The worst job you ever had?

[Brainonska511]

H.S. a company that stripped and painted planes. No protective gear. Nice exposure to chemical strippers and MEK. Owner went to jail for the hazardous waste pond behind the hanger.

Look at the government picking on that business owner. All he was trying to do was make a buck on the backs of his employees' health and the environment.

The "worst" job I ever had was probably bring a supermarket cashier. Some customers were absolutely miserable people and take it out on the cashier.

 

[highland145]

The "worst" job I ever had was probably bring a supermarket cashier. Some customers were absolutely miserable people and take it out on the cashier.

Should have worked in low finance. The customer is always wrong unless I screw up.

 

[rh71]

In HS and college for part-time, I mostly did only data entry and so it was cushy by most standards. Listen to the walkman while you work. Completely mindless and decent money ($7.50/hr when most were making $5 back then). But this one job I decided to try in college on the night shift was so bad I didn't last 3 hours. I quit right after my first shift. Can't handle a full day of school and then mindless keyboard mashing for hours straight at night. I'm in IT now so I've never done retail or significant physical labor jobs.

I mow my own lawn and can't imagine doing that all day like these guys do.

 

[purbeast0]

Toughest was when I was working at my grocery store job over summer time in college and decided to work at Best Buy for 30 days so I could get a discount on a bunch of home theater shit, then quit on my 31st day. It was tough because I was working like 50 hours a week on my feet, just very tiring, sometimes working both jobs in the same day. But I saved like $3k or some shit due to the BB discount.

Worst job was my 3rd one out of college, where the company of my second company lost the contract I was on. Since they had nowhere to put me, I ended up going with the new company that won the contract. It was apparent very quickly that they won because they only bid the lowest. They had no clue wtf they were doing, and I was out of there after like 6 or 7 months.

It was a huge turning point in my career though salary wise, because I was a key person, and I declined their initial offer that basically matched what I was making, and ended up with a $29k raise overnight for basically doing the same exact job working on the same exact software.

 

[Majes]

My first job was at a used book store. I started doing data entry for them which was fine but super boring. Then I was moved to their warehouse to work boxing and un-boxing books all day. We would sometimes drive to people's homes to load up boxes and boxes of books. This was better for the most part, but it absolutely destroyed my back. I would come home from work and have terrible back cramps or spasms. This lasted for a summer. It wasn't a horrible job, and to be honest I no longer have any back pain since it strengthened my back so much.

I also had a factory job packaging mail where I learned it was possible to sleep standing up...

 

[nakedfrog]

Worst was working on an assembly line, making clutch cables for motorcycles (and a few shifts working on sunroof assemblies). Only made it a few weeks.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Worked at Wendy's in 1996.
It was fucking hell.

I was 16, in hgih school, and on the swim team, I was available to work until 11ish on weekday, or, any time on Sunday.

They called me in more or less every day, they kept making excuses to try to get me to stay until 1 or 2am. the pay was shit, the work was horrible, got treated like shit. So, after a few months, I left and got a better job elsewhere.

 

[SearchMaster]

I never really had a bad job. I worked fast food for like a month (BK), but I didn't quit because I hated the job, I quit because I wasn't getting enough hours. I was paid minimum wage ($3.35/hour in the 80s) and getting a check for $20-$30/week was hardly worth the trouble.

I didn't hate being a busboy at Red Lobster for a couple of summers either. It was pretty hard work (speed was very important and the kitchen was hot) but I liked the people I worked with and all things considered, it was an ok job. The worst part was the smell that would get in your clothing.

 

[Guurn]

I worked as a Nursing Assistant at a total care old folks home. Most of the people on the floor I worked had alzheimer's or parkinson's. This was my first college job, it was just outside of Chicago. I had to walk to work around 1.5 miles. Not a big deal unless it was pouring rain or doing that slushy snow thing Chicago gets. I can't tell you how many times I cleaned poop off the walls and watched a resident walking down the hall leaving a trail. Mostly I cleaned up after and fed them. It had it's upsides, free jelly sandwiches and juice. It did teach me patience. I made $4 an hour.

 

[lxskllr]

Worst job was the bakery, but that's only by default. I've done three things in my life, and delivering papers doesn't really count imo. I've had some shitty projects surveying, but time has dimmed the pain. A contender would be topoing coal piles for quantity. Topo sucks anyway, and walking up and down big ass coal piles makes it worse.

 

[Ns1]

telemarketing immediately followed by door to door sales. Only reason door to door sales isn't #1 is because it paid damn well for a 16 year old.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Worst as far as impact on my life - Walmart 3rd shift. Just couldn't sleep during the day much at all.

 

[Darwin333]

Flat roofing laborer... during the summer... in New Orleans.

It would still be my worst job even if it didn't end with me getting 3rd degree burns over 1/4-1/3 of my body from molten roofing asphalt that landed me in the burn unit for 3 months.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Flat roofing laborer... during the summer... in New Orleans.

It would still be my worst job even if it didn't end with me getting 3rd degree burns over 1/4-1/3 of my body from molten roofing asphalt that landed me in the burn unit for 3 months.

Ugh I can't even imagine doing that type of work. If there is one horrible thing it's having to work in crazy heat. My grandpa went to the Dominican Republic for a contract job for a few weeks. Surface mining I think, in the sun. +40C if hotter. I don't know how he did it, he's tougher than I am. Super good money though, so it's a nice gig if you go in for a short contract but man that would murder me. Not only the heat but the sun burn omg. I can't even imagine.

That's one thing that kinda sucks it seems mining is moving more towards open pit now. If I was to do mining I'd rather go underground.

 

[purbeast0]

It's pretty easy to avoid sunburn if you're in the sun all day. Just wear stuff that covers you. People do it all the time. They even make clothes with that very light material that is even SPF rated. I have one I use to go fishing when out in a boat and it's great. It is really light and keeps you pretty cool.

 

[Red Squirrel]

It's pretty easy to avoid sunburn if you're in the sun all day. Just wear stuff that covers you. People do it all the time. They even make clothes with that very light material that is even SPF rated. I have one I use to go fishing when out in a boat and it's great. It is really light and keeps you pretty cool.

Then you sweat like crazy and suffer in a different way, can't really win.

I usually put SPF 60 but that's here in the north. I'd probably have to go into triple digits if I went south.

 

[lxskllr]

Then you sweat like crazy and suffer in a different way, can't really win.

I usually put SPF 60 but that's here in the north. I'd probably have to go into triple digits if I went south.

Gingers don't belong in the sun. As a mid Atlanticer in posession of a soul, the sun doesn't affect me. I get a mild burn in the spring, and that's it. All day on the water, or in Dubai would probably be different story, but in temperate America, I don't get scorched.

 

[Chaotic42]

For one year I was the News Director, Sports Director, IT person, and had two or three part time board operator positions at a radio station. I was scheduled 75 hours per week, working every day. I had three days off (including holidays and weekends) that year. I was making something like $6.75 per hour.

Radio is fun, but writing stories about a small town I wasn't from, taking calls from retirees and shutins who have nothing better to do than call the radio station, having to attend local board meetings and interview people on the street... Definitely not that great.

 

[lxskllr]

Radio is fun, but writing stories about a small town I wasn't from...

Holy shit! Garrison Keiler posts on ATOT!!!

 

[purbeast0]

Then you sweat like crazy and suffer in a different way, can't really win.

I usually put SPF 60 but that's here in the north. I'd probably have to go into triple digits if I went south.

You don't sweat anymore in those types of shirts than you would without one. I'd almost argue you sweat less because you don't "feel" the sun as much. The last time I went fishing in the Florida Keys I was out there in a tank top initially but had to put on a long sleeve shirt to cool me down. I stayed with that the rest of the trip.

 

[John Connor]

Working at a plant that made drywall. Cleaning the rock crusher while it was running, cleaning the ovens which you had to crawl into, greasing 7 miles of roller belt on your knees and, rock dust totally destroying anything you wore.

I can't imagine.

 

[John Connor]

U.S. Navy.

I almost joined the Navy. I actually thought of being on a Sub, but the recruiter was very honest and straight up told me you don't want to be on a Sub.

I guess hot racking and being in a tube would suck. But I would love to be in intelligence or radio communications.

 

[OutHouse]

17 years old, needed a job so took one on the receiving dock at a Target store. had to unload 2 trailers a 8 hour shift, The trailers would come in crammed full of lose boxes. sometimes we had to use a forklift to open the trailer door. we had to unload each box put it on a pallet for what ever dept it was going to then we had to print off the contents of the trailer then use a pricing gun to price each and every fucking item. and if you make a mistake do the people on the floor correct it? no they come and bitch at you and you have to fix it. most of the time the mistakes were paper work related we priced the item to what the massive print out said to but something changed and the receiving db never got udated. sound ok until you have to fix 2500 cans of something or 150 clothing items using that handhel tag gun that you stab the clothing time with to attach the tag. THEN you have a new that just backed in...

i lasted 3 months and just walked off. couldn't take that shit. and at the time target treated their employees worse than dog shit. i had a 20 year boycott on them

 

[Ns1]

17 years old, needed a job so took one on the receiving dock at a Target store. had to unload 2 trailers a 8 hour shift, The trailers would come in crammed full of lose boxes. sometimes we had to use a forklift to open the trailer door. we had to unload each box put it on a pallet for what ever dept it was going to then we had to print off the contents of the trailer then use a pricing gun to price each and every fucking item. and if you make a mistake do the people on the floor correct it? no they come and bitch at you and you have to fix it. most of the time the mistakes were paper work related we priced the item to what the massive print out said to but something changed and the receiving db never got udated. sound ok until you have to fix 2500 cans of something or 150 clothing items using that handhel tag gun that you stab the clothing time with to attach the tag. THEN you have a new that just backed in...

i lasted 3 months and just walked off. couldn't take that shit. and at the time target treated their employees worse than dog shit. i had a 20 year boycott on them

At the ripe age of 16 I worked at Target - first as a cashier, then as a glorious cart attendant. Yes, the dude that goes around and collects carts from the parking lot. Cushiest job ever - plenty nights where I would party all night long, sleep in the Target parking lot, and then go straight to work.

 

[OutHouse]

I worked for an absolute bitch once, the job was fine but she was an absolutely horrible boss and I have never been happier to get laid off from a job in my life. I used to scan the obituaries to see if she had died because that would have made me smile. My first job was washing dishes in a supermarket deli. That job was preferable to working for the evil lesbian. God I hated that miserable bitch.

We had a CIO who was great in the interview process and got hired. 6 months later she was walked out. she was a total total total bitch. upper management got a ear full daily about this person and finally the CEO had enough to justify a firing and did it (pretty sure it was the outright lies she got caught in on many occasions). god damn that was a happy day, 4pm that day the IT dept met at the volleyball court the company had on the property and did shots and poured a few on the ground for the 6 AWESOME TALENTED people who quit because of her.