Worst Job

In Worst job ever? From Blue Skunk Blog by Doug Johnson asks,

“What was your worst job ever? Did it shape you?”

Over the years I have worked at many different jobs and some were better than others.

My first job was as a cashier in the Chinese restaurant that my father managed. At the time I thought it was horrible. I didn’t understand Chinese and I didn’t have anyone to talk to. Plus, it just wasn’t any fun.

Then in the summer, I worked at a camp counselor with children and I loved it.

When I went away to college, I was on campus work/study and I worked in the dining hall, class registration, cultural events, and dormitory “guard” where I had to check school IDs before visitors could enter. All of these were interesting and none of them were horrible.

I also had some side jobs such as babysitting, house cleaning, tutoring, and typing up papers for athletes. None of them really thrilled me but they brought in money.

Once I had a car, I branched out and got summer jobs off campus.

One summer I held three jobs. I worked a morning shift at a motel as a desk clerk which was horrible because the boss was mean and abusive. I only lasted about 3 weeks there before deciding that I didn’t have to take the abuse. I also worked at the mall in a clothing store called Fashion Bug. I enjoyed that because I got a discount on the clothing I bought. On weekends I worked 12 hours at the newspaper office in the complaint department. People called when they didn’t get a paper and I sent someone out to get one to them. I enjoyed that, especially since that is where I met my husband!

After I graduated, I became a teacher and taught for over 30 years! I’ve loved every minute of it!

Now to get on to my worst job:

My first summer home after I was in college, I found a job in a knitting factory. I’m glad that there are people willing to work in a factory but I thought it was horrible. It was hot and there was no air conditioning. It gave new meaning to the word “sweatshop” for me! The job was so monotonous and didn’t really involve any thinking. For 8 hours a day I threaded knitting tubes into coat sweaters as a belt. I stood on my feet the whole day doing this except for my lunch break. Of course, I needed the money for college so I didn’t complain. The best part of this whole experience is that it motivated me to do well in college. Even the workers there loved me and kept telling me that I needed to do well so that I didn’t end up like them in a sweatshop. When I was at college and I felt discouraged, I just thought of that job and the possibility of having to do something like that the rest of my life! That truly was a kick in the pants!

Maybe everyone needs a “worst job” so they can stay motivated to reach their goal.

What was your worst job? Please share.

Photo by Jayden Sun on Unsplash