Most Unusual/Fun J*b

[Idnar7]

What was your most unusual/interesting/fun j*b? I spent a summer during college w*rking for a garden seed company. They provided you a van and you had to go to grocery/hardware/nursery stores, count the seeds in the rack, bill them for the amount sold, take their order for the next year, pack up the rack/seed, and ship it back to the company. Entirely on your own. Slept in the van in parks or parking lots. My territory was from Ypsilanti, MI to Erie, PA, including Detroit, Gary, and Cleveland. Most stores paid in cash. Walking out of a store with a wad of bills in inner Detroit or Gary was a little harrowing. Converted cash to money orders asap. You were sent a weekly stipend for food and the rest of your salary and commissions went into a savings account. Great learning experience if a bit lonely (had girlfriend visit for a weekend). Would save most of the stipend for the weekend to meet up with other like drivers to share a hotel room and hand out. Saved enough over the summer to may all of my school costs the next year (commuting from home).

 

[frayne]

Bra fitter for a Victoria's Secrets store. Pay wasn't great but the tips were nice.

 

[Walt34]

It was a one-day job but I can (but refrain from doing so) put on my resume that I am a professional drunk in that I was paid for it.

During academy training for police officers they need drunks to practice the roadside tests. So a cruiser picked me up at home in the morning, I sat in a room with four or five others, we had a party and got to varying levels of intoxication. At .09% BAC I was having definite issues with walking.

As one can imagine there are some definitely funny stories created from this practice.

After the recruits ran their tests I was driven home and I discovered the downside to this. It was 3:00 PM and there I was, smashed, there was nothing to do and I couldn't go anywhere.

 

[timo2]

I spent 2 summer seasons in my 20's as a geologist in Yukon Territory looking for minerals. Lived in a camps in the mountains, had a helicopter at my disposal, saw lots of wildlife. Awesome Job. Ended with the big recession in 1981.

 

[winger]

I worked as a lifeguard several summers during my teenage years.

Best job there is for a teenage boy. Working was all downhill from there.

 

[queeneev]

YCC summer of 1979. We camped in a tent, and woke up each day to build trails, thin the trees, and build grouse houses. Dirty, sweaty, hungry, ate ramen and canned pudding, I loved every minute of the 4 week gig.

 

[timo2]

I worked as a lifeguard several summers during my teenage years.

Best job there is for a teenage boy. Working was all downhill from there.

Do you think having a great job early in life, and then lesser ones afterwords leads more to an ER, as opposed to having one's most interesting work older?

 

[MikeD]

I was a horse and carriage driver in Central Park in NYC for a year. Then worked on a farm literally shoveling horse manure. I saw the need to go to college soon thereafter.

Mike D.

 

[Pajaro]

I was a security guard in Milwaukee and got to protect a pornographic magazine printing house and the Harley-Davidson factory, both of which were really interesting. I also spent many a graveyard shift guarding the parking lot across the street from Jeffrey Dahmer's house (after he was captured). If you want a spooky experience, sit by yourself in the dark at 3AM staring at the site of a dozen cannibalistic murders.

 

[Delaney]

I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa. I was 26 when I joined the peace corps. The average age of volunteers is 28, but 7% are over 50 and not everyone knows that.

It was a wonderful experience and it made me want to "make a difference" in every job I had. One of my biggest problems with my last job was that near the end all my time at work was just a waste of time.

 

[heeyy_joe]

I officiated high school football and baseball for a dozen years. Not that unusual, but somebody's got to do it.

 

[Sue J]

At age 19 I was a cab driver in Cleveland, OH. This was in the summer of 1974 and it was only the second year that women were hired. I had to join the Teamster Union and my card said "Brother" Sue since they only had cards for men. Our cabs were those big old square Checker Marathons.

I rode my bike to the cab garage and packed a lunch so my expenses were minimal. I saved just about all of my pay, which was pretty good income for a summer job.

I was in sketchy neighborhoods some of the time and met some scary folks, but I enjoyed the work and the experience.

I learned a lot about LIFE and MYSELF.

I'm currently a school crossing guard which is fun most of the time, especially when the weather is nice. In the summer I'm a concert venue usher which I've really enjoyed. It's a beautiful outdoor venue in a national park where the Cleveland Orchestra plays on the weekends and during the week there are all kinds of well known artists. This summer we're having Tim McGraw, John Mayer, Maroon 5, Heart, Kelly Clarkson, Rascal Flatts, Toby Keith, and many others.

https://www.facebook.com/BlossomMusicCenter

 

[Bestwifeever]

I was an extra in 2 movies. Fun but would not want to do it again.

DH got paid to have his armpits sniffed by scientific noses several times a week in 1966 while in college in Ohio for deodorant soap research. That would be in the unusual category.

 

[Donzo]

Summers while in college I worked "shot gun" in a beer truck for a beer dist in upstate NY. We delivered beer to all the taverns and bars in our area - it was hard work but we would enjoy some free beers in the afternoon (drinking age was 18), kept me in shape and I got to know the owners of the establishments. This was valuable for summer nights in those fun and young summers. The drivers were happy as well - decent income and stress free.

 

[REWahoo]

DH got paid to have his armpits sniffed by scientific noses several times a week in 1966 while in college in Ohio for deodorant soap research. That would be in the unusual category.

Which one is he?

 

[arky]

When the summer of 1972 rolled around, I was just one quarter from graduation and just could not see finishing college in the summer. So, I goofed off and worked part time at the Greene County Sport Parachute Center (just south of Atlanta) putting out static line students. I was barely off of student status myself, but the students didn't know that !
Thank the Lord no "incidents" occurred on my watch !

 

[JOHNNIE36]

First year in high school I shined shoes in a barber shop and swept the floors. Small town. Shines were 25 cents and a lot of men would give me 50 cents because they knew my father and didn't want to be known as cheap. One time the richest man in town came in with a big burlap bag full of shoes and some were golf shoes, the black and white type. Took me a couple days to get them all finished but I remember he gave me $20. Thought I loaded.

 

[floridanurse]

Owned and operated an escort service in my mid 20's.

Oh the stories.....

 

[akck]

In my first real job, I was a forest engineer. Two fun things I did was laying out an access road to a new area for logging. It included putting in bridges and crossing a major river several times. Another road I laid out with the intention of making it the straightest and longest road possible as opposed to the cow paths previously used. Except for a tiny jog in about the middle, the road was straight for almost 2 miles.

 

[Idnar7]

"Bra fitter for a Victoria's Secrets store. Pay wasn't great but the tips were nice."

Ba-da-bing!

 

[Idnar7]

"Owned and operated an escort service in my mid 20's.

Oh the stories....."

Oh my! And that led to nursing?

 

[Idnar7]

Thanks for participating. These are fun. Another fun job I had was a gas station attendant (obsolete job). Had to go out in the freezing winter and pump gas. We were just off the freeway and lots of regulars. One regular was a dancer at a local men's club - The Payne Reliever - on Payne Ave. When she paid she always put the bills in her ample cleavage. For a high school kid it didn't much better.

 

[tkopel]

I was assigned to the Military's Arctic Care Mission for two weeks in Alaska. This mission combined MD's, dentists, opthalmologists and veterinarians to visit the remove Native Alaskan Villages. It was during the month of March, 40*F below zero! We got to ride in the Blackhawks to the villages since there are no roads available that time of year. We hiked to each home in the village, vaccinating and deworming their animals, then we would do spays and neuters for those that wanted them done. The surgeries were done in the garage of the school at one village, and in the laundry room of another village! (yes, one washer and dryer for an entire village of around 150 people!). It was an amazing experience, my profile pic is of me with one of the dogs we treated.

 

[brewer12345]

"Fun" and "job" in the same line? Nope, can't see it.

 

[Meadbh]

"Fun" and "job" in the same line? Nope, can't see it.

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