What is the best/worst job you ever had?

[S.A. Boggs]

Working in a produce warehouse/ running my own business.
Sam

[Vern Humphrey]

Company commander along the DMZ in Viet Nam -- best and worst.

[Art]

Best: Crimefighter, when it was good it was addictive.

Worst: Trainer in a health club; what a snake pit that wasl

[Dan Shapiro]

Best/worse. Same one. Being a cop. Or as I used to tell my trainees, "This is the best job you will ever hate!"

[RED]

Best job was a as a Manufacturer's representative. I had targets to meet and a budget of 5.35% of sales. As long as the targets were met, I rarely spoke to my boss and usually saw him once per year.

The worst job was catching chickens. While in college, I spent way too many nights in 400' long brooder ("growout") houses catching chickens for the processing plant. Chicken poo and other nasty things were swallowed and breathed routinely. the pay was very good at $1.25/hour.

[togor]

One of my favorite jobs was as a food vendor, roaming the seats of Milwaukee County Stadium during Milwaukee Brewer and GB Packer games as a high school/college student. Pure commision, 16.23% of gross. The guy who ran it had a bonus system. If you sold the most in your assigned area (say hot dogs in lower grandstand & bleachers), then your assignment went into the "bonus box" for the next game. Scrabble tiles and a cigar box, blind draw. When your area came up, you got to pick your assignment. Back then you could make $40 selling programs through the first inning as your bonus choice and then finish off the game making another $15 selling popcorn. $55 gross in 1980 for 3 hours work was good money. In my time doing that job I averaged over $20/hour gross, but I was humping and physically tired by the end of a long homestand. The bonus system meant that those who were willing to work hard and smart had more opportunities to enjoy success. I loved that system, but by rule you couldn't go back-to-back on bonus. That said, he wouldn't stick a proven vendor with Pizza on Memorial Day weekend. (Pizza sucked. The case was huge and it smelled bad.) He took care of his main guys when they weren't on bonus and spread them around so that they didn't collide with each other too much.

I remember a double-header against Boston. It was wicked hot and humid, and a bunch of us guys on bonus got together to try to figure out the best move. A few of us decided to choose Pepsi in the upper deck. Carrying 20 cups of soda+ice in a steel tray. One full load weighed about 25 lbs. The upper deck at County Stadium had steep and narrow steps, and only a few food stands, and the place was packed. You'd take a double--or triple--load of sodas, the wire of the trays digging into your fingers, stagger up the ramp and pivot and lurch up a few steep steps to the first landing and yell "who wants Pepsi?" Immediately 2 dozen hands clenching dollar bills shoved in your face. I cleared $90 that night gross, but man I was seriously wrecked for the next day. I remember the guys who had to run the soda/ice/plastic-wrap machines, who worked strictly on hourly wage, wanted to take a break for a cigarette. We vendors were like...c'mon man, one more load, OK? We wanted to get back out there because we couldn't sell it fast enough. You learn how to get along with people whose aims may not exactly align with yours, LOL.

People used to say to me "hey great job, you get to watch the games!". Not really, no. When the fans are buying you are selling. And you hope you're not walking around with a half-sold load of something in the 9th inning because that sucks. When a Brewer hit a home run you got to take a blow and watch the replay on the jumbotron, but when people sit down you go back to work. No BS, no politics. Just haul your load and move product. In many ways the most honest job I ever had. The strike in '81 hurt me a lot and took a lot of money out of my pocket, but I mostly remember the good times now, including stopping at a local tavern run by an old guy on the way home from work. We were 16 or 17 but we had our stadium shirts on, and he didn't inquire about our ages when we asked for a cold beer. I think the name of the place was "Zeke's" and I'm sure it's long gone now, as is Zeke himself.

Great question, Sam. That's one memory about which I am kinda sentimental.

[TomSudz]

Best- Current. Firefighter.

Worst- Saturday nights during high school from 12:30 (0030) to 7:00 (0700) inserting the comic section and ads into the Sunday newspaper.

[p246]

Best current job, worst building concrete pads in desert for fiber optic regen sites, fine sand got everywhere and no amount of sunscreen was effective. Very long hours 7 days a week.

[bruce]

Haven't really had any bad jobs. Washing dishes at a hospital ... got to eat all I wanted for free plus getting paid. Bagging groceries ... tips from customers always doubled my hourly pay. Climbing and cutting trees ... made good money and was in terrific physical condition. Selling firewood ... real good. Sell three loads a week and always have more than $100 ... good money in 1976. Once I graduated college and got married ... worked night security in shipyard in New Orleans. Very good job indeed. In 1979 ... began the best job of my life ... minister in a local church downtown. Have been a full-time pastor ever since. In June my wife and I will move to our new appointment down on the coast of Ga. just outside of St. Simon Island. She is happily buying some new furniture. And I am looking forward to what looks to be the most significant pastoral opportunity of my life. Praise the Lord! To God be the glory! Sincerely. bruce.

[Fred]

Best job was a U.S. Armor platoon leader and Opposing Forces field instructor at the National Training Center for Desert Warfare where I helped develop and teach tank warfare tactics as part of a Thousand man unit that wore Russian uniforms and used Russian tactics to instruct U.S. Armor and Infantry Units on how to fight and defeat Soviet Tanks in combat.

Worst Job was rigging dinomite for a heavy construction company. If just a single Spark of static electricity had occurred between the Bronze awl I used to creat the holes in the dinomite to stick the wired blasting caps into, and the stick of dinomite, I'd have been blown to Smitherines.
I rigged up about 300 sticks per day to blow. I was on edge every moment. Didn't like it at all, but I was poor and needed to eat and pay rent.

[Darreld Walton]

Best: Missile Maintenance Team Chief
Worst: Missile Maintenance Team Chief

[Major Tom]

Best: 40 years at J.I.Case Co. Burlington, IA
Worst: After I retired from Case, I worked full time at a local casino in the survielence dept. Quit that after 3 months.

[dryheat]

Best and worst, same co.
USPS; Doing the route to get the secondary mail delivered to the mail carriers at the designated places. Seems everyone needed it at the same time, while miles apart. Hated it. Best:
Delivering parcels in the 2 ton truck. I could set up the route that worked for me.
My last job. Night time custodian in the big building. Nothing to it. We all got along great, my boss liked me. Loved that job. Put 25 grand in the bank.

[1563621]

Worst, after injured on job worked at home depot for 6 months, horrible job! Pro Desk.
Best, was a union stagehand for 34 years, worked with load of a-list and rock concerts, saw all for free backstage!

[Former Cav]

Best: tool designer for Torit Corporation back in 73 through 75. the paid me and treated me well, until it got bought out!
Mediocre: Soldier in Armored Cavalry in Vietnam.... Lot of GOOD and a LOT of BAD!
Worst: engineer at the now defunct (gone) lucht corp. Everyone was on your azz and they treated you like a POS
Worst physically: Day labor job, standing on a scaffold in the water cooling shafts in the court house in downtown St. Paul, MN, sanding and scraping all of the limestone and rust off of the cooling vanes (kind of like Venetian blinds), there was someone above you on a scaffold doing the same thing and someone below you. it was done from midnight to about 6 AM. When I went to ride the city bus home the bus stopped at the corner, opened the door, looked at me and drove OFF. I had to walk 4 miles home. SUCKED

[JB White]

Bad jobs I just left to look for another one. Didn't take me very long to figure out I didn't want to work for a schlock outfit or a total A-hole boss. Had some bad projects though. Chipping in confined spaces. Grinding while dangling from a line. Digging holes in the middle of BFE, four foot deep with a three foot water table.... Always knew that as soon as I finished I'd be on to something better.

I remember being thankfully pulled from a project once. Jerkoff boss said he would fight the office and for me to just stay there. "Don't bother. I asked to be transferred".
"But why? You're one of the best carpenters I've had around here"
"Because of YOU! You have a good crew here. We come to work and feed our families. We don't need a daily hazing to satisfy your sick mind. Besides..last week I was a retard and an imbecile in front of the client and today I'm suddenly the best?? F** You!"
"YOU'LL NEVER WORK FOR ME AGAIN!"
"You got that right, and adios! By the way, I wouldn't hire you either."

Six months later I was asked if I would take the old boss on my crew. (The client requested he be removed) "Don't want him, don't need him, and I haven't enough manhours in the budget to bury his sorry ass. I'll take the new apprentice though. He's pretty good".

[snakehunter]

Working in a produce warehouse/ running my own business.
Sam

Best: Quality Control Inspector at an ammunition plant. Worst: removing 5 layers of wallpaper in a 20 room 150 year old house

[leftyo]

Best: tool designer for Torit Corporation back in 73 through 75. the paid me and treated me well, until it got bought out!
Mediocre: Soldier in Armored Cavalry in Vietnam.... Lot of GOOD and a LOT of BAD!
Worst: engineer at the now defunct (gone) lucht corp. Everyone was on your azz and they treated you like a POS
Worst physically: Day labor job, standing on a scaffold in the water cooling shafts in the court house in downtown St. Paul, MN, sanding and scraping all of the limestone and rust off of the cooling vanes (kind of like Venetian blinds), there was someone above you on a scaffold doing the same thing and someone below you. it was done from midnight to about 6 AM. When I went to ride the city bus home the bus stopped at the corner, opened the door, looked at me and drove OFF. I had to walk 4 miles home. SUCKED

yup, your skanky if you cant get a ride on the T bus!

[Former Cav]

yup, your skanky if you cant get a ride on the T bus!

I looked like the RUST man from he11 !! Felt like it too! and this was way back in about 1963 or so.

- - - Updated - - -


yup, your skanky if you cant get a ride on the T bus!

I looked like the RUST man from he11 !! Felt like it too! and this was way back in about 1963 or so.

Leftyou, are you from the twin cities area?

[leftyo]

I looked like the RUST man from he11 !! Felt like it too! and this was way back in about 1963 or so.

- - - Updated - - -



I looked like the RUST man from he11 !! Felt like it too! and this was way back in about 1963 or so.

Leftyou, are you from the twin cities area?

yup, north side.

[gwp]

My worst job was in information technology at a large insurance company. I was not selected for a supervisor position, after my boss was promoted, even though I was senior. I told my former boss where to stick it when he offered a position as assistant supervisor. I wasn't able to find a replacement job for the same money so I continued working there. My former boss was eventually promoted from the regional office to the home office. He held my outburst against me for the next 20 years. His rise to the top was followed by a slide back to mid-level management. After a reorganization he was returned to the regional office as my boss. Every time I would change sections he would become my boss in a month or two. During another reorganization my section and my nemesis were scheduled for outsourcing. On the day the contract was to be signed my section was pulled out because no one would move to San Diego. My boss was given a letter of intent and a release date. His actions in his last week before he left changed my opinion of him. When he was ready to leave he was told they were not finished with him yet. He showed them their letter with his exit date and he said he was done. After a few weeks I realized both of us were realy good at holding a grudge. A few years later I was told my job was in Cincinnati. I told them I didn't think so. I took almost a years salary as severance and retired with 29 years at the company.

My best two jobs were Track Rescue at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and as an operations sergeant for a DoD liaison
team (U.S. Army Reserve).

[dryheat]

I worked for the Postal Service for 30 yrs. Supervision was like a sine wave. There'd be lows and there'd be highs. My best boss ever was an air traffic controller Reagan fired. Totally cool, could handle anything, but again, he was an air traffic controller. What really annoyed him, and he wrote a memo about it, was coming on shift and finding the desk in a mess.