December 20, 2004

• I'm also just curious...
• soul destroying work can actually make you so thankfull that you can go to college that it might be worth it. That said, working as a cashier at the casino was fun at times.
• Work at a charity of somesort. Or become a pirate. Whichever, it's your life.
• Being a reference librarian. That's when I realised what a calling with a capital "C" feels like. Library assistant jobs (not shelving) might be available at public or academic libraries. Working in a traditional Chinese teahouse comes a very close second though. Small businesses may entail long hours, back-breaking work, but the perks and sense of camaraderie may make all the suffering worthwhile. If I ever grow old enough, with enough money, I'd open a small teahouse/bookshop. Traditional tea ceremonies taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays, in-depth lessons upon request. Once a month, I'd close shop and have a real tea party with friends, replete with Chinese dim sum and tea-leaf chicken.
• Well, this probably doesn't qualify, but I enjoyed my ten Air Force years back in the 1990s. As the job has doubtless become more serious and war-oriented, and my own views have gotten much more anti-establishment, I doubt I'd be happy doing that work anymore.
• addendum: by back-breaking work, I dun mean tha it was terribly strenuous. Just that I could work up to 14 hours in a day, and be on my feet for 12 of those hours. Wiping tables, filling up kettles, carrying dishes, washing dishes, filling cups. It all adds up. But the perks were marvellous and worth ten times what I was paid.
• Well, the pay sucked, but the most gratifying job I had before becoming a full time musician (now that's the best job ever!) was delivering flowers. Every day was filled by seeing delighted people all day long. You really felt that you (at least indirectly) were making a lot of people very happy. The only exception to the constant joy was delivering flowers to the funeral homes, but that drawback paled in comparison to the happy smiles elicited elsewhere. I'm not sure I can recommend it as a permanent career path though.
• I have a friend who works for a major hotel chain as a quality assurance tester. His job entails being sent, undercover, to various hotels across the nation, where he is obligated to stay for several nights, eat at all the hotel's restaurants, use all the various facilities including the gym and spa where available, and then write a report about the quality of his stay. All expenses included. It's great when he has to visit places like Miami Beach, and not so great when he has to go to places like Boise. At least he gets to travel places he wouldn't normally go. Not sure how he got this job, but it sure sounds like fun.
• FedoraUndershirt: I second the full-time musician thing. Start practicing.
• Journalism! Oh wait, you're looking to financially support yourself. Forget it.
• So, there's a real-life equivalent to the 'matress tester' of jokes, jaypro? Sweet.
• I worked for a university writing plain English versions of their bylaws and policies. Liked it a lot.
• Teaching has been the only non-nightmare job I've had since college, or at least the only one that actually paid me enough to live on. Teaching something you love or that interests you is, if the act of teaching itself is something you want and are able to do, is really wonderful. Of the various jobs that I had before college (I didn't enter undergrad until my mid-20's), driving an ice cream truck was the best. I didn't have to "go to work", I only saw my boss twice a day, I worked entirely on commission so I worked as long and hard as it was worth it to me, I made decent money for a no-education job (a lot more than I made in my first job after grad school, for example), I was outside, I was driving around, I could talk up babes (I was still a teen so that was a very high priority). Plus it was nice that little kids completely loved me; they'd wait patiently with their quarters clutched in their grimy little hands for me to come by each day then burst into nearly orgasmic screams when they saw me approaching.
• ...they'd wait patiently with their quarters clutched in their grimy little hands for me to come by each day then burst into nearly orgasmic screams when they saw me approaching. Dude! Me too! sorry...had to...
• Best job was reading scripts and books for ICM, a big Hollywood talent agency, and a couple of big production companies. Pay was for shit, but I set my own hours, and learned a ton about different genres and about storytelling in general. And got to see some of Hollywood's famous agency sleaze up-close. And got to read some cool stuff before it was actually published or filmed, e.g. the script for Seven, a script of The English Patient, the manuscript of Tim O'Brien's In the Lake of the Woods.
• Just re-read your FPP. Realized my comment doesn't really do much for you. Sorry; thanks for giving me the opportunity to have a nice little memory, though.
• When I was in graduate school I had a part-time job doing QA play-testing of computer games for Mindspring Software (which is now defunct, I believe). A bunch of us sat in a room and played video games for $10/hour and about the only job requirement was to keep a list of any bugs you found. Of course, this was 1987, and so we were playing on Commodore 64s, Atari 500s, Amigas, and so on.
• I was a prostitute at one point, and that was pretty rewarding. My heart wasn't in any danger, and my soul soared at least once every night... You should try it. For kicks.
• Barmaid in a gay disco. I will never have as much fun in an occupation again. Crap wages, fantastic tips, great hours, lots and lots of smiles and dancing. Not sure what that kind of excitement every night would do to one's heart condition...
• I worked three years as an office manager for a small violin shop. The owner also makes instruments which are played in orchestras around the country. She's a genius, but like many geniuses she's pretty disorganized. My job was to make her life as easy as possible. Not only was she good at what she did, she was a nice person and truly cared about her employees. I had the freedom to find the best way of getting things done and got to meet tons of interesting people. Learn basic bookkeeping and office skills, if you don't already know 'em. Find a small business whose owner you respect. Help 'em out for awhile. It's very rewarding to know you're actually being useful to someone, and you can easily see the effects of what you do.
• I've hated every job I've been in. My best was working in a betting shop, because the work was so mind-numbingly dull that I just spent half the time reading. I got through about a book a day, for four weeks. My mind expanded like whoah.
• You could always startup a dotcom, funded by nothing but venture capital. Then you won't need to work for a couple of years or so.
• well I guess my favorite job was being a stripper, but working in the hardware store was fun too, and less physically strenuous, re the heart condition ;)
• Roofer. It was hard work, but I was young and could take it. I was in the best shape of my life, had a permanent tan, and more money than I could spend. I left the job at 4:00 and it never even crossed my mind until 6:30 the next morning. Why yes, I am well on my way to a major mid-life crisis, why do you ask?
• That has got to be the first time I've heard somebody recommend roofing as their favorite job. I've worked as a cartoon illustrator for an educational company for the past six years, which was nice, especially at the beginning, but it has its downsides, and is ending soon besides. As far as temporary support jobs go, I may be strange, but I kinda liked the night shift. Interesting characters you meet.
• I dropped out of college for a while once, and hitchiked around a lot, lived on the street and in a tent in the woods for a while, worked low level-jobs and read a lot of books and explored the limits of, ah, neurochemistry if you get my drift. Learn how to live cheap and entertain yourself with your own thoughts and activities. Limit intake of mass media and maximize interactions with those whom society sees as marginal. Contradict yourself several times a day. Try dumpster diving. Go on nebulous half-baked crusades. Try to sleep in a different bed as many nights in a row as you can. Enter a foriegn country with no money and not speaking the language. If gay, try straight. And vice-versa. Learn how to shoplift, but don't get caught. Actually, that last one probably isn't so good with the heart condition.
• security guard ... most positions don't require being armed ... the pay's pretty low ... but you'll get to be on the inside of some places you wouldn't otherwise be ... and generally, depending on what site you go to, it's pretty easy ... in fact, i spent a great deal of my days reading and writing at some sites because there just wasn't anything else to do and unlike the other suggestions you've gotten, as long as you can pass a drug test, don't have a criminal record and present yourself conservatively, this is a fairly easy job to get and keep
• Best job ever? Census taker. I rode my bike to people's houses, had a brief conversation with them, and rode off. Everyone was pretty happy to see me, and people seemed to think that it was something really out of the ordinary to get "the census dude" all wasted. I got high with police officers, and ended up at two different birthday parties, having a blast. Alas, your next chance at that job is in 2010. Clear your calendar.
• We're most all of us prostitutes, Warrior. Most of us just get fucked figuratively, though. By the MAN!!!
• The musician idea I like, it might be fun to do that seriously for awhile. I get the impression though it's not an easy way to make a living unless you're really good. I don't know how much I could stand traveling with two or three other people for an extended period of time. My breakdown with most of these issues for me is the amount and quality of interactions with other people. The other idea I was playing with was maybe joining one of those organic farms that will give you a bed and feed you if you if you do work for them. It would be way more work than I've been used to, but I think its more the kind of work I'm looking for (except, I guess it won't help me pay my health insurance). My sister told me about it, so I don't have all the details just yet. I also like shinything and Shrik's ideas though. I just started working at a Safeway grocery store. I think I'd rather be a janitor in a public High School. Gonna try and get a job at the movie theater if there's a chance I can train to be a projectionist. Alnedra: I'm curious why you like being a reference librarian so much.
• FedoraUndershirt: I like people (in general), and I like learning stuff. When I sit at the Reference Desk, these two likings dovetail very nicely. Every query teaches me something (except, of course, those "Where's the dictionaries/toilet/exit" type questions, but even then...) There are other (more boring) details to reference work that are nice. Making up reading lists (both academic and leisure); doing library tutorials and tours (I have the dubious honor of never having a student fall asleep on me during a 45 minute tutorial). And generally trying to figure out how to make people's lives easier while they're here. The Reference Section where I work is also in charge of making signs around the library, the display boards and shelves, and also a level of collection development. It's all good :)
• Hey Fedora, there's some program here in San Francisco which is involved in planting native California plants in the Presidio (I think). (The Presidio used to be a big military base but is now a big park.) The compensation includes lodging in the Presidio (which is ultra-primo real estate). Time to flex your google-fu, if you're interested.
• Man, HawthorneWingo, I had a dream that you were being a dick on this thread (which, to my wakened mind you don't seem to be) and I spend a lot of time in my dream kitchen trying to figure out how to get back at you. I think this means I want to kill my father.
• Best job ever? Census taker. Wow, you had way more fun doing that than I did. Lots of people would refuse to talk to me or give me any information about themselves. They had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find full-time people to be managers (seemed like everyone who wanted to be working already had a job), and it showed. I think I quit after two or three weeks. Alas, I have no best job, as every job I've had has sucked in one way or another.
• HawthorneWingo: Shit, I'd be on my way tommarow if I had the money. I'm on the othe side of the country though and have about $40 to my name. That would've been good times..
• whoa Fedora, think twice about the organic farm deal (or at least talk to people who worked at the specific farm)... I did that and it was a total disaster.
• It's hard to recommend a job/career without knowing your likes and dislikes, inclinations, talents and interests, Fedora. When I was a junior officer, I worked part-time as a carpenter, and then in a bakery. Both of those jobs suited me, but they're not for everyone. What do you genuinely enjoy doing, and what do you want to work at in the future? Sometimes, though, the job isn't as important as the environment. Working in a field you love, but with demonic co-workers and bosses is stressful. Conversely, working at a meaningless job that doesn't hold your interest can be great if your fellow employees are decent, interesting people. If you do volunteer work, see if you can find even part-time employment with or through it: my wife became a grief counsellor after years of volunteer work for cancer and AIDS hospices, and we both have served on boards of directors in a few different not-for-profits. Don't think you need a particular related skillset, either: many nfps and charities are desperate for people who might be able to do some basic accounting, help with fundraisers or even clean and provide very basic office work (photocopying, stuffing envelopes, phoning members at renewal time, etc.).
• Coppermac's comment: "Conversely, working at a meaningless job that doesn't hold your interest can be great if your fellow employees are decent, interesting people." is good, but I would add that it's not the purpose of the job you choose to make you the passive receiver of blessings. If you invest some energy in making the job interesting to yourself, you might be surprized at how fascinating a seemingly meaningless job can be. Might not be one you'd like to stay in forever, but you can challenge yourself to succeed, you might find that you can move up to something more interesting quickly, at least if you can stay out of jobs where there is no way up (fast food comes to mind, since their business model assumes that all warm bodies are equal.) *Old fogey comment* I spent a lot of years in management and can still not believe all the new hires, starting in the 1970s, who sulked because the jobs they had signed up for, with full knowledge of the job descriptions, were the jobs that were described. They also complained that they didn't get promoted when they had not done anything but sulk. Look, I was mostly willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and to try to counsel them that attitude does count. Unfortunately, they seemed to have a sense of entitlement which wasn't matched by their skills or talent, and didn't seem to feel that a modicum of enthusiasm was necessary. On the other hand, I trained a raft of young whippersnappers who really wanted to do the jobs they signed up for with dedication and elan. They went on to jobs which had been denied to folks in my speciality in the past. Not all of them were ultimately successful in their first attempts, but they got great opportunities. And, I can't help but feel that they've found their places in the world, no matter how off-road.
• I'd like to do something simple like washing dishes, carpentry, cooking, shovel poop. I don't get along with people well, but I'd like to develop more relationships. Things that involve the kind of ambition path describes make me uneasy, although maybe I'm misunderstanding her. I don't want a job that depends heavily on how someone else thinks I should present myself.
• My intersets are all forms of art (especially film, especially animation, but I do mean all forms (except performance artists)), nature, mechanical things, religion (especially eastern), and free things (like movies and booze). I would also like to meet people whose lives bring them experiences my white, upper-middle class, American existance has not yielded.
• *existence - really, really sorry. Feel like I've been doing that alot...
• no offense intended
• Bartender! at a non-smoking bar (re: heart problems:))
• That has always appealed to me despite my caution toward the service industry.
• The service industry can be very rewarding (again, depending on the environment and place). Having waited tables in two places, I found that about 6 times out of 10, a smile and a cheerful attitude likewise made people very nice to me. And I got to talk to lots of interesting people during the slower periods. (caveat: neither place I worked in were MacJobs. They were a small eatery and the aforementioned teahouse)