If you've been anywhere on social media recently, you've probably seen the hashtag #FirstSevenJobs floating around. It's an interesting exercise to look back at where people got their start, and how they've worked their way up in life. Of course the internet has pretty much agreed that no one can top Buzz Aldrin's list (or have a jump quite as impressive!).
So of course I decided that I needed to think back on my first seven jobs too! The only problem is I'm not 100% on the order of them. I'm pretty sure at one point I was working my #3, #4 and #5 job at the same time, so I can't remember which of them actually came first.
1. Babysitter
I babysat for 3 kids, all of them under 5 years old. The mom was a nurse and would work 12 hours shifts, which meant that I worked 13-14 hours shifts. And got paid $3 an hour for it. The best (I use this term loosely) part was that they lived just up the road from my house, so when their house filled with smoke because I didn't know how to work their wood stove, my dad could drive up and save the day haha.
2. Seasonal Help at Spates the Florist
I worked here with Danielle and Miranda for a couple of holiday seasons. In the months leading up to Christmas, the florist would hire a bunch of people to help build wreaths, center pieces, and other random holiday decorations. This job was the most physically taxing of any job I've had. You'd stand with your arms out and they'd load wreaths on them until you were about to collapse. I'd go home every day sticky with pine and smelling like Christmas. But boy did I ever feel like I'd earned that paycheck every Friday! The best part was working with my friends, though. It didn't matter that we were tired and had a ton of work to do - we were being paid to hang out together every day!
3. Technician at Vermont Interactive Television
Nepotism at its finest! This was where my dad worked, and he trained me how to work the cameras and equipment so that I could tech the late night classes and he could go home. My favorite part of this job was reversing the split screen during breaks so that it looked like the students had switched seats, but in reality I'd just swapped cameras.
4. Cashier at Charlie Potatoes
First off, Charlie Potatoes was a clothing store (named after a dog). I worked mostly Saturdays, although I think I occasionally worked a few days after school as well. It wasn't the busiest store, (despite being on Main Street) so I did a lot of homework, and played fetch with the store cat, CC. Best part of this job? When the store eventually closed, we adopted the cat and brought her home to live with us. Also, a random fact from this job: This is where Raina told me that she was pregnant with my nephew Miles!
5. Newport Elementary's Out of School Program
I'm not sure if this counts as more than one job or not. I was a tutor at the after school program where I watched the kindergarten and first graders, and helped them complete their homework. Then during the summer I was a one-on-one assistant to a girl with developmental disabilities at the morning session of the program. In the afternoons, I was a counselor at the same summer program. So anywhere from one to three jobs? Best part is all the stories I have from my time here. Everything from the kid who ran away from me by climbing the fence around the tennis courts and refusing to come down, to the time I had to help a boy that ended up with a fishing hook through his nose.
6. Dietary Aid at Newport Health Care Center
Really fancy way of saying I worked in the kitchen of a nursing home. And it was HORRIBLE. It was hot, with no AC, and we had to cook a lot of liquid food for the residents. Which was disgusting and inedible, and always came back uneaten. Which I then had to clean out of the bowls, because I was also in charge of washing the dishes. I'm only now getting over my aversion of eating oatmeal as a result of this job (and I still can't do the really sticky stuff). Best part of working here was probably that I got to wear scrubs to work, but I definitely didn't see it as a positive at the time.
7. Materials Receipt Assistant in the Print Department of Snell Library
My college resume lists my tasks as "operate computers and utilize software to keep track of journals" as well as "process government documents." What I really remember was sitting at computers playing games until the mail came each day, at which point we'd update the system for new magazines that came in. It wasn't hard, which was perfect because it was a work study job. My only goal here was to earn my work study money as quickly and painlessly as possible. With that in mind, the best part of this job was that it paid the maximum allowable work study hourly rate ($7.75 if I remember correctly), so I had to work fewer hours than alternative jobs in order to make my $1,000 per semester.
I really don't have many jobs after this. I think besides working as an actuary (which I've been doing since I was 19 years old), the only job that isn't accounted for is working as a TA for the Mathematics Department at Northeastern University. Only an important job because it cemented the fact that I did not want to be a teacher once I graduated.
Your turn!