All my jobs
2006-01-19 - 10:54 a.m.

I enjoyed reading about Crystal�s jobs the other day, so I decided to do the same. Here was the question:

Please name 4/5 jobs you've had, ending with the job you have now. I don't want to know company/where/salary/how long, etc. I just want to know "what" you do.

I�ll just go through all my jobs since there really aren�t that many. My first job was at a fast food restaurant and I hated it. I would come home smelling like the food and ironically, the place I worked was a place where I never particularly liked the food. I started there right after turning 16 and worked there for about a year, then quit before the beginning of my senior year in high school so I could participate in drama. I swore I�d never work at another fast food place.

After graduating from high school my parents were insistent that I get another job but I really, REALLY didn�t want to, so one day my step-dad made me go out job hunting with him. He took me to a fast food restaurant where I filled out an application and I knew they would offer me a job, but I was so hoping they wouldn�t. I did get offered the job and pretty much felt like I had to take it, and the night before my first day there I cried all night. I only lasted there a few months because when I started college they kept scheduling me to work when I had class, so I gladly quit.

Maybe a month after that I got a job at my college�s bookstore as a shelf-stocker. I enjoyed this job much more than the fast food place(s) because I didn�t have to deal with customers, but it was boring most of the time. I eventually switched over to cashier because it was less boring, then a few years later I got a student-manager position and moved to another department. I didn�t last long there because I didn�t get along with the manager so I moved to the computer department.

Sometime while still at this place, I worked a second job for a couple weeks to supplement my income. It was at another fast food place (!) but when I was hired I was under the impression that I would only be cashiering and wouldn�t have anything to do with the food. Unfortunately this cashiering job did include dealing with the food and working the drive-through. I was so unhappy there that I ended up crying while working the drive-through one night when a customer was giving me a hard time. Then when my insensitive boss told me to get over it I cussed him out. Needless to say I was fired, and now that I look back on it I wish that instead of just crying helplessly I would�ve quit and walked out.

I was a student employee in the computer department for 3 years, then became the asst. manager, which I stuck with for 2 years. I made more money as a manager and got some perks from being a staff member at the university, but other than those things the job pretty much sucked. Managing a group of college students who didn�t want to work, who called in sick half the time and who just didn�t bother to show up at other times was a nightmare. In their defense, the pay sucked so I couldn�t fault them too much for being less than enthusiastic about their jobs.

I gave my notice there and fortunately was offered another job before my last day so I didn�t have an unemployed period. This next job was an administrative position at a commercial real estate office, and for the first few months there I loved it. After having been responsible for 15-20 people, it was heaven for me to only be responsible for myself and I happily typed away at my desk in my cubicle. The kitchen was always stocked with coffee and a large variety of teas, which I thought was awesome. This job eventually went sour though, after I had some conflicts with an agent (who, in my opinion, was an ass) and my boss took his side. I quit after about a year.

I had a four-month period where I was unemployed after that and finally I got an interview with the biggest and most prestigious company in town. They offered me an administrative job with the highest pay per hour that I�d ever had, so I immediately said yes. The place was a 40-minute drive away, but I didn�t care. I was so happy to have that job. I had a little trouble with one of my bosses at first, but we worked that out and things were pretty hunky dory, though at times the job was extremely boring. I stayed there until I had to quit when I moved out of town to be with my now-husband.

After moving I looked for a job for about a year and then got another administrative position at a large insurance company. The first year there I was very happy, but then some stuff happened that I don�t want to get into and I gave two weeks notice. I then spent another year looking for a job and found my first work-at-home job as a transcriptionist. I loved the idea of working at home; it had always been a fantasy of mine. But the company had all these rules and regulations that were impossible to follow, so I gave up on them. Now I�m working another transcription job that I really like. This place has very simple rules and I enjoy the work, which is transcribing interviews between insurance adjusters and their clients usually regarding auto accidents. Sometimes these interviews crack me up. People can be so (unintentionally) funny and they find particularly creative ways to mangle the English language. And it�s always fun to hear how they try to put the blame on the other person involved. I�ve only heard one person say, �Yes, it was my fault.�

Working from home is awesome, though I do miss contact with other people sometimes, but I sure don�t miss all the stupid office politics, ringing phones, constant interruptions, having to get up at the crack of dawn, etc. I just wish the pay were a little better.

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