Your worst job

[Doctor Q]

What's the worst paying job you ever had?

Mine was my first job, tending the lawn of a neighbor. I rode there on my bike, mowed the lawn, and tried to water everything. But I had no idea how much water anything required, and rather than teach me anything, they fired me for doing a bad job. Not much of a start for my resumé. Luckily, I went into computer science instead of gardening.

[miloblithe]

When I was a freshman at Carnegie Mellon I worked in the dining service. All I did was slice various meats on a meat slicer into 2.25 oz. sandwich-size portions in four hour shifts. (Perhaps this job contributed to my decision to stop eating meat.) The job did have its highlights though, like my semi-insane coworker who never went anywhere in Pittsburgh without a large butcher's knife he had tucked into a holster beneath his armpit. He was really into martial arts too, and we had many odd conversations on the loading dock. And I used to sneak off to the bathroom for hours and read Kurt Vonnegut books.

On the downside, I did slice off a bit of my right thumb one day while slicing turkey.

[Roger1]

miloblithe, I found your thumbpiece in my sandwich last week. Tasted like chicken. :D

Anyway, the worst job I had was working in an electroplate factory. We would take these car parts, (big, little, whatever) and have to put them on this overhead conveyer by hand. It wasn't so bad when the parts were going in, but when they were done, they were so hot they could blister your hands. They supplied gloves, but they were all torn up and worn out. Oh BTW, the job was a temp job, and I made 3.35 an hour doing it.

[wordmunger]

On the downside, I did slice off a bit of my right thumb one day while slicing turkey.
Funny you mention it... I cut off the tip of my left middle finger slicing potatoes in a vegetable slicer... and that wasn't even my worst job!

The worst job I ever had was definitely a paper route in fourth grade. It was the local, "neighborhood" paper, and we were required to deliver it to every house, whether they wanted it or not. We had to pay $30 per month for the papers, but the "customers" were not required to pay. So we had to go around collecting, basically begging for money, and we made nothing at all until at least 30 customers took pity on us and gave us the measly $1/month subscription fee. Usually I think I ended up making $10 or $15 a month for a 150-paper weekly route.

[Jeewhizz]

I used to work for safeways, as the bread boi (supermarket here) and was in from 3am till midday - not a bad shift, but i'd go out the nite before, crash at a mate's for two hours, and then go to work - absolute killer!

Although, i used to get a free cooked breakfast ;)

Jee

[MattG]

McDonalds!

I win ;)

[miloblithe]

Funny you mention it... I cut off the tip of my left middle finger slicing potatoes in a vegetable slicer... and that wasn't even my worst job!

The worst job I ever had was definitely a paper route in fourth grade. It was the local, "neighborhood" paper, and we were required to deliver it to every house, whether they wanted it or not. We had to pay $30 per month for the papers, but the "customers" were not required to pay. So we had to go around collecting, basically begging for money, and we made nothing at all until at least 30 customers took pity on us and gave us the measly $1/month subscription fee. Usually I think I ended up making $10 or $15 a month for a 150-paper weekly route.

That's terrible. I had one of those paper routes for a local paper in 4th-6th grades, but they did at least pay me. I got $10 every two weeks, which was how often the paper was circulated. That job was OK. In the end it sounds like we made about the same amount, but the time/effort/and frustration of asking people for your wages makes that sound pretty awful, and something like a scam (on the part of the paper).

[Krizoitz]

College Pro Painters...
Painting houses ain't the worst, but my boss was a complete idiot, made the summer nearly unbearable.

[Blackstealth]

Worst paying job I've ever had? Working on the parts counter at the local Land Rover dealership. I got the job when I was fourteen and was paid the vast sum of £40 a week for 6 weeks during my summer vacation. It worked out at about £1.10 an hour.

[Roger1]

McDonalds!

I win ;)

I worked there for almost 4 years. When I quit, I was a second assistant manager, after starting out part time as a crew member. I also met my wife there, and a couple of close friends, whom I've known for close to 17 years. So it wasn't too bad for me.

[tpjunkie]

Working at a minor league baseball stadium in my town for $5.50 an hour. My boss was a huge (literally and figuratively) bitch, I was hired as a cashier where there was opportunity for tips, and was promptly assigned to food prep and clean up, where everyone else was paid 6.00 an hour because that was what the pay was for those jobs. My manager was an a-hole who seemed to find the most pointless jobs for me to perform if he thought I wasn't working really hard at something else (for example, once he had me moving all the hotdogs off one roller to the other so I could clean the first (in the middle of a game), even though part of my clean-up at the end of the night was to clean the rollers...). Also, it was supposed to work that different people would clean up each night, but it was always me and one other kid. Half of my co-workers were nuts, particularly this one skanky girl that wanted to hook up with me....I would have too, if she hadn't let slip the number of guys she was currently sleeping with.

That job sucked.

[poopyhead]

Half of my co-workers were nuts, particularly this one skanky girl that wanted to hook up with me....I would have too, if she hadn't let slip the number of guys she was currently sleeping with.

That job sucked.

skanky girls are the best
they make most crap jobs worth it and they are usually truly good and interesting people

my worst job was working at toys r us as a seasonal employee during christmas rush from october through mid january
I was a junior in high school
and most days I would leave school and work from 4 to 12 which was actually 1 am because of "re-shop" (restocking the shelves)
the majority of the people there who weren't seasonal were assholes or creepy
I was semi fired in the middle of january (really laid off a week early)
for refusing to clean up a crappy (literally) quarter ride at the front of the store that some kids diaper had leaked onto

best crappy job was changing tires at sams club
I had work to keep busy
a physical product which allowed for a visible result when I had finished a job
and I got to spend all day hitting on unappreciated soccer moms

[zamyatin]

Worst paid?

When the Boy Scouts were trying to raise money for a trip to New Mexico, the troop took on a job at the French Fry Pit at the County Fair. Six days, ten hours of work per day, and each of us got paid $80. One of my friends noticed the scoutmaster swiping twenty dollar bills from the register! Maybe that's where all our wages ended up.

[JesseJames]

I think any job has its downside. Of course there are some truly crappy jobs out there.
In my opinion it's the people you work with that get you through the day. If you can get along with them then it just makes the day go by that much faster.
If you work with a bunch of knuckledraggers, meatheads, or a-holes (petty or otherwise); then God help you.

[gwuMACaddict]

framing houses... summer job about 4 years back now...

[Dr. Zauis]

Bagging Groceries at the Supermarket when I was 16. The pay wasn't that bad ($6.40/hr) but after taxes and union dues it was ($4.60/hr). Min. Wage is $5.15/hr. It was the same boring, repetive action for 8 hours at a time. All you do is pick the food off the belt put it in a bag and put the bag in a cart. I stuck with the job for about 6 months and made enough money to buy my iMac G4 15in.

[miloblithe]

Terrible bosses are really the key to any bad job. Of course, they seem to gravitate to certain professions, like restaurant management. I'd like to think that when I was a restaurant manager, I broke the mold and was a great boss, but somehow, I imagine an objective analysis would reveal my dark side.

Bad job #2: Writing software manuals for proprietary software development.

"Click on the 'OK' button when done."

Manuals. I hate readin' 'em. I hated writin' 'em.

[timmyOtool]

I have had many craptastic jobs. In fact, most all of the jobs I have had were really bad, until recently. Lets see, MCI telemarketing. Man talk about a bad day, cheese dick supervisors that are way to energitic, angry people who always seem to be "just sitting down to dinner" when I called, and oh yea most of my co-workers were crack-heads (literally). I hope the no call list puts the kiebosh on thier little operation. :D

[leftbanke7]

It's a toss up between the tedious 8 hour days of building up digital switcher units and Linux server computers (and it wasn't doing cool stuff with the computers, it was soldering, crimping and installing fans) or doing fast food at a baseball and basketball stadium.

My 2 days at Sizzler wasn't all that great either.

[AssassinOfGates]

I have had many craptastic jobs. In fact, most all of the jobs I have had were really bad, until recently. Lets see, MCI telemarketing. Man talk about a bad day, cheese dick supervisors that are way to energitic, angry people who always seem to be "just sitting down to dinner" when I called, and oh yea most of my co-workers were crack-heads (literally). I hope the no call list puts the kiebosh on thier little operation. :D

I know your pain. For 3 lousy months I worked as a tele-surveyor, under the same smiley-glad hands who give you impossible quotas to fill. From politics to Jiffy Lube satisfaction surveys, it blew. Especially since you had to have the same damn energetic voice throughout every survey, and you do each one so many times you can recite the survey 5 months after you quit.

Here's a tip. After they monitor and grade your call, they make you sign that little paper, right? After that you KNOW they wont monitor any more calls for the day, so if you get one pissed off guy at the other end of the line like I normally am w/ telemarketers, feel free to telll him off. And by tell him off I mean REALLY tell him off. After all, the company uses a false name and blocks caller ID... :D

[scem0]

I roofed my house for $10.00/hour this past summer, which doesn't seem all that bad, but when it is 108° on your hot metal Texan roof, and you are hoisting up large, heavy pieces of metal it is enough to make anyone want to commit suicide (which wouldn't be too hard up on a roof).

So that is my worst working experience.

scem0

[macka]

Burger King, when I was 14 and 7 months old (legal age to start working is 14 and 9 months over here).

I got paid $AU 4.81/hour. :eek:
Working conditions were horrible
Managers were a bitch
Customers were worse
Burnt myself on the fry rack twice, nice scar on my right arm.

I quit seven months into the job...

[bousozoku]

My worst job is my latest--none.

I'd be glad to work again at McDonald's or Rax or another fast food place or a department store or another of the jobs I had from high school through Uni.

[5300cs]

Worst job or jobs? :rolleyes:

Started by being a bagger at a supermarket for $4.25 an hour. That was just boring -and I remember forgetting to give people some of their groceries. I remember my shift ending and seeing unclaimed bags of groceries laying around. oOpS :D

Then I worked for Au Bon Pain (anyone from Boston should know them.) Washed dishes for 6 hours a day and was forced to clean the bathrooms because everyone else refused :mad: used to loot the food rack at the end of my shift there...

Third job was working for CVS (also a Boston thing.) First day on the job, female shift supervisor says to me "I'll tell you when I'm having my period, ok?" Uhh...
She used to sit up in the office smoking cigarettes and invite all her friends over while I was slaving away.

Then I worked for a famous old museum down by the water front (won't mention the name.) That was so fricked I just won't go into it ...

Maybe it'd be better to ask me which of my jobs so far hasn't sucked

[tpjunkie]

skanky girls are the best
they make most crap jobs worth it and they are usually truly good and interesting people


skanky girls are one thing, dirty, STD ridden white trash is another (when she brought me to her house :eek: :eek: .......also, she had a dangerous propensity for kneeing people in the nuts. She didn't make work fun, she made it scary.

[TimDaddy]

Roofing.

My half-brother inherited his father's roofing business. I needed work, he need help. He paid me $100 a day, cash. I am extremely acrophobic! It would take me 5 minutes just to climb up the ladder. Take a step, stop and pray, take another step! Once on top, I could do a decent job until I got to the edge. And getting back on the ladder to go down is even harder! That job really sucked. I probably worked for him less than ten days.

[Roger1]

Terrible bosses are really the key to any bad job. Of course, they seem to gravitate to certain professions, like restaurant management. I'd like to think that when I was a restaurant manager, I broke the mold and was a great boss, but somehow, I imagine an objective analysis would reveal my dark side.


Heh. That's good. I know I wasn't a very good manager. But it was hard on me because I was promoted over my friends, whom I then had to order around. Ah, well, at least we had fun after work. :p

P.S. this is my 500th post.

[SiliconAddict]

Worst paying job was when I was 14. I was working at a ma and pa garden center and they paid me minimum wage. *shrugs* It was a fun job during the summer got to work outdoors a lot which was nice.

As for the worst job I had to do. Bus boy at Denny's specifically during bar rush. Cleaning up the vomit wasn't that bad of a job but the second to the last straw was busing a plate with a .....and I kid you NOT on this..... used condom on the plate. The plate headed directly into the garbage. Didn't eat much on my dinner break that evening. What broke the horse's back, and made me quit my job, was cleaning the woman's bathroom. Normally not a major problem. But apparently someone didn't know how to aim since her period was on the seat and on the floor. Cleaned that up went up front turned in my apron and quit. Nastiest **** I've ever had to deal with.

[tpjunkie]

now, how come you cleaned it up, then quit?

[selloutvixen]

I've had two equally horrendous jobs. :eek:

The first one was my first job ever. I had just turned 15 and decided to get a job at an ice cream parlour down the street from my house for the summer. This meant walking 15-20 minutes to work in the blazing summer sun/heat to start with. 5.25/hr with a child molesting manager. He made me clean the parking lot (which was huge) ALL. THE. TIME. Imagine the parking lot at a busy ice cream/restaurant in the summer. GROSS. We also held weekly music festivals across the street (which we had to clean up after as well), weekly antique car nights, and weekly kids' nights. (serving 86 consecutive gummi bear ice cream cones with screaming children will make you insane!) We'd work 10 hour shifts with a crappy 15 minute break in the scary break room. [shiver]

The other horrible job was Blockbuster. I had a car at this time, but it was another summer job while I was home from college. This Blockbuster was GHETTO. I literally had at least a daily argument with someone over late fees; normally somewhere between 4-8 dollars worth. We had lots of thefts and a boss that smelled like cheese. We also had to do all night inventories, which consisted of wearing a pair of headphones hooked up to a scanner and scan every single title in the entire store all night long.

I'm so happy I'm a wireless consultant now. :p

[PalmHarborTchr]

Worked as a teacher in Salinas Valley State Prison, Soledad, CA
Horrible people to work with and a horrible job.
They would go through my lunch bag before I could come into the
prison yet it was the guards who were bringing in the dope.

[JamesDPS]

Worst paying job I've ever had? Working on the parts counter at the local Land Rover dealership. I got the job when I was fourteen and was paid the vast sum of £40 a week for 6 weeks during my summer vacation. It worked out at about £1.10 an hour.

Coincidence! My worst was probably working at a Land Rover dealership too, as a Lot Porter... it wasn't really all that bad, basically mostly washing cars, parking cars, and the occasional vehicle delivery... money was decent though compared to most of the others posting ($7/hr, $10.50/hr for overtime), but then again, that was only a few years ago and at least in the states there's a minimum wage ;)

Funny thing was, as someone with some high school education, most of the other porters assumed I was their boss even though they'd been there longer...

And a word of advice to everyone out there: when you get a free car wash at your local dealership, TIP the kid who just busted ass for you, especially if they did a good job. Even TWO BUCKS makes a huge difference, and you WILL be remembered :) If I had two bucks for every customer in a $75k Range Rover who didn't tip anything, I'd be in several hundred dollars less debt....

[JamesDPS]

now, how come you cleaned it up, then quit?

HAHA I was thinking the exact same thing... did you want a good reference or something?

[Westside guy]

My worst job, which I held for about two weeks before quitting, was back when I was a naive teenager - washing dishes at a truck stop diner. This place had white-trash waitresses who also, it turns out, supplemented their income by sleeping with the truckers. It was just a sleazy, slimy place.

It took me a while to figure that out; but from day one I always had this feeling of needing a bath at the end of my shift.

[ejb190]

I grew up on a hog farm. Sure the parents sometimes paid my brother and I to help, but mostly it was expected of us. I HATED cleaning the farrowing house. Seeing a dead rat floating in a 5000 gallon manure pit..... And the smell!

Castrating pigs was another job I really didn't care for...

And my parents have always wondered why I studied Plant Science...

I was really glad when Dad sold out of the hogs right before the prices plummited.

[Westside guy]

I was really glad when Dad sold out of the hogs right before the prices plummited.

Hmm... interesting timing - this wasn't preceded by a phone call from Martha Stewart, perchance?

[SiliconAddict]

now, how come you cleaned it up, then quit?

It was one of those unplanned things. Was going to suck it up and just do it but getting about half way through the job I basically made the decision f this.

[TimDaddy]

Funny thing was, as someone with some high school education, most of the other porters assumed I was their boss even though they'd been there longer...

That's funny! One morning I woke up early and took my son to school. I walked him to his class, and had to make a phone call. I began the call while walking down the hallway. As I approached the exit, a handyman or something who was about 2-3 times my age walked up and said "OK, I'm gonna lock this door now. You need anything else?"

I was like "Naw, man, I'm gonna go home and go to sleep. I gotta work tonight."

To which he responded "Oh, I'm sorry. You looked important."

I don't know if that is funny or scary. I mean, a child molester, kidnapper, terrorist, or serial killer could make himself look important. And, I was wearing a pair of Lee Dungaree's™ and a torn, dirty T-shirt from the night before. I guess the only thing making me look "important" was my cell phone, and maybe the fact that I spoke in complete sentences with real words! (When I said "Naw", he caught on!)

If you think I look like I may have authority over you, you MUST have a crappy job.

[wdlove]

It was the job after my Sophomore year. I got the job because my dad worked at Armco Steel Corporation. As I side issue my pre-employment physical was given by my future father-in-law, not aware at the time. Which was five years prior. My grandfather knew him a lot better than my father.

The job was on the train gang. We repaired the railroad track. Driving the spikes was the special sledge hammer was difficult. The ties were heavy and the creosote was irritating to the skin. It was nice working outside. Physical labor that I wasn't really trained. The worst part was having to replace the tracks in front of the blast furnace. The heat was so intense that we could only tolerate it for so long. The tracks didn't last long because of the weight of the iron ore and the intense heat. The pay wasn't all that bad, got grade two. The best part of the day the shower at the end of the day.

The second worst was cutting grass on the Miami Conservancy District levies. Had to walk almost sideways behind the mower.

[ThomasJefferson]

Selling tropical fish while in college. I remember cleaning smelly fish tanks near the end of a shift (slime from fish up to the elbows, spilling on the clothes), then going out on a date with the girlfriend. Yeah, baby!

[Doctor Q]

As I side issue my pre-employment physical was given by my future father-in-law, not aware at the time.I can just imagine the doctor during the exam: "Hmmm. Vital signs OK. Eyes OK. Breathing OK. No needle marks. Nice tell fellow, good shape, no wedding ring. I'll have to fix him up with my daughter in a few years." :)

[jefhatfield]

worst and best job...working as a kid at my parent's store during the slow months...i only got paid commission on big sales and some days were zilch...but one big sale made me more money in ten minutes than my buddies made all week

most ironic job was as a pc techie (a temp job) when all i knew was clarisworks on the mac...i was lost...but years later i became a pc techie and now own a business fixing those pc boxes ;)

[wdlove]

I can just imagine the doctor during the exam: "Hmmm. Vital signs OK. Eyes OK. Breathing OK. No needle marks. Nice tell fellow, good shape, no wedding ring. I'll have to fix him up with my daughter in a few years." :)

Actually when we got engaged her father thought that it wouldn't work. His concern was that we were from two different walks of life.

[jefhatfield]

Actually when we got engaged her father thought that it wouldn't work. His concern was that we were from two different walks of life.


what were your different walks of life?

[Westside guy]

what were your different walks of life?

Well, OBVIOUSLY she's a PC user. ;)

[jefhatfield]

Well, OBVIOUSLY she's a PC user. ;)

oh my god, that sucks ;)

actually with my wife, she is certified in pc hardware computer repair, ms windows 98, and ms office and i am certified in ms windows nt

but at home, where it counts, we have the ibook and dual G4 and that's the way it ought to be ;)

[Neserk]

Worst *paying* job? McDonalds at $3.35 an hour back in 1986. What really sucked is I should have gotten a 5c an hour raise but you had to be in for a whole quarter to get the raise :rolleyes:

Worst Job? Working in a college library in cataloging. The people I worked for were pure evil. I'm still amazed I survived it!

[Neserk]

and I got to spend all day hitting on unappreciated soccer moms

And you made their day!

[Urdam]

hmmm, I agree

[macrlz9]

worst paid??? a grocery store called Save-A-Lot made $6.00 an hour, but worst job would be Wal-Mart $7.80 walmart is the worst company to work for ever!

[wdlove]

worst paid??? a grocery store called Save-A-Lot made $6.00 an hour, but worst job would be Wal-Mart $7.80 walmart is the worst company to work for ever!

So you are saying that the commercials are misleading? They depict such a happy work environment.

[poopyhead]

worst paid??? a grocery store called Save-A-Lot made $6.00 an hour, but worst job would be Wal-Mart $7.80 walmart is the worst company to work for ever!

I concur
I worked at sam's club (a walmart subsidiary) and made 12 bucks an hour
the people were nice the environment was ok
it was probably my favorite crappy job as a student
I have also worked at a super wal-mart
while in school after having worked at sam's club
at walmart I made 6 bucks an hour
the people were crappy
the atmosphere sucked
I only worked there for 3 weeks before I quit
partly because the pay was so low
partly because the managers failed to respect any of their employees
(god forbid if you are going to a decent university. I made it a point not to mention my education to anyone except of course I listed it on my application, the managers made it known to everyone where I went and then harassed me about it. being really smart doesn't necessarily sit well with others when your job is unloading trucks in the middle of the night with people who are 2 and 3 times your age)
and partly because I got tired of dodging the rats and mice which scurried out of the trucks as soon as we started unloading them.

[MrMacMan]

The only two jobs I ever had:

1) Data Inputer.

I grabed a phone book basically... I turn to my computer... I type.
I type.
I type.
I type type type type type type type type type type type type type type.
Lunch.
I type type type type type type type type type type type.
Break
I type type type type type type type type type type type type type type type type type type type.
End of day.


Sweet lord its sooo boring and sooo trying. Geez it was such a strain on my eyes and stuff... ech.

2) Door To Door Political Stuff.
Underpaid, underappriciated and most of all -- Forgotten.

You go door to door, hundreds of door in the freezing weather giving out Political Literature and get out the vote stuff.

I work a whole day for $40...
I don't mean a part of the day I mean we finished off 3 whole election districts... Do you know how BIG an election district is?
Do you? I want you to look at your disctrict, divide it into a forths because I had to cover a forth of your election district. and then cover some OTHER 2 districts... arg.

Freezing to death, ech.

So you are saying that the commercials are misleading? They depict such a happy work environment.
Are you kidding wdlove?

Wal Mart is horrible to its workers.


They have a policy of 'locking in' workers overnight.


People stay in the store overnight and they can't get out w/o calling the manager who is sleeping... they can't get out unless of an "emergency".

Its a horrible place to work, they are anti-union and anti-worker.

[Doctor Q]

1) Data Inputer.

I grabed a phone book basically... I turn to my computer... I type.
I type.
I type.
I type type type type type type type type type type type type type type.
Lunch.
I type type type type type type type type type type type.
Break
I type type type type type type type type type type type type type type type type type type type.
End of day.That sounds painfully repetitive, MrMacman. I had an after-school keyboarding job for a few months, but it wasn't many hours per day. I worked with a friend, which made it more tolerable. The best time every evening was when the roach coach (lunch/dinner wagon) came by outside the building. The security guard would page us and we'd head out to get something for dinner. When you have a repetitive job like that, breaks are heavenly.

[ibjoshua]

I've had some good jobs. Maybe we need a new thread?
The most boring jobs I've ever had were counting cars and counting pedestrians.
My worst job ever is my current one 'teaching' at Nova, the McDonalds of English language schools here in Japan.

i_b_joshua

[phonemonkey]

tech support for dsl