What have you done to earn money in your life? Here's my list.

[trof]

In more or less chronological order.
Some of these were full time summer jobs, some after school jobs years round.

Grocery store bag boy/shelf stocker (at age 15, 1956)
Landscaper (OK, cut grass)
Grocery produce aisle worker.
Cut more grass.
Ass't produce manager
Cut more grass
And more grass
In a neighbor's garage mfg op, with glue syringe and cut clear plastic parts, assembled schedule holders for railroad cars.

Trampoline instructor/spotter
Artist's model (nude only from the waist up)

Advertising agency gofer (and that's a whole nuther story)

Gofer Tuscaloosa News (in college)
Editor Tuscaloosa News West Alabama Business and Industrial Page (Photographer/reporter)

Wholesale hardware company warehouse worker
Same place, purchasing agent

Pilot, Alabama Air National Guard
My best paying job so far

Reporter, Birmingham News.

Advertising manager office furniture manufacturer

Civilian contract instrument and multi-engine instructor for army student pilots at Ft. Rucker, AL

Flight engineer, Trans World Airlines
Real estate sales/management
Flight engineer, Trans World Airlines
(I was furloughed/laid off from TWA twice)
Real estate sales.
Real estate appraiser
Flight engineer, Trans World Airlines

Flight engineer, Nippon Cargo Airlines
(My best job, ever)

Area supervisor for EPA contractor during debris clean up from Hurricane Ivan
(And that's a whole nuther nuther story)

[trof]

1. Hell, I left out 'caregiver'? Good story:

Dr. Seale Harris (look him up) was a close family friend.
His daughter, Josephine, and my mother were best friends.
We would sometimes spend a week end at their home.

He was getting on in years but still very competent.
Mom and Josephine would got out to some event and Boo (we called him that) would be my 'sitter'.

I loved him.
He would let me watch him shave in the morning.
I'd stand on the toilet. I was 5 or 6.
Then he would remove the blade from the razor (I didn't see this) and lather me up and let me 'shave'.

Years later he suffered a stroke.
Then I stayed with him while the ladies went out to some meeting or whatever.
I was 14 or 15, but I remember thinking about how the situation had been reversed.

He was my minder and now I was his.
I don't remember if I was actually paid to do this, but I don't think I was.

[Telcontar]

82. Yeah, you were paid. Not in cash, but you were paid

Beautiful story

[TexasBushwhacker]

2. Here are mine

Babysitting starting at age 14

Dairy Queen - my first job with a paycheck. Got paid $1.25 an hour. My mother made me a deal that if I saved for something big, she would match it, dollar for dollar. I saved to go on one of those student trips to Europe. 7 countries in 21 days.

K-Mart - clerk in the sporting goods department

Foley's Department Store

Dillard's Department Store - My first full time job right out of high school. Got promoted to manager of the draperies department. I liked it so much I decided to not go to college right away, much to my mother's dismay. Came to my senses after I had to train my new boss, who did have a college degree. Continued to work there summers and Christmas holidays throughout college.

College bookstore

Science teacher - 5 years teaching 6th grade general science and then 4 years teaching freshman and sophomore physical science and biology.

Program Coordinater at a film festival. Had been a volunteer when I was teaching. Very fun but paid next to nothing so I only did it for 18 months.

Assistant Mgr at a movie theater

Admin Assistant

Permatemp at Schlumberger for 3.5 years while I was my mother's caregiver (breast cancer). Started out in customer service, then became their non-inventory buyer. Temped for another year after that.

Office Mgr/Bookkeeper for a very small O&G related business.

Bookkeeper for a slightly larger O&G related business. My mother's cancer returned, so I was her caregiver for 3 years while working fulltime. Best boss ever. He lost his mother to cancer when he was very young. When mamma transferred to hospice care, he told me I could work as much or as little as I wanted and he would pay me full salary. For the last 6 weeks of her life and 2 weeks after she died, I didn't work at all and he still paid me. He even came to her memorial service.

Accounts Payable Specialist at Whole Foods at their distribution center in Austin.

Tried selling life insurance for a change of pace and really sucked at it. Gave up after 6 months.

Bookkeeper for a security company.

[gratuitous]

3. (Thousand yard stare)

Some things I never thought I'd do for money . . .

[struggle4progress]

4. hmmm

movie theatre usher
dishwasher
ranch hand
maintenance man
cow milker
construction work
painter
glued reflective buttons on highway
lab assistant
roofer
teaching assistant
math professor

[DFW]

5. Well, I won't go into everything, but.....

Mowed lawns for people in the neighborhood with lawns

Page at the U.S. Senate

Played music in LOTS of different venues, including:
Local area dances
For Salvador Dali in Barcelona, Spain (1968)
Russian music for the exiled Czarist community in Washington
The Armenian church of Philadelphia
The Ambassador Theater in Washington DC (local Fillmore East while it lasted)
La Terrasse restaurant in Philadelphia
The National Press Club in Washington (for President Ford and VP Rockefeller)
Various Folk festivals all over Germany
The Iron Horse in Northampton, MA*
A Few Folk Festivals in the Netherlands
An Assyrian café in Philadelphia (never even knew they were still around: Ashurbannipal !)
A bunch I have since forgotten
*I first had the Iron Horse in NYC. I forget the name of the place in NYC. It was on 14th Street, and featured folk and bluegrass, anyway.
I have also played with Theodore Bikel and for Bill Clinton, but didn't take any money for either.

Laborer at the map warehouse of the U.S. Geological survey
Counter at a bike rental in Rock Creek Park in D.C.
Counter at a fix-it shop in Falls Church, VA

Got recruited by my current outfit in summer, 1975, to travel the world, do oddball stuff and get paid for it, never looked back!

[Capt.Rocky300]

24. Theodore Bikel!

What a great character actor. Loved him as Worf's dad.

[DFW]

27. Theo is a living legend, in music as well as theater

He is ill now, and is now 91, but I was at his 85th birthday concert ("the first 85 years&quot at Carnegie Hall in NYC, and he sang like he was half that.

One time when we were together for New Year's, he suddenly said to me "get your guitar, we will go sing Russian songs." So I got my guitar, brought my wife along, and in a nearly deserted conference room in the Charleston Place Hotel in South Carolina, Theo and I did duets of Russian folk songs in a concert that would have been a sellout in New York (because of Theo, not me!). Instead, the audience consisted of my wife and two South Carolina janitors who commented, "I don't know what y'all are singing, but y'all sure do know how to sing it!"

[Capt.Rocky300]

28. That's some company you keep.

[DFW]

29. I'm the token mortal of the gang

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[Capt.Rocky300]

30. Ok, now you're just braggin'.........

[DFW]

31. Nahhh. NOW I'm braggin':

Last edited Sun Jul 19, 2015, 01:48 AM - Edit history (1)

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]
[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]
[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[WinkyDink]

72. Doing the "I'm not worthy!" bow!

[DFW]

73. Well, how do you think it makes ME feel when I'm with people like that?

Like a speck of dust on a footnote!

[WinkyDink]

80. And yet, there you were. I hope you felt as equal as you all looked! (P.S. I LOVED Theodore Bikel!

Both as an actor and as a singer! He was in some of the best cop/detective/mystery shows back in the day!)

[DFW]

81. Yeah, but don't forget, I've been hanging with people like that since I was four

Things were different in Washington in the 1950s and 1960s. As a top print journalist, my dad was at the Capitol all the time, and sometimes brought me along. In those days, anyone could just walk into the Capitol whenever they wanted. He used to introduce me to guys named Dirksen, Javits, Church, Humphrey, etc. etc. and the only thing I thought unusual was that while all my friends with first names like Jim or Bill or Timmy, his friends were all called "Senator."

While at the Democratic convention in L.A. in 1960, he spotted an aging Groucho Marx at a poolside reception. Though I never got all the jokes until much later, even then I knew who Groucho Marx was. All of eight years old, I went over to say hi, and he told me "get lost, kid!" My introduction to show biz! LOL

Theo never suffered fools lightly, but he wasn't anything like Groucho. Of course, I was more than 40 years older when I met him, too....

[WinkyDink]

84. Ha! You didn't say the secret word!

[DFW]

85. OK, I know I'm missing something here, but 'll play

So what's the secret word, already? Or is it one of those secrets that's so secret that if I don't know it now, I was never supposed to know it in the first place?

[WinkyDink]

86. Here ya go!

[DFW]

87. DeSoto!

I should have known..........

[mainer]

36. gonna guess the Bikel/Clinton gig was in Charleston at New Year's

I might have been there.

[DFW]

38. It was indeed

You're a Renaissance attendee too?

[mainer]

43. Only a few times.

Haven't made it to the New Year's one in a long time.

[DFW]

44. That's the only one we do go to.

South Carolina is not exactly around the corner from Düsseldorf, and Jackson Hole or Monterrey even less so.

[KMOD]

6. some of you have had very interesting careers,

As a teen in the summers I would sell our fresh vegetables and flowers and the stand, in the winters I would work in the greenhouse.

I worked for my Aunt's small company as whatever she wanted me to be or do that day.

I worked for NYS as a stenographer.

I was a DJ for WFLY, WQQY, WGNA, WVKZ.

I was a news reporter for WGNA, WASM, WKAJ.

I was a voice talent for many local radio and television ads.

I was the English speaking voice of the SST2000, a welfare kiosk in NYC. (Matilda Cuomo complimented my voice. )

I was a notary public and paralegal for an attorney service firm. I would draft and file Certificates of Incorporation.

I was a mommy, paid in love.

I was the owner and operator of a NY Jets related website.

I am a licensed real estate agent.

I volunteer at the local elementary school library, paid in laughter and fun.

[steve2470]

17. great list sis! nt

[KMOD]

18. thanks, bro!

[GReedDiamond]

7. Starting in the early 1970s, in Illinois - Ice cream truck driver...

...for "Georgie's Happy Time Ice Cream"

Vinyl car top maker

Steel factory worker for a short time

...at which point, I moved to Los Angeles, to become an...

Underground comix artist

Airbrush artist for the garment and tv/movie/music industries

Artist - fine art in various mediums

Digital graphic designer

Web site developer

Screen printing pre-production technician (color separations and other related stuff)

Musician/producer/engineer/music publisher

Collector/seller of art

That's about it.

[laundry_queen]

8. Wow, that's a long list

Hmm. Mine's basically in chronological order, but I decided not to repeat the babysitting, which was all over the place, lol.

babysitting/child care (off and on up until a few years ago - sometimes full time, sometimes part time, sometimes casual and all ages, babies to 12)
busgirl/waitress (Depending on the shift)
chambermaid
casual office work
card shop clerk
retail cashier
temp office file clerk
janitorial work
bank teller/receptionist

...long break while I birthed and raised babies.....

house cleaner (while in school)
inventory accountant

[davidpdx]

9. A very interesting list

Mine is:

-dishwasher

-auto-parts store worker

-fast-food worker

-car wash

(Was an undergraduate during the next three jobs)

-fast-food worker

-office worker (work study-in the department office of my major)

-office worker/assistant to the executive chef for the company contracted to provide food service at the university (concurrent with the work study job above) this one was one of the more interesting ones because I worked with vendors purchasing food and inventorying it each week to determine the cost

(Graduated undergraduate degree)

-assistant manager retail store (board games)

-assistant manager retail store (party supplies)

-assistant manager retail store (major pet store chain)

-customer service supervisor

-customer service

(Attended graduate school didn't work)

(Graduated)

Moved abroad to South Korea

-Taught English as a Second Language (ESL) to pre-school, kindergarten, and elementary school kids

-Earned TESOL certificate (taught at a university during the program for training hours)

-Taught ESL to elementary and middle school kids

-Taught ESL to elementary school kids

(Went back home for 4 months)

-Taught ESL at a university (for most of the time between late 2007 to mid 2012)

(Fall 2010 started working on a doctorate)

-University student only for 1 3/4 years

-Taught ESL at a university since spring 2014

(Graduated with a doctorate April 2015)

-Will teach business (fall 2015 or spring 2016)

[davidpdx]

10. A side story about my job as a office worker/assistant to the executive chef

Bill Clinton came to my university while I was working there and my boss had the menu for his lunch on the computer and I accidentally saw it. He was like "you never saw that" and I was like "saw what". Apparently no one there was allowed to know the exact lunch menu other than him. They also needed extra help making box lunches for the Secret Service detail and I volunteered to come in and work because it was extra hours and we made them late at night the day before he came to campus.

[trof]

55. Obama brought his own food to an open house.

Friends in NH held an Obama Open House when Obama was running for his first term.
A chef friend catered it for free.
Obama's advance party politely declined the offer of the buffet and said they would bring his food.
Can't be too careful I guess.

[CBGLuthier]

11. OK

Grocery Store
Gas Station
Worked at the library for two years while going to electronics school which led to
Kidney Dialysis machine repair
Microfilm machine repair and operator
Gas station again while going to school to learn computer programming
Computer software support for a floral company
computer software design for newspaper databases
owned a computer repair store and repaired computers
made musical instruments and sold them online
and now I have outsourced myself to Mauritius where I write computer software again

[DFW]

40. Ever run into a guy named Mark Harris?

I met him in Charleston, SC and again in Berlin. He's doing computer stuff in Mauritius, last I heard.

[CBGLuthier]

42. No, but considering how few Americans are here I may eventually.

[DFW]

45. It's definitely off the beaten track for us.

You could run into him some day, who knows?

[NV Whino]

12. Anything that pays...

And a lot of things that don't.

[Auggie]

13. Wow ...

Babysitting

Camp Counselor (epic fail)

Lawn and yard work (mowed acres and acres of grass and pulled a ton of weeds)

Food concession sales and production (included a Drive-In theater, which was a lot of fun)

Fast food: remember Dog 'n Suds?

Library/office janitor (cleaned a lot of toilets)

Machine shop gofer

Ad agency creative

Self-employed (this is the best)

[femmocrat]

14. Here are the ones I can remember:

Babysitting
Theater concession stand worker
Playground teacher
Waitress (several of those jobs--I hated them!)
Proofreader
Tutor
Store clerk
Teacher
Stay at home Mom
Pre-school teacher
Real estate agent
Substitute teacher
Teacher again
Now retired!

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

15. Playing in a rock band as a teen in the 1960s

at military bases and local private parties down in Georgia.

Teaching Assistant at U.C. Irvine in the early 70s while getting my Masters.

Back to music, going on the road and playing guitar in clubs with a rock band. Later we started playing jazz exclusively up until the 80s while I went to law school.

In between gigs, working as a clerk in a liquor store, as a clerk at U Totem Market and later at 7-11. Worked as a janitor in a business complex. Worked as a graveyard shift telephone switchboard operator in a medical building (so many obviously drunk doctors calling in for their messages)

Worked as a screenplay/teleplay reader while getting my Masters in film from UCLA Film School for NBC, for Mary Lazar (wife of Swifty Lazar), for Empire Pictures and for Dino DeLaurentiis. Worked as general gopher for Dino's son-in-law at the DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group and a reader for Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert and for Soisson-Murphy Productions (Trick Or Treat, Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure).

Worked as an associate attorney for various law offices on both plaintiff personal injury and work comp applicant side and also on the insurance side. Last 18 years before I retired I worked for a Chinese immigration law office near downtown L.A. I worked like a dog in the law but hardly ever made significant money at all as a lawyer. People would be surprised to learn how little you make if you're not a partner sharing in the profits of the firm. Tried to open my own law office and lasted two and a half years but the advertising was ASTRONOMICALLY expensive and took up every dime I made and more, not mention the other overheard like rent and utilities and the four kinds of insurance you must have (professional liability, premises liability, health, and workers comp). In fact, my entire professional life is a trail of tears as far as making money.
.

[steve2470]

16. my list, starting in 1969 (age 11)

stuffed Seiko watches into boxes for shipment

made pizzas in return for free pizza and sodas (barter with the manager arrangement)

mowed yards and sweated my southern ass off a lot

worked construction outdoors one summer, never again!

made pizza again for real money

food runner at nice restaurant

busboy at same restaurant

eta: forgot my stint as a waiter at a downtown restaurant

asst. manager for Walgreen's

asst. manager for skating rink

several jobs in my chosen profession spanning 20 years

rented internet server space

[Tobin S.]

19. I have worked at a lot of places, but only in a few lines of work.

Food service from 1987 (I was fifteen when I started working) until 1990

Printer from 1990 to 1995

Machine operator from 1995 to 1996

Commercial truck driver from 1996 to present

I have had probably a total of about 20 jobs in my life with over half of them being in trucking. I've been with my present employer for about 4.5 years and seem unable to escape them despite going back to school and earning my bachelor's degree.

[madamesilverspurs]

20. Interesting jaunt down memory lane

taught English to Hungarian immigrants
retail clerk/cashier
waitress
short order cook
bartender
bar manager
hotel maid
fast food worker
election judge
general office work
review educational videos, write synopses
child care
picture framer
glassblower/lampworker
sign painter
food bank volunteer
headstone designer
sandblaster
custom tile designer
graphic designer
campaign graphics, design and production
data entry

[trof]

39. Damn, I left out bartender. Thanks for the reminder.

[benld74]

21. First to Present

Cutting lawns
Grocery stock boy
Produce manager - same store
Oil refinery laborer - college summers
bartender - college
bouncer
computer programmer
systems analyst
customer liaison for global computer services company

[IrishEyes]

22. Here is my list.

I have had lots of weird jobs between full time, part time, weekend and temp work. I'm probably forgetting some.

Industries that I have worked in so far:
Banking
Finance
Newspaper
Railroad
Fast Food
Theater
Summer Camp
Resort
Book Publishing
Airline
Fashion
Real Estate
Retail
Film
Television
Night Club
Comedy
Advertising
Computer
Accounting

[Capt.Rocky300]

23. Mostly aviation related but a few interesting diversions.....

Ticket Agent for a small airline in SoCal which included duty as an Avis Rental Car agent.

Line Boy. A nice name for the guy who fuels little airplanes, washes and waxes them and cleans the bathrooms in the hanger.

Summer helper at my cousins machine shop. Hated it. He had me sort out loose nuts and bolts to return to inventory.

Knott's Berry Farm where I drove the miniature train and ran the merry-go-round. It was the old fashioned type with a clutch so it took some experience to get the hang of it. Really fun to get on and off it while it was running without breaking my neck.

Flight instructor and ground school instructor.

Charter pilot.

Alaska bush pilot for a short time.

Several different pilot jobs with airlines in Alaska. The last being Wien Air Alaska.

Finally got my dream airline job and flew there for 33 years. Got paid to see most of the world.

[steve2470]

25. I'd sure like to hear from some others, this is a great thread nt

[olddots]

26. huge list ......

life guard at a car wash

Diamond cutter ( at Fenway Park

[chknltl]

32. Soldier, cook, painter, pot grower.

Didn't get wealthy on any of them, but being a pot grower for a quarter century has been the most interesting. As a grower, sometimes interesting was a good thing, sometimes it was not so good.

[Skittles]

33. NO PICS FROM YOUR HALF NUDE DAYS?

WOOT!!!

[Jamaal510]

34. Finding pennies (and sometimes dimes) on the sidewalk,

selling games and consoles at Game Stop, receiving financial aid, having a Public Works job when I was 17, working for Merritt College's recycling program, my dad sometimes giving me pocket change, and receiving money on birthdays and Christmases from family whenever they didn't know/couldn't afford what gifts to buy me.

[Sancho]

35. some legal things I've done for money...

-baby sitting, cutting grass as a teen
-selling door-to-door for Fuller Brush
-painting apartments (yuk)
-picking tobacco with immigrants on a GA farm (hot!)
-driving a school bus (actually fun, $1.85 an hour)
-summer camp counselor (more fun)
-working in a textile mill (slave labor)
-Burger King (two years in college)
-steak restaurant cook (another college job)
-occasional musician (union wages!)
-Mexican restaurant at a mall (boring)
-filing papers for a doctor's office (paid well)
-clerk at college bookstore
-photographer (darkroom days, no digital cameras)
-construction labor (planted pot in the landscaping of a new college safety office; early 70's)
-tutored college athletics (met some famous people)
-sailing instructor
-soccer coach and referee
-worked for a politician's initiative (Richard Riley, SC Governor, Sec. Ed.)
-educator at all levels (pubic schools, private, rural, urban, elementary grades through university)
-consultant/contracts/grants for government agencies/foundations

[DFW]

41. You worked for Dick Riley?

Hell of a nice guy!

Though how you go through life calling your wife "Tunkey," I'll never know.

[Sancho]

46. Dick Riley was terrific.

Very personable. I never heard where Tunkey came from...

[mainer]

37. Love these work histories!

What an interesting crowd this is.

But would rather not post mine.

[hobbit709]

47. Legal or illegal?

Legal
TV repair-started in high school
USAF Radio Relay 304x0
Telephone wiring system installer in new skyscraper
Electronics tech at University of TX
" " at Texas Instuments-worked on 960, 980 and 990 computers
Security at Armadillo World Headquarters-4 years
Prototype board builder at IBM-took engineering drawings and wire-wrapped boards to test if design worked.
Security at several Grateful Dead tours
Newspaper delivery
amusement game repair
Test tech at Solectron- troubleshoot and repair boards that failed initial tests after coming off production line
Self-employed as computer repair/build.

and since the statute of limitations has long expired
ECM on Ganja Airway as we called it. Smuggling weed from Jamaica to TX
Selling weed.

[LiberalEsto]

48. Okay

Babysitting
Stationery store sales clerk
Bakery sales clerk
Mother's helper for an entire summer
Sales clerk at a W.T. Grants store (job from hell) for half a summer
College dining hall worker for two years
Babysitting for professors
Putting up posters for a small theater
Classified ad manager for college newspaper
Driving ice cream truck (possibly the first female ice cream driver in central NJ)
Sales clerk at a hippie "head shop"
Sales clerk at a Bamberger's department store
Avis-Rent-a-Car staff person at small airport
Waitress
Sales clerk at an eyeglass center
Hawked early edition of NY Daily News in various bars
Sold Time-Life Books by phone

Reporter and news editor at a tiny weekly newspaper in NJ.
Reporter at a large weekly newspaper in NJ
Reporter at a small daily newspaper in NJ
Reporter for The Star-Ledger, New Jersey's largest newspaper - best job I ever had

(moved to Maryland when husband got a job in DC)

Clerical work for a psychologist while home with kids
Mailing work for a small progressive membership organzation while at home with kids

Reporter for a small daily newspaper in Maryland

Role-player for the Maryland Child Assault Prevention program

Semi-technical, marketing writer for a national business association magazine-- second-best job
Writer of semi-technical on-line marketing case studies for the same national business association

Social Security.

[graywarrior]

49. LOVE this thread!

[Liberal_in_LA]

50. tutor, fast food, hotel house keeper, random office jobs before long time career

[OxQQme]

51. Verry interesting

Seems that nobody got up before the sun, folded newspapers so they would sail, put them into the canvas saddlebags over the front wheel, and go out to 'air mail' the paper onto the front porch of the subscribers with out stopping the bike, so you wouldn't be late for the school bus.

[A HERETIC I AM]

52. Okie doke;

babysat, like many others.
Paper route - weekly paper in Montgomery County, MD
Mowed lawns, raked leaves, etc.
First job for wages, Appliance Store, Alice Springs, AUs. $.75AUS /hour.
Slaughterman, Alice Springs Aus. Town abattoir - worked the kill box mostly.
McDonalds
Tropical Plant Nursery/greenhouse.
Groom, Thoroughbred farm, Ocala, FL
Sheet metal shear operator
Warehouseman/order picker, Metal supply house
Truck Driver, local in the city of Miami (My first driving gig. Bullshitted my way into it. 1978)
Parts Manager at an FBO at Tamiami airport.
Order picker, aerospace hardware supply
Truck driver again (same firm, separated by about 18 months.)
Wine sales through private wine tastings.
Car sales (absolutely HATED it)
Gas station attendant.
Bloomingdales. Started as a Christmas hire, ended up floor supervisor, domestics.
Dry Cleaner/Tuxedo Rental
Order desk, static dissipative product supply.
Truck Driver again (first OTR gig, 1987, dry freight)
Marketing display operator, Buick MotorSports
Technical Support Vehicle operator, Indy Car engine builder (Best, most fun job I ever had)
Technical Support Vehicle operator, Indy Car Chassis maker (2nd best)
Lift-Gate Auto Transport
Technical Support Vehicle operator, Ferrari North America.
Open-Rack Auto Transport
Marketing Display operator, Nextel Phones/NASCAR (3rd best)
Stock Broker
Delivery Driver, industrial supply
Open Rack again
Dry Van trucking.

The above is roughly chronological with one or two more stints hauling dry freight in there somewhere.

[LiberalEsto]

57. Did you deliver the Gazette?

Don't know if you heard, but the Gazette newspapers went out of business last month, after 56 years.

[A HERETIC I AM]

58. The Gaithersburg Gazette?

Very likely so!

That was 1968 & 9 I believe. Had about 50 or so subscribers.

And no, I had not heard. I'm sure the number of similar publications that have gone by the wayside numbers in the thousands nationwide.

[LiberalEsto]

59. The Gazette newspapers were acquired by the Washington Post several years ago

Jeff Bezos of Amazon bought the Post & Gazette papers last year.

The Gaithersburg Gazette had grown into a number of editions including the Rockville Gazette, Silver Spring Gazette, Olney Gazette, Germantown Gazette and papers in Frederick and Prince Georges County, all free. Allegedly they weren't getting enough ad revenue.

in the mid-90s I worked for several years for the daily Montgomery Journal, which went out of business too. And some of the papers I worked for in NJ have also vanished.

Did you live in Gaithersburg? I'm in Derwood, near the Shady Grove Metro.

[A HERETIC I AM]

60. I lived in Mill Creek Towne!

I thought it might be you, if not, there is (or was) another DU'er who lives(d) in Mill Creek Towne apparently right up the street from our old place.

We lived on Mill Creek Drive. I remember when dad took us over to see the house as it was being built. Mostly dirt roads through the area, as they hadn't been paved yet during construction. Circa late 1967

Mill Creek Drive, where Shady Mill hits it.

My oldest Brother and Sister graduated from Gaithersburg HS. My next older Bro went to Magruder. I went to MCT Elementary and then Redlands JR High before we moved away.

[LiberalEsto]

61. Yes, I'm in MCT

Wheat Fall Drive, off Miller Fall. Several of our neighbors are original owners from the 1960s, and can remember cows looking in their windows.
We've been there almost 17 years. My daughters went to Mill Creek Towne Elementary, Redland and Magruder.

[A HERETIC I AM]

62. Then we have talked of this in the past.

I was able since then to re-connect with an old friend of mine who lived at the corner of Mill Creek Drive and Potters Mill Court.

I've also learned of some sadness - one of my school crushes passed away from cancer, another friend who lived across the street on Shady Mill passed away from early onset Alzheimer's. My age - 56

I remember when the land behind your place was pasture! I also remember when the county or state bought that land from the farmer and began prepping the right-of-way for the Mid-County Highway.

Catching crawfish in the creek behind the house. Shooting the legs off water striders with a BB gun! Making dams complete with spillways!

The right-of-way that is now Shady Grove Road that sort of splits MCT near the pool was still just grassland when we moved away.
(My Dad was CIA and we moved in 1972 to go to Australia.)

On the corner of Wheat Fall Court and Wheat Fall Drive there was a Middle Eastern family. Further up the court was my friend Robbie Hinton.

Several of the others that I have looked up are still in the area. For instance, Richard Stang is a realtor in Gaithersburg, if I remember correctly.

Ahhhhh....memories!

[Kali]

53. cool thread, trof

the first "job" I can remember getting paid for was a penny apiece for picking snails off the strawberry plants in the side yard when we lived in CA back in late 60s. I must have been 6 or 7

from there I moved up to ironing my Father's handkerchiefs and the household pillow cases. Eventually I would get paid to do all the ironing, mostly my Fathers shirts. (needless to say I don't iron ANYTHING anymore )

Grampa always paid us kids a little something at the end of summers spent here on the ranch. this would eventually entail actual work and continue all my life.

babysitting for sisters and neighbor kids from age 12 and up. various house hold chores - dusting, mopping, washing the car,

after typing class freshman year high school got paid to type bibliography cards for my Father (university prof.) used a lot of white-out, I wonder if the paint is still on those things?

first "real" job was waitressing at a family type diner in Anchorage.

worked a couple of years part time at a pet store in high school and college.

cocktail waitress

sold weed

retail

caretaker (Grandfather)

ranch hand/manager/rancher - and all that entails: veterinarian, herder, horse trainer, mechanic, plumber, fence builder, tour guide, janitor, driver, cook, book keeper, shit shoveler, cop, etc etc etc

[underahedgerow]

54. Started working at 14 in the local flower shop, then in the antiques shop that it transmogrified

into.
At 16 started working for local bands carrying gear, learning lights and electrics, doing the set ups.
At 18 did some retail & restaurant work.
Grew the roadie skills into working for arena headliners on tour throughout the USA for the BIG bands, usually hair bands and hard rock. Toured/did shows for Bowie, Jackson Brown, Michael Jackson, Madonna, 38 Special, Stevie Nicks, Styx, Prince, Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Def Leppard and soooo many more I've long since forgotten. I was a novelty as one of the few crew chicks in the trade, and I worked well, so I always worked.
Combined that work with the Film & tv production industry working on Moonlighting, Max Headroom and countless music videos, commercials and films... Noted on IMDB. Scores of different jobs including script supervision, producers & writer's assistant, wardrobe, hair, makeup, driver, runner, PA, craft services, set decorator, etc.
Spent 12 years at the gay mecca of the USA in the facilities & landscaping division.
Bought and sold my own real estate in LA, making a killing with over 100%+ profits.
Developed, owned and sold my own chain of women's fitness centers in Europe.
Developed, owned and sold my own lunches delivery service.
Now working as an estate & house manager to the rich and famous in various locations in France. It provides housing, travel, a car, and living anywhere I want to go for the right job.

Now, while working at a stable, easy estate job, I'm writing 2 scripts to be completed by October when I go back to LA for a visit and to shop them around. I'm tired of working in everyone else's houses and want my own again. Time to settle down a bit and get the roots re-established.

[CanSocDem]

56. I flunked high school math and science...

...so technically, my working life was over before it even got going.

I did, however, leave high school with a couple of non-academic skills. I could think and speak on my feet and I could draw better than everyone else (in my town).

And my Dad taught me how to be an expert driver. However, it wasn't until the summer of 1966 in Los Angeles that I got a job that changed my life. It was door-to door sales for a Home Portrait company. Best job I'd had up until then and maybe the best job ever because it taught me that ALL jobs were "sales".

You either SELL a service or you SELL a product.

So for the next 50 years I sold one or the other.


.

[WinkyDink]

71. Some people want to be good at math; some at science. But EVERYBODY wishes they could draw, so good

for you!!

I've drawn 4 portraits in my life. Paul McCartney and Chad Mitchell, when I was a teen. As an adult, I drew my husband---once as he lay sleeping; and then as he lay dying.

I doubt if I shall draw another.

[CanSocDem]

74. It was like a "free pass"...

...through life.

The 'left-brainers' all laughed at me, until I drew their picture. Then they thought I must have some extra insight into the ways of the world.

Trouble was, since my primary source of art education at the time was comic books, the portraits I did were more caricature than portraiture. There is a market for this style but I eventually acknowledged that the style is mean-spirited and I didn't feel comfortable sitting in front of someone, drawing the facial features they had spent their life trying to hide.

Like you, I doubt if I shall draw another.


.

[WinkyDink]

79. :-) and {{ }}

[Populist_Prole]

63. Let's see; more or less in order

Deliver newspapers

Cut grass

Gas attendant / Go-fer

Handyman / Groundskeeper

Auto repair

Apprentice A/C mechanic

Aircraft maintenance ( commercial FBO )

Helicopter maintenance

Aircraft maintenance ( corporate )

Aircraft maintenance ( airline )

[nolabels]

64. The joke is, if it dosn't get over your head then there is nothing to worry about

Other than a little stint in my folks doughnut shops as a teenager I have been mostly a truck mechanic for last 38 years

Repair of airplanes just sounds too redundant to me. After the repair is made, three or four people in a row, double checking your work would almost seem boring (except of people who get on the one that crashes )

[Populist_Prole]

65. Actually it's not redundant

"After the repair is made, three or four people in a row, double checking your work"

Not necessarily. Depends on the environment ( overhaul vs line ) There are items that require an inspector, but many, and indeed most repairs do not. It's your reputation and responsibility on the line when you sign off something you did.

[nolabels]

67. Thanks for the interesting insight.

Some of my information was from someone who couldn't cut the mustard and was no longer in the field, i should have figured

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

66. Usually I don't forward "spam" jokes from my email, but ...

1. My first job was working in an Orange Juice factory ,
but I got canned . Couldn't concentrate .

2. Then I worked in the woods as a Lumberjack,
but just couldn't hack it , so they gave me the ax .

3. After that, I tried being a Tailor, but wasn't suited for it --mainly because it was a sew-sew job,
and people liked to hem and haw about the price.

4. Next, I tried working in a Muffler Factory,
but that was too exhausting.

5. Then, I tried being a Chef - figured it would add a little spice to my life, but just didn't have the thyme.

6. Next, I attempted being a Deli Worker,
but any way I sliced it.... couldn't cut the mustard.

7. My best job was a Musician, but eventually found I wasn't noteworthy.

8. I studied a long time to become a Doctor,
but didn't have any patience.

9. Next, was a job in a Shoe Factory.
Tried hard but just didn't fit in.

10. I became a Professional Fisherman,
but discovered I couldn't live on my net income.

11. Managed to get a good job working for a Pool Maintenance Company, but the work was just too draining.

12. So then I got a job in a Workout Center,
but they said I wasn't fit for the job..

13. After many years of trying to find steady work ,
I finally got a job as a Historian - until I realized there was no future in it.

14. My last job was working in Starbucks,
but had to quit because it was the same old grind.

15 . SO, I TRIED RETIREMENT
AND I FOUND I'M PERFECT FOR THE JOB - LOVE IT!

[NJCher]

69. that's very cute

Glad you posted it. My students and I are talking about puns today (figurative language), so I printed it for class.


Cher

[OriginalGeek]

68. Not sure I can remember them all but I'll try

snow-cone stand (first real live payroll check - 2 bucks an hour!)

Snow-cone stand was only open for 3 months a year during summer so a friend and I bought some stencils and some green paint and some yellow reflective paint and went around painting house numbers on the curbs in front of houses for 5 bucks a pop. We were saving lives! (a few years ago I visited my hometown and the number on the curb in front of my house was still there after 35+ years)

two different shoe stores at the mall - Kinney and Austin shoes

BBQ joint

Pizza Inn

Warehouse/Delivery for American Racing Custom Wheels

Annoying photographer at Six Flags

Wendys for a whole week

Direct marketing. (lol, I sold crappy pictures at gas stations and road sides and what not)(well, I was supposed to.)

Bellman at a seedy hotel - not so seedy it didn't have a bellman but seedy enough that hookers stayed for a week at a time. I think one of them liked me bc every time I brought her a new stack of towels (which for some reason she needed a lot of) she kissed me on the cheek.

numerous pizza delivery jobs throughout all this time - I almost always had more than one job at any given time up through about the 10th year of being married.

parts room clerk at an electronics engineering firm that developed FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared Radars)

Assembled battery packs for tow-missiles for a now-defunct military contractor.

Assembly line for a boat manufacturer - I laid in carpet and installed the furniture for 32' cabin cruisers before the decks went on.

built custom shower doors for a subsidiary of Kohler

another stint in a parts room for an electronics repair business.

asst manager and then manager for a warehouse that provided small hardware items to big hardware stores.

small package delivery.

warehouse manager for an entertainment company that has museums full of weird shit. I had a 6 foot long whale penis sheath leaning against my desk. because it was funny.

and for the last 15 years, IT department for a large not-for-profit that has locations all over the southeast. My direct supervisor and I manage the phone switch but help out the network and infrastructure teams as needed. Pay is good and I get to travel and I believe in the mission of the organization so I hope this is my last job.


Oh i forgot the liquor store. I only lasted 6 months there. It was a seriously depressing job. I got to watch the decline of several regular customers. We had a drive through window for packages. One guy started out buying two miniatures of Early Times every day at 3:30. By the time I left he was up to half gallons and had to have his son drive him though as he had lost his license. The line of homeless people shaking and waiting for me to open in the morning didn't help either. On the other hand, women flashed me all the time. I don't know why - they didn't get discounts or anything. But I didn't complain. It happened fairly often on the pizza delivery jobs too.

[trof]

70. Oh yeah, I forgot aluminum siding telemarketing.

For about three weeks one summer when I was around 18.
The boss ripped a dozen or so pages out of the phone book.
"Start at the top and call them all. Here's the script. You don't have to use your real name. Use a simple, easy name."

I was in a room with about two dozen other scammers.

Hi, Mrs. Brown? This is Bill Smith and I'm calling for Acme Aluminum Siding."
This is where they usually hung up.
But...not...always...

"Mrs. Brown, your home has been selected by Acme Aluminum Siding as a Demonstration Home. We have selected your home at random from the phone book and today you happen to be the lucky one. We would like to install our award winning aluminum siding on your home at absolutely no cost to you. If you agree, we'd like to use your finished home as a demonstration project. We will drive prospective clients by your home to see for themselves how beautiful and durable it is. It never needs painting or maintenance of any kind. It can be installed over any kind of existing exterior."

If they bit, Acme sent out a 'closer'.
If you've ever seen the movie "Tin Men", you know how that went.
Super high powered slicks. Con men.

"Mrs. Brown, of course there will be a small fee to cover our installation costs."


I was paid minimum wage and actually earned a commission from one of my contacts that bought it.

[mnhtnbb]

75. Hmmm...wonder if I can remember?

babysitter ($.50/hr)
temp summer secretary in a very small town solo attorney's office
nursing unit clerk--summer replacement--Scripps Hospital La Jolla
part time secretary in an MD research lab at UCLA (undergrad years)
Medical Records secretary (before starting grad school) UCLA Hospital
Hospital Administration internship--2nd year of Master's program
Administrative Assistant Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
Director of Special Services--Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
real estate sales agent (CA)
Administrative Assistant-Hospital Council of Southern California
Assistant Administrator Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
actor

[Blue_In_AK]

76. Babysat

Did clerical work for a couple of NASA contractors back in the '60s
Worked in the nursing administration office at the Methodist Hospital in Houston.
Worked clerical for a couple of misogynist pig petro geologists in Colorado
Clerical for personnel department at Great Western Sugar Co. In Denver
Warranty dept. at Toyota in San Francisco, telling people why their warranties weren't in effect
Advertising and public relations at Crocker Bank in SF
More babysitting
Legal secretary/paralegal in Anchorage for 25 years, all areas of law
Correctional officer/counselor
Self-employed court transcriptionist
Hobbyist photographer who occasionally sells a shot.
Social security.

Oh...landlady (owner-occupied duplex) at which I really make no money, but take a loss on my tax return.


As you can see, my Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from University of Houston didn't do me much good, but at least college was inexpensive back in the '60s.

[GusBob]

77. Started young some of these things I did at same time

Harvested pulp wood
Caught and sold crayfish
Worked in baitshop
Caught and sold night crawlers
Picked wild berries
Collected mushrooms
Harvested ginseng
Worked in fishing camp
Worked in hunting camp
Trapped varmints for fur
Cut Christmas trees
Lawn work, shoveled snow
Found and sold rare cans and glass
Ref for basketball
Umped softball
Tutored schoolwork
Bike repair shop
Cut firewood
Farm worker
Bartender
Maintenance and janitor
Chauffeur
Librarian
Dorm work
Caddy shack boy
Insulation
Roofer


Made eyeglasses
Health care technician

Once I finished schooling, I became a health care provider
Since then have stated 4 businesses, so business owner and part time football coach

[Aristus]

78. Mine, also in chronological order:

Paperboy.
Golf caddy.
McDonald's.
Assistant to a furniture assembler.
Gardner.
McDonald's (again.)
U.S. Army.
Bookstore clerk
Salesman, men's clothing.
Car salesman.
Sales rep for a sales training firm.
MC for an events and promotions company.
Jewelry store salesman.
Bank teller.
Lead bank teller and teller trainer.
New accounts and loan officer.
Medical Assistant.
Pizza delivery (while in PA School).
Physician Assistant.

I've eaten a lot of dirt, but I have a rewarding and fun career now. It was worth it...

[Burma Jones]

83. Here's my more or less chronological list of what I can remember

13-18
Baby Sitting
Yardwork
Proofreading
McDonalds

HS Graduation

Construction Laborer
Pit Orchestra Trumpet Substitute
Retail Record Store (Harmony Hut)
Moving Helper
Occasional use of my Pickup truck to haul stuff for folks
Telephone Solicitor (repeated several times until I hit about 25 years old)
Library Assistant
Latin, English, US History and Political Science Tutor
Hot Dog Stand manager at Astroworld Amusement Park

Bachelors Degree in Theater

First Year out of college:
Singer at a Renaissance Fair
Cab Driver (short lived - got robbed at gunpoint)
Waiter (short lived - I didn't have the temperament)
Line Cook (got transferred from the floor to the kitchen)
Assistant Kitchen Manager/Expediter
Oyster Shucker
Catering Cook

Start of Office Jobs etc.
Data Technician
Proposal Writer/Editor
Petroleum Supply Analyst
Intelligence Analyst
Survey Design
Online publications sales (pre-internet)
Online Services sales (pre-internet)
Door to Door Cable TV Sales
Retail Sales at Record Store (Olsson's Books and Records)
Transit Data Analyst
Lead Transit Data Analyst
Project Manager
Paid Tenor for a Church Choir
Lighting Designer
Theater Director
Courier
Law Journal Page Replacement Filer

Got Married

Proposal Writer/Editor
Proposal Manager

Master's Degree in Computer Science

Requirements Analyst

First Child Born

Test and Evaluation Engineer
Application Architect
Senior Systems Analyst

Second Child Born

Proposal Manager
Systems Architect

Doctorate in Computer Science

Third Child Born

Company Director
Artificial Intelligence Trainer

[NightWatcher]

88. If I told you I'd have to...

And there's too many people here to....

But before I finished college I had worked 21 different jobs.

Last on my list is private investigator.

[UTUSN]

89. Sold 4 yrs of life, military. aka indentured servitude. n/t

[pink-o]

90. Wow, a LOT of Airline folk here!!

Myself included. But here's from when I was 12 in 1967:

Babysitting.
City Census Taker
Hotel Concierge/Maid/Food Server (in London)
More food serving (this time with tips, in the US)
Graphic arts/publishing/PR/advertising.
Rhythm Guitarist/vocalist/principal songwriter for an 80's punk band (not exactly a fortune,
but it was a paying job!)
Airline Ticket agent in SFO
Airline Ticket agent supervisor in SFO

Same company since I was 36 in 1991. The artistic career fell by the wayside--and believe me, no one is any worse off for my having failed at it!