Why People Bother Getting A Job

[gunnss]

I have no problem with robot Lego wars, it is just that such training will not keep the power on for the controllers, when some drunk has crashed in to the power pole.

I have engine generators that need cat walks on them to reach the controls, my main power bus is 480 volts at 10,000 amps, the whole system is a DRT equipment. Dead right there, it will kill you if you let your attention wander.

Real skills, we need them.

Regards,
Kevin (Gunnss)

[BaldEagl]

I'll bet no one here's had as varied a rollercoaster ride as I've had in my working career.  Hold on to your hats:

Seed Salesman - When I was very young I sold flower and vegetable seeds door to door from a catalog company for prizes.  Mom bought most of them and I'm not sure I remember ever winning a prize.

City Labor - Teenage outdoor summer work to earn a few bucks.

Bass Guitarist - In a band all through high school.  Three piece core with periodic additions.  Guitarist/Lead singer's father/accountant ran the business and we got monthly balance sheets and P&L's.  Free beer for under-aged members playing the bar/sorority/fraternity circuit.

Forest Service Labor - Work study leading to college.  They'd fly us into the Boundary Waters canoe area via Beaver float planes on Monday morning and fly us home from a different lake on Friday afternoons for the weekend.  During the week our three man crew built and maintained campsites and portages, canoed white water, fished, camped and relaxed.  Best job ever for $4.50/hour.

Janitor - I left for college and needed money.  It took two hours to do the job and I got paid for four and could do it any time as long as it was done once a day.  Perfect college job.

Janitor - Not sure how/why I ended up in this one but it was taking care of a Sears store.  I left for lunch at noon my first day and never went back.

Junk Mail Delivery Guy - Paid by the piece door to door.  You could make decent money with a good route (closely packed homes) but those bags were heavy loaded up.  I, of course, got the route through the most expensive, most widely spaced homes in the city on occasion.

Record Store employee leading to Record Store Manager - I left college for this job.  My best friend hired me.  It was destiny.  I left after a heart to heart with the owner.  There was no where left for me to go and I wanted more.

Record Store employee - Got an opportunity with a multi-location shop with a chance to grow until my old boss bought them out.

Warehouse Employee leading to VP of Sales and Marketing plus Director of IT and overseeing manufacturing and shipping (and anything else that needed to be done) - Music and computer software distribution company.  I was on a role; big bucks, stock options, executive suites.  I married my secretary and exited the company.

Owner, Record Label and Entertainment Marketing Company - Well, company is a misnomer.  It was just me.  I made good money in marketing but spent it on the label.  My wife made me go back to work after two years to actually make money.

Sr Marketing Manager - Moved to NY and ran the internet unit for a major retailer.  Maybe the most fun job I've ever had.  Back to big money, stock options, meetings at Goldman Sachs, private planes, etc., etc.

VP Business Development = Great concept company trying to intertwine TV with the Internet.  I was primarily a liaison with the entertainment industry.  Investors pulled the plug after distribution wasn't secured.  Most pure money I've ever made but the fun was fading.

Sr Operations Manager - Multi-location boat and RV dealership.  I was a fish out of water from both an economic scale and an industry background perspective and didn't last long.

Sales Manager - Consumer computer and golf show promoter.  I'd moved from NY to MN in the midst of a divorce with no where to live and no job so had to take the first thing that came along.  This was a cash business preying on the lowest common denominator in terms of both attendees and vendors.  It made me feel dirty.

Sales - This was with an company that drummed up leads for Fortune 500 companies.  I learned a lot about a lot of different industries but the owner was raping the clients and it all ended with the great recession.

Sales - After over a year off I went to work for a Fortune 500 financial services firm doing sales.  The work is satisfying and I like to think I'm helping people but the pay and the atmosphere are crummy.

I may have forgotten a few along the way.  I'm also not sure why I keep getting these sales jobs because I'm really not that good at it.  Mom?  Marketing yes, operations maybe, sales; not so much.

I've moved around a lot.  Done a lot of different things.  Been a laborer and an executive.  Made money and not made money.  I see the benefits of a steady course in a more stable line of work but life's a journey.  Embrace today for what it is.  Tomorrow will happen tomorrow but, a word to those in their 30's and 40's; you're likely in the peak earning years of your career.  Save now because you don't know what tomorrow will bring.

[JVboob]

My goal is a stable retirement. With what I currently do (OK D.O.C) I fall under a 20year retirement plan. If I do my first 5 years in uniform (officer) then I can change career paths and maintain my 20 year plan and also gain experience in another career field. I will retire from working for the state at the age of 44. I can still start a second career at that age and by 65 be rolling in dough. Or land a job with great paychecks but cruddy retirement and just have fun with the big bucks and do that till im burnt out and am ready to truely retire.

Start planning young keep your options open and have something to fall back on. As a youngster I was always told this. Any of these old farts will agree with me on this.

[shppr01]

I started working at the ripe old age of 7 shoveling horse manure. I have driven truck,driven a forklift, worked as a dept manager , was a chef for twelve years and finished my career as a shipping manager.. I say finished because I came down with Diabetic nerve pain so bad that I cannot walk . I have Guilliam Barre Syndrome, Arthritis in both knees and severe back problems .. Just last week my doctor told me it is not if I am going to lose my feet it is when I am going to.. I have been on disability for five years now and it sucks. I was always working . Working hard every day. I was a good employee, at least I thought I was. I would rather work right now than anything else . I can not afford real food and am unable to take care of my family like I want.

  So with all that said, Please be thankful for every lousy job you all have. You never know what is in store and I really hate to see any of you end up like me. My life is not what I expected but I am making the best of it . That is all I can do.

[xbrit]

I worked a factory job for almost 2 years. It was a joke. The place was a joke. The management was a joke.  The insurance was a joke. The union was a joke. I'm 6'4" with scoliosis and there were so many times where I had to run punch presses that were too awkward for me to sit at and with very stiff pedals. For 10 hours. Tried seeing if a doctor would talk to them about it but the doctor just gave me bills.

I have no friends outside of my house. I don't know anyone, haven't known anyone, moved around with my family all my life, my back keeps me from lifting too much too long, so no one wants to hire me. Tried getting into college but there was no way I was going to afford it, especially without a job. Probably couldn't even with one.

A lot has happened since then and now I'm unemployed. My brother recently got a job at a Kwik Trip and they seem like great people to work with, unfortunately right now I'm the only one who can drive people around from home when they need to, so for now I planted my bellybutton at home to take care of my disabled wife who's on SSI.

Not much to complain about. I get to see my wife and play games pretty much all day every day. Sometimes I feel guilty about not working, but then I remember just taking care of my wife should be something to be proud of. Not to mention how hard it would be to get a decent job in the first place.

Similar kind of thing as you Mar, I had a decent job with good pay and lots of overtime but stopped doing that so that I could spend more time with my disabled wife. The worst thing for me was I started working part time retail, the first position I had did have insurance for part time workers but when I found a position with my present employer they didn't, so when a full time position became available I had to take that to be able to get treatment for diabetes and other ailments I have.
So now I'm working almost as many hours that I used to work but in a job that doesn't pay anywhere near as well, being well over fifty now though it's almost impossible to get a better job in this area so I try to make the best of it. The Manager I work for is very good at giving me time off for my wife's Doctors visits which are quite frequent over the last few years( on top of her disability she was also diagnosed with breast cancer), we also like to travel doing "Bucket List" trips so I can't complain about the job too much and it was self induced that I took the step down.

[SysError]

I started working at the ripe old age of 7 shoveling horse manure. I have driven truck,driven a forklift, worked as a dept manager , was a chef for twelve years and finished my career as a shipping manager.. I say finished because I came down with Diabetic nerve pain so bad that I cannot walk . I have Guilliam Barre Syndrome, Arthritis in both knees and severe back problems .. Just last week my doctor told me it is not if I am going to lose my feet it is when I am going to.. I have been on disability for five years now and it sucks. I was always working . Working hard every day. I was a good employee, at least I thought I was. I would rather work right now than anything else . I can not afford real food and am unable to take care of my family like I want.

  So with all that said, Please be thankful for every lousy job you all have. You never know what is in store and I really hate to see any of you end up like me. My life is not what I expected but I am making the best of it . That is all I can do.

 

[SteelyDan68]

I work at a Gas Station, 4 nights a week... 12a-8a... After being out of work for a extended amount of time, I took it because being unemployed, sucks!
Been there 13 years. I could write a Book. Would I take back anything by working at this place? Not on your life.