I worked maintenance in a production bakery. How bad can that be...well if the temperature outside was 90, it was 115 inside. You would walk through the place and icing would drip down on you from the conveyors overhead (sweat and icing, great combo). Oh, that was the good part of the job. If the conveyors got stuck inside the oven (350 degrees) somebody had to go inside these huge ovens to break the conveyor free with a crowbar. Otherwise production was stopped in the enire plant. The only thing you wore was a thermal suit, gloves and head shroud. You had to breathe the 350 degree air. No external oxygen tank. You had 5 minutes to correct the problem and get out before you would pass out. Somebody outside the oven watched in case you passed out and then they would have to drag you out. Yes, and the pay was 8 bucks an hour.
As a farm kid, you'd think I knew everything about bad jobs.
But in college I waited tables for a well-known restaurant chain that is famous for its pies. There were 10 waitresses hired when I was, but only two survived the training. That should have been my clue. All of the managers were male, always raised from busboy (no busgirls, either), and you could be "written up" for cutting a pie with the wrong pie cutter (no kidding). It was the most toxic atmosphere I've ever worked in. I couldn't wait to get out of it. Maybe that's what gave me the perspective, when I graduated from a completely unrelated graduate degree, to become a farmer again...
Took a job at a drive in theater one summer as a second job to save up for grad school, worked only the weekends, but ended up quitting two weeks early. I originally signed up for kitchen staff, they added security to my duties the second week I was there because the guy who was supposed to do it disappeared and he couldn't find anyone else. Let's just say that many people didn't feel like listening to a girl even with the security vest when asked to move their big truck because they were in the front rows blocking the view to everyone behind.
Also the food standards there were horrendous, the floor was so coated in grease it was hard to walk, and they let their 5yo granddaughter run around in the kitchen while we were busy trying to get orders out. Twice I burnt myself when I turned around and found a kid under foot. Often we were so busy that we wouldn't get a break in the 6hr plus shift, and if you got stuck doing dishes you could be there well after 2am on a busy night, the kitchen generally closed at midnight.
Dealing with this on top of a full time job sucked, but I made the extra money to cover the move to school and the first two months of my budget from this crap job.
For anyone out there romanticizing about roasting coffee for a living, it's pretty much like this - Stare into a gigantic pop-corn popper / clothes dryer tumbler in a 100+ degree room with a jet airplane taking off next to you for about 10 minutes. Then haul 120KG (250lbs) of beans to reload the machine and repeat for the rest of the day. It's dirty, exhausting, mind numbing and I'm glad I left that place.
I worked as a laborer for two years for a office furniture installation company. My duties included loading and unloading trucks, staging product in building areas, and removing trash and excess product from the build site. The physical labor involved was draining. We often had to carry product manually up several flights of stairs. I lost 30 pounds in the first two months on the job. I was at least 20 years older than the next younger laborer, but after a few weeks on the job, I could keep up with the best of them.
Times were tough, and I was fortunate to have have any job. I don't miss the hard labor, but I do miss the great friends that I met while there.
I tried the Mulberry Wine once. There was no need to remove the stems for that. I kind of liked it, it had an interesting mineral sort of flavor, not sweet. My SO hated it, however!
Having been bound to a cubicle, I'm inclined to say follow your heart. It is possible, if you think the 2nd job will be available down the road, to take the first and save some money. But... if the first also means that it's for a major company (who may be hiring often), you should go for the one you love.. especially if it's a once in a lifetime opportunity.
I worked as a "beach attendant," in other words - ticket checker. I got to sit in a little hut near the beach and hassle people all day long for their beach passes.
Unfortunately, I didn't work at one of the booths that took money, so if people didn't have their passes, I'd have to make them walk 4 blocks in either direction to pay.
Needless to say, I was also called every name in the book, and even had to call the police a few times.
I have 2 job offers (not a bad place to be), I am a new college grad, finance, banking, risk management majors
Job #1 - major bank, $30,000/year, match dollar for dollar 401K, insurance (dental and health) I pay, sales, so there are small bonuses, suit all day, in a cubical.
Job #2 - sales for an aquatic company, $22,500/year, 4% comm. on sales, no 401K, insurance (health & dental) I pay, casual dress, in office some days and at sites some days (I love being outside), travel paid.
My mind says get the money, my heart says go for something more enjoyable. HELP
I came back from studying abroad for a year and decided to blow off the next semester of college so I got a job at AT&T in customer service. I spent 8 hr shifts in a gray office tethered to a desk taking calls from NYers that were complaining about their phone bill, as if that wasn't enough stress the computer system, policies, and procedures were all bass ackards.
My very first call came from someone with multiple personality disorder (no joke) I had to tell everyone of her personalities why her phone was going to be cut off and where she had to go pay the bill. As soon as I'd think she got it her voice would change and I'd have to go through it all over again with my fat supervisor sitting way too close to me in a very tight light blue seer sucker suit, writing notes on a legal pad for me to read like "use more authority in voice" or "tone 2 rude".
I took so many calls from people with very thick accents arguing that they should not have to pay for a certain call back to their homeland because the connection was so bad, well if the connection was bad why did you talk for 124 minutes????
The worst was once I took a call from a lady just back from her honeymoon about some 900#s that appeared om her bill. The # was a gay mens sex chat line. I wasn't even in a serious relationship at the time and I started crying with her on the phone.
I had scullery duty for two weeks on an aircraft carrier in the Navy. That means scrubbing the grime out of the biggest pots and pans you've ever seen, and doing it as fast as you can.
Not the worst job on this list by far, and actually kind of fun once you get used to it. You're certainly busy, with 5000+ people to feed and clean up after. It's amazing the amount of food that gets thrown out.
walking beans! ugh! when i was in my teens, many of us would get summer jobs walking beans. some of you may not even know what this is. if you live around soybean fields then you know exactly what i mean. i still have scars on my legs from the crazy hook used to cut down the weeds amongst the beans. the suckers are sharp... they have to be, because you haven't seen a weed until you've seen ones that can grow in bean fields.
Seems like all of you have lived sheltered lives if working at KMart for a summer or being berated by some dork manager is the worst you can summon.
I was a cop in a major mid-atlantic city. During my first month on the job, somebody tried to stab me, I dealt with three suicides (one by gunshot), two homicides (one of which was a double homicide), an aborted car chase (called off by my sergeant), and so many domestic disputes that I can't even begin to count them. In fact, the first call I was ever dispatched to was a traffic fatality where the person was nearly decapitated; the corpse was so mutilated that I didn't find out what sex he was until I pulled his drivers license from the wreckage.
Upon joining the department, they sent me to the worst precinct in the entire city. 70% of the residents of my precinct were below the federal poverty line. So many people were addicted to narcotics that we didn't even bother to detain someone with drugs or paraphernalia-- only the dealers. My entire day was spent running calls, most of which were domestic disturbances. If the work itself wasn't demanding enough, I had to deal with horrible supervision and outright hostile and equally miserable co-workers. The mentality was to shove as much work as possible onto the next guy and get out of having to write reports. My entire day was filled with misery, 5 days a week. Miserable work, miserable supervisors, miserable coworkers. And to top off all that misery, I ended up in court on my days off.
The saddest part is that I stuck with that job for nearly 2 years. That job did more to shape my personality than any single event.
My brother calls his mortgage "the cheapest money you'll ever borrow" which is, of course, true. My dad says "own your home free and clear so no one can take it away from you" which is also true. So my brother lives a very fine life with lots of world travel and is mortgaged up to the hilt, my father is still saving money and using duct tape to repair his clothes even though he is in his eighties, and I am trying to maintain a sane path between these two extremes.
I have a 15 year mortgage at 5%. I round up my payments so that it will be paid off just as my child goes to college. There is little tax benefit for me -- my deductions are barely more than the standard deduction.
I made BOTH mulberry muffins and mulberry pie this weekend for coworkers, and both are now gone. I didn't remove stems for either with no problem. For me, it's been a great mulberry season!
Killing and cutting up animals for drug research when I was 16 years old. I wanted to be a scientist and hadn't thought through the issues in this particular job (thought I would just be preparing microscope slides). When I saw a dog being killed and its skull being sawn open to get the brain out for dissection in order to research drugs contained in a hair dye ... I came to my senses and quit - without any other job to go to. I lasted only a few months. I have been making amends ever since.
after college, since the economy is so great, i was only able to find a job at a department store. this has been the only job that i singlehandedly hate with all my heart. management and the company in general did their best in screwing their employees, store management had favorites and as long as you are not on the list, you get kicked around and abused.
thankfully, i have found another employment at a great company.
remember...even bad experience is experience...as hard as it may seem...
Drug dealer...details here: http://tinyurl.com/kqaobf
I worked maintenance in a production bakery. How bad can that be...well if the temperature outside was 90, it was 115 inside. You would walk through the place and icing would drip down on you from the conveyors overhead (sweat and icing, great combo). Oh, that was the good part of the job. If the conveyors got stuck inside the oven (350 degrees) somebody had to go inside these huge ovens to break the conveyor free with a crowbar. Otherwise production was stopped in the enire plant. The only thing you wore was a thermal suit, gloves and head shroud. You had to breathe the 350 degree air. No external oxygen tank. You had 5 minutes to correct the problem and get out before you would pass out. Somebody outside the oven watched in case you passed out and then they would have to drag you out. Yes, and the pay was 8 bucks an hour.
As a farm kid, you'd think I knew everything about bad jobs.
But in college I waited tables for a well-known restaurant chain that is famous for its pies. There were 10 waitresses hired when I was, but only two survived the training. That should have been my clue. All of the managers were male, always raised from busboy (no busgirls, either), and you could be "written up" for cutting a pie with the wrong pie cutter (no kidding). It was the most toxic atmosphere I've ever worked in. I couldn't wait to get out of it. Maybe that's what gave me the perspective, when I graduated from a completely unrelated graduate degree, to become a farmer again...
definately on my to read list!
Took a job at a drive in theater one summer as a second job to save up for grad school, worked only the weekends, but ended up quitting two weeks early. I originally signed up for kitchen staff, they added security to my duties the second week I was there because the guy who was supposed to do it disappeared and he couldn't find anyone else. Let's just say that many people didn't feel like listening to a girl even with the security vest when asked to move their big truck because they were in the front rows blocking the view to everyone behind.
Also the food standards there were horrendous, the floor was so coated in grease it was hard to walk, and they let their 5yo granddaughter run around in the kitchen while we were busy trying to get orders out. Twice I burnt myself when I turned around and found a kid under foot. Often we were so busy that we wouldn't get a break in the 6hr plus shift, and if you got stuck doing dishes you could be there well after 2am on a busy night, the kitchen generally closed at midnight.
Dealing with this on top of a full time job sucked, but I made the extra money to cover the move to school and the first two months of my budget from this crap job.
For anyone out there romanticizing about roasting coffee for a living, it's pretty much like this - Stare into a gigantic pop-corn popper / clothes dryer tumbler in a 100+ degree room with a jet airplane taking off next to you for about 10 minutes. Then haul 120KG (250lbs) of beans to reload the machine and repeat for the rest of the day. It's dirty, exhausting, mind numbing and I'm glad I left that place.
I worked as a laborer for two years for a office furniture installation company. My duties included loading and unloading trucks, staging product in building areas, and removing trash and excess product from the build site. The physical labor involved was draining. We often had to carry product manually up several flights of stairs. I lost 30 pounds in the first two months on the job. I was at least 20 years older than the next younger laborer, but after a few weeks on the job, I could keep up with the best of them.
Times were tough, and I was fortunate to have have any job. I don't miss the hard labor, but I do miss the great friends that I met while there.
Thank you, Tim Copperfield.
I tried the Mulberry Wine once. There was no need to remove the stems for that. I kind of liked it, it had an interesting mineral sort of flavor, not sweet. My SO hated it, however!
You'll have to check the law in your state. You should at least be able to return it for a full refund. Sorry to hear about your bad luck!
Linsey Knerl
Having been bound to a cubicle, I'm inclined to say follow your heart. It is possible, if you think the 2nd job will be available down the road, to take the first and save some money. But... if the first also means that it's for a major company (who may be hiring often), you should go for the one you love.. especially if it's a once in a lifetime opportunity.
I wish you the best, whatever you choose!
Linsey Knerl
I worked as a "beach attendant," in other words - ticket checker. I got to sit in a little hut near the beach and hassle people all day long for their beach passes.
Unfortunately, I didn't work at one of the booths that took money, so if people didn't have their passes, I'd have to make them walk 4 blocks in either direction to pay.
Needless to say, I was also called every name in the book, and even had to call the police a few times.
Retail.
Walmart.
Cashier.
Need I say more?
I have 2 job offers (not a bad place to be), I am a new college grad, finance, banking, risk management majors
Job #1 - major bank, $30,000/year, match dollar for dollar 401K, insurance (dental and health) I pay, sales, so there are small bonuses, suit all day, in a cubical.
Job #2 - sales for an aquatic company, $22,500/year, 4% comm. on sales, no 401K, insurance (health & dental) I pay, casual dress, in office some days and at sites some days (I love being outside), travel paid.
My mind says get the money, my heart says go for something more enjoyable. HELP
I came back from studying abroad for a year and decided to blow off the next semester of college so I got a job at AT&T in customer service. I spent 8 hr shifts in a gray office tethered to a desk taking calls from NYers that were complaining about their phone bill, as if that wasn't enough stress the computer system, policies, and procedures were all bass ackards.
My very first call came from someone with multiple personality disorder (no joke) I had to tell everyone of her personalities why her phone was going to be cut off and where she had to go pay the bill. As soon as I'd think she got it her voice would change and I'd have to go through it all over again with my fat supervisor sitting way too close to me in a very tight light blue seer sucker suit, writing notes on a legal pad for me to read like "use more authority in voice" or "tone 2 rude".
I took so many calls from people with very thick accents arguing that they should not have to pay for a certain call back to their homeland because the connection was so bad, well if the connection was bad why did you talk for 124 minutes????
The worst was once I took a call from a lady just back from her honeymoon about some 900#s that appeared om her bill. The # was a gay mens sex chat line. I wasn't even in a serious relationship at the time and I started crying with her on the phone.
I have more than a few "bean hook" scars, as well. My legs will never be the same again! LOL
Thanks for all the amazing (and kind of scary comments!)
Linsey Knerl
I had scullery duty for two weeks on an aircraft carrier in the Navy. That means scrubbing the grime out of the biggest pots and pans you've ever seen, and doing it as fast as you can.
Not the worst job on this list by far, and actually kind of fun once you get used to it. You're certainly busy, with 5000+ people to feed and clean up after. It's amazing the amount of food that gets thrown out.
http://twitter.com/ConvenientlySim/status/2198468015
walking beans! ugh! when i was in my teens, many of us would get summer jobs walking beans. some of you may not even know what this is. if you live around soybean fields then you know exactly what i mean. i still have scars on my legs from the crazy hook used to cut down the weeds amongst the beans. the suckers are sharp... they have to be, because you haven't seen a weed until you've seen ones that can grow in bean fields.
Link love is always appreciated. Glad you found this useful!
Seems like all of you have lived sheltered lives if working at KMart for a summer or being berated by some dork manager is the worst you can summon.
I was a cop in a major mid-atlantic city. During my first month on the job, somebody tried to stab me, I dealt with three suicides (one by gunshot), two homicides (one of which was a double homicide), an aborted car chase (called off by my sergeant), and so many domestic disputes that I can't even begin to count them. In fact, the first call I was ever dispatched to was a traffic fatality where the person was nearly decapitated; the corpse was so mutilated that I didn't find out what sex he was until I pulled his drivers license from the wreckage.
Upon joining the department, they sent me to the worst precinct in the entire city. 70% of the residents of my precinct were below the federal poverty line. So many people were addicted to narcotics that we didn't even bother to detain someone with drugs or paraphernalia-- only the dealers. My entire day was spent running calls, most of which were domestic disturbances. If the work itself wasn't demanding enough, I had to deal with horrible supervision and outright hostile and equally miserable co-workers. The mentality was to shove as much work as possible onto the next guy and get out of having to write reports. My entire day was filled with misery, 5 days a week. Miserable work, miserable supervisors, miserable coworkers. And to top off all that misery, I ended up in court on my days off.
The saddest part is that I stuck with that job for nearly 2 years. That job did more to shape my personality than any single event.
THAT is my worst job story.
My brother calls his mortgage "the cheapest money you'll ever borrow" which is, of course, true. My dad says "own your home free and clear so no one can take it away from you" which is also true. So my brother lives a very fine life with lots of world travel and is mortgaged up to the hilt, my father is still saving money and using duct tape to repair his clothes even though he is in his eighties, and I am trying to maintain a sane path between these two extremes.
I have a 15 year mortgage at 5%. I round up my payments so that it will be paid off just as my child goes to college. There is little tax benefit for me -- my deductions are barely more than the standard deduction.
I made BOTH mulberry muffins and mulberry pie this weekend for coworkers, and both are now gone. I didn't remove stems for either with no problem. For me, it's been a great mulberry season!
Killing and cutting up animals for drug research when I was 16 years old. I wanted to be a scientist and hadn't thought through the issues in this particular job (thought I would just be preparing microscope slides). When I saw a dog being killed and its skull being sawn open to get the brain out for dissection in order to research drugs contained in a hair dye ... I came to my senses and quit - without any other job to go to. I lasted only a few months. I have been making amends ever since.
after college, since the economy is so great, i was only able to find a job at a department store. this has been the only job that i singlehandedly hate with all my heart. management and the company in general did their best in screwing their employees, store management had favorites and as long as you are not on the list, you get kicked around and abused.
thankfully, i have found another employment at a great company.
remember...even bad experience is experience...as hard as it may seem...