family." (The remind me of the Petrellis in "Goonies"--John especially.)

Least Favorite: sales floor @ Target. Hated that more than bagging groceries. They were under-staffed even though it was holiday season and they were a brand new store. I'd have to run an entire department by myself and even though customer service was supposed to be our #1 priority, I would also have to clean up all the aisles in my section (I usually had the Bath/Bed/Home section) in my 4-5-hour shift (and was told I should be able to refold all the towels and freshen up each aisle in less than 1 minute!). No consistency in hours either. Not worth the nearly-minimum wage pay.

I don't include SAHM in Favorite because I don't get paid what I'm worth for that work.


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## deadheadskier (Jul 20, 2009)

mondeo said:


> Which of these is not like the other?



chronologically it was out of order, but I took six months away from the restaurant biz in the late 90s to work as a carpenter; mainly for knowledge for when I became a homeowner some day.

Oh, I forgot pizza delivery guy.  Outside of during the ice storm of 98, that was a pretty cool job.  Ride around all night listening to tunes, occasionally delivering a pie to hot college chicks, but mainly Burlington Hippy stoner dudes.


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## Paul (Jul 20, 2009)

Dishwasher @ greasy spoon
Slitter Catcher
Lifeguard
Swim Instructor
Sample Maker in Box Factory
Food Service @ Psych Hospital
Forklift Operator
Bailer Operator
Safety Manager
Retail Sales @ Radio Shack
Videographer
Distance Learning Proctor
Master Control Operator for TV station
Freelance Videographer
Cashier
Installation and Repair/ Residential Phone Service
IRT / Complex Business Phone / Data
SONET Provisioning Manager
Data Design Engineer
Data Network Analyst
Wireless Systems Engineer

I think that's it.


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (Jul 20, 2009)

Beetlenut said:


> Sold Hawaiian Tropic suntan lotion on Daytona Beach,




Winner Winner Chicken Dinner..


ctenidae said:


> Video store clerk,



I know a Blockbuster manager and on a whim might fullfill another steezy position..I'd just recommend Bill and Teds Excellent adventure to them or a Pauly Shore movie..doesn't matter which one..they all suck..



andyzee said:


> Obviously this was over a long period of time, the first one was when I was 16. That was a tough job, give a 16yr old a knife and some booze, lot of drinking at that job, and all of the sudden the kielbasa skins turn into blood sausage.
> 
> Now for your link, you can't see how a knife handler and security would go hand in hand?



dream job #3



gorgonzola said:


> andyzee said:
> 
> 
> > Good thread:
> ...


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (Jul 20, 2009)

Paul said:


> Slitter Catcher
> 
> Safety Manager
> .



These two caught my eye..


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## Paul (Jul 20, 2009)

GrilledSteezeSandwich said:


> These two caught my eye..



A Slitter is a machine that you feed large sheets of corrugated cardboard into and it rips them down to the proper width. The Catcher has to stand there and stop the smaller sheets from flying out too far, then stack them on a pallet.

Yeah, had to get a Plant into OSHA compliance.


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (Jul 20, 2009)

Paul said:


> A Slitter is a machine that you feed large sheets of corrugated cardboard into and it rips them down to the proper width. The Catcher has to stand there and stop the smaller sheets from flying out too far, then stack them on a pallet.
> 
> Yeah, had to get a Plant into OSHA compliance.



We often get telemarketers from safety magazines who call to ask if we have regular safety meetings..of course we do because you can never be too safe.  Especially when you are skiing and riding.  

Under Warehouse work, I worked for TNT firework for about 3 months when I lived in Bozeman MT.  I had the song TNT in my head about 5-6 hours a day and still do when I see the TNT stores around here.  The boss sexually harrassed me pretty bad.  She was a cougar in a beatup addicted to meth kind of way which kept her skinny but always said the dirtiest things to me and other colleagues..hey as long as it got us extra overtime.  

I befriended two guys from the job.  Jules who was from Africa by way of Toronto and was attending Montana State Univeristy.  He was a sick ping pong player and enjoyed blasting the remix to ignition.  Also George who was from Jersey origionally and moved to Montana on a Greyhound bus and lived in Public housing.  Him and his wife who worked two fast food jobs one time hit up KOs the big danceclub in Bozeman and they were indeed kicking in old-school...George also worked with me at Gallatin Valley furniture...

Collater...spellling..I worked for a temp agency for a stretch and I had a job stuffing envolopes and various information packets..some of them with up to 15 items..for insurance companies and what-not.  If I had 8 hours left to live..I would spend it collating because it would seem like a month.  My boss could hardly speak English and she chose one slow guy on our "team" as the scapegoat and called him a Monkey and berated him for forgetting one brochure in a 12 piece mailer.  The warehouse was right across from Batesville casket for stoke!!!


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## Grassi21 (Jul 20, 2009)

helper for dad when he would paint and do wall=paper when he wasn't teaching
parking attendant for local fairs
baskin robins
camp counselor
sports coordinator for summer camp
cutco knife saleman
retail at aeropostale
telemarketer
bank teller
waiter
corporate trainer
quality assurance analyst/lacrosse coach


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (Jul 20, 2009)

Grassi21 said:


> cutco knife saleman
> QUOTE]
> 
> I forgot that one..that job was short-lived but I got a commission check equal to a moderate bartab..


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## Grassi21 (Jul 20, 2009)

GrilledSteezeSandwich said:


> Grassi21 said:
> 
> 
> > cutco knife saleman
> ...


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## 2knees (Jul 20, 2009)

altar boy
male prostitute
pimp
gigolo


in that order.


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## wa-loaf (Jul 20, 2009)

2knees said:


> altar boy
> male prostitute
> pimp
> gigolo
> ...



You left out Butt Pirate.


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## BeanoNYC (Jul 20, 2009)

Dunken Donuts Clerk
Camp Counselor
Bus Boy
Waiter
Parkie
Lifeguard
Swim Instructor
Life Guard Instructor
CPR Instructor
First Aid, Instructor
Swim Instructor, Instructor
CPR Instructor, Instructor
First Aid Instructor, Instructor
Rink Guard
Zamboni Driver
Corporate Trust Administrator
Expense Report Clerk
Accounts Payable Clerk
Publicist
Teacher (Current)
Tour Guide (Current)


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## mondeo (Jul 20, 2009)

wa-loaf said:


> You left out Butt Pirate.


It's a thread about jobs, not hobbies.


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## playoutside (Jul 20, 2009)

yardwork/weeder: can't imagine anyone paid me for this, I worked so slowly
babysitter: started this for neighbors when I was 9 -- don't think anyone would allow this today -- I was done with babysitting when most kids were just starting
Lifeguard/watersafety & swim instructor -- did this for 6 summers at a private lake, more fun than most jobs since
Clothing retail sales/cashier
Office worker at university fund raising office -- work/study gig
Research analyst for vehicle routing software startup
Information manager at industrial automation consulting firm
Sr. Systems engineer/consultant designing and installing networks -- best job for me, traveled the world, learned stuff everyday, worked insane hours, totally fun for 7 years
IT Manager for a mobile healthcare service provider
IT Director for several financial services companies -- some great experiences, some grueling which made me pretty burnt out from dealing with layoffs, cost savings and outsourcing for too many years
IT Management Consultant -- being self employed for the last few years has worked well in that it allows me skiing/playing time as I need/want it while still earning a decent living.


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## RootDKJ (Jul 20, 2009)

Geoff said:


> Lifeguard & swimming instructor





RootDKJ said:


> lifeguard / swim instructor .





wa-loaf said:


> Lifeguard
> Swim Instructor





Paul said:


> Lifeguard
> Swim Instructor





BeanoNYC said:


> Lifeguard
> Swim Instructor



Lots of Lifeguards on here...


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## severine (Jul 20, 2009)

And swim instructors!


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## wa-loaf (Jul 20, 2009)

RootDKJ said:


> Lots of Lifeguards on here...





severine said:


> And swim instructors!



You'll be in good hands if you are drowning at the mtn ...


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## andyzee (Jul 20, 2009)

wa-loaf said:


> You'll be in good hands if you are drowning at the mtn ...



Don't know about that, it's kind of like a doctor being a mortician.


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## BushMogulMaster (Jul 20, 2009)

Not quite in chronological order, with several positions overlapping:

Lawn mowing, Professional musician (classical organ, jazz piano), PC support (started my own business at age 15), Systems and Network Administrator (also 15), web developer, contractor's helper (helped the old man build a couple of log cabins and do some roofing during his break from the ski biz), snowmaker, facilities tech, marketing assistant, lift operator, landscaper/gardener, groomer, and... of course... Founder and Director of Mogulskiing.net!

All of this, and I'm not even old enough to legally enjoy a glass of scotch with my Montecristo!  I need to relax a little more, and quit working so damn much! :wink:


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## 2knees (Jul 20, 2009)

BeanoNYC said:


> Zamboni Driver



fkna, that is the best one i've seen yet!


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## OldsnowboarderME (Jul 21, 2009)

Paul said:


> A Slitter is a machine that you feed large sheets of corrugated cardboard into and it rips them down to the proper width. The Catcher has to stand there and stop the smaller sheets from flying out too far, then stack them on a pallet.
> 
> Yeah, had to get a Plant into OSHA compliance.


That was my job in the cardboard plant. I lasted officially one day on that job. I could not move the next I was so sore. I was literally buried under cardboard. The machine kept going faster and faster, there was no way I could keep up. It must have looked really funny to the other workers.


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## Paul (Jul 21, 2009)

iwon't said:


> That was my job in the cardboard plant. I lasted officially one day on that job. I could not move the next I was so sore. I was literally buried under cardboard. The machine kept going faster and faster, there was no way I could keep up. It must have looked really funny to the other workers.



Did it for an entire Summer. It was a tough one, I was 16 and about 112 lbs soaking wet.

Also spent "set-up" time stripping the excess off of stacks of die-press boxes. That was fun.

My family has owned a box company for almost 60 years, worked there on and off until I was out of college.


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## Dr Skimeister (Jul 21, 2009)

-Paper Route/Snow Shoveling/Lawn Cutting
-Sunday Newspaper Assembly @ Local Sweet Shop
-Filing Clerk @ Trade Magazine In NYC
-Shlub @ McDonald's
-Shlub @ Local Sweet Shop
-Kennel Boy @ Veterinary Hospital
-Shlub @ Hospital Kitchen
-Microfiche Clerk @ OSHA
-Shlub @ Borden Burger
-Meat Cutter/Butcher/Farm Hand @ WVU
-Night Watchman @ AM Varityper
-Maintence Man/Stoner's Assistant @ Apartment Complex
-Painter @ School System
-Lab Tech @ Merck
-Veterinarian @ present


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## ComeBackMudPuddles (Jul 21, 2009)

landscaping engineer (translation: i mowed lawns, raked leaves and weeded)
pastry chef (translation: i baked fudge and sold candy to greedy little fat kids)
community organizer (translation: i begged people for money for various social causes)
food service engineer (translation: i washed dishes in the school cafeteria to buy beer in college)
ski instructor (translation: a great job!)
consultant (translation: promise of management consulting gig gave way to programming in cobalt for a utility company....i didn't last long)
legal assistant (translation: lots of paper pushing and paper cuts)
lawyer (translation: insert lawyer joke here)


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## noski (Jul 21, 2009)

iwon't said:


> That was my job in the cardboard plant. I lasted officially one day on that job. I could not move the next I was so sore. I was literally buried under cardboard. The machine kept going faster and faster, there was no way I could keep up. It must have looked really funny to the other workers.



LOL, Lucy and Ethel.


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## skidbump (Jul 22, 2009)

Well lets see if i can remember
Baby sitter
butcher shop cleaner
porter
butcher dept cleaner
gas station attendant"before self serve"
computer card solderer"microscope"
computer frame wire/grounding/inspection
photo mask polisher/grinder
machine shop laborer"home elevators"
telecom tech for small interconnect
telecom tech for contractor for northern telecom
telecom tech for northern telecom/Nynex Meridian/Nortel/Williams communication/Nextira One/Black Box voice services "all through mergers and acquisitions 1987-2006"
plant merchandiser/POS tech/telecom tech/ski instructor/sell perennial plants/ski bum "current list"


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## HD333 (Jul 22, 2009)

Paper Boy
Rental Trailer Cleaner - RV type things
Poop tank dumper at seasonal trailer park
Bus Boy/Waiter
Hotel gift shop 
Maintinence Man at a Convent/Reform School for Girls summers in college...best job EVER cleaned the pools mowed the lawn, the nuns gave me breakfast and lunch, and access to little 7oz beers!!!  The "bad girls" used to hoot and hollar when I drove by on the tractor showing off the goods!!!  Could have made a movie about that place...
Bouncer at college bar
Financial Services Phone Rep
Financial Services Supervisor
Financial Services Contact Center Mananger for a few companies and for WAY to long
Relationship Manager/Account Manager

Oh yeah full time Dad! (I guess that is the best job ever)

HD


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## skidbump (Nov 3, 2009)

bump for effect


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