What job did you have in college?

[Dragnov]

I need a job. Well I don't really NEED a job, but I would like to get one. Thing is I'm a college student so I can only work certain hours and for so long, I don't have a car, and I don't have much working experience.

I've worked as a tutor, database entry, and did some computer repair work. Like most anandtech members I know lots about computer hardware... building, taking apart, fixing, etc. Whatever. We're all geeks. However, it seems like I can't get a decent job anywhere. I will NOT work in fast food, clothing sales, etc. I wish to be able to use my technical knowledge such as in repair, electronic sales, etc. I've applied to several of the retail electronic stores such as CompUSA and Best Buy and such, but with no avail. What angers me the most is that most of the workers there know very little about this stuff and I KNOW a peron that got hired that knows essentially nothing about computer products.

I've thought of getting the A+ certificate but it seems like it won't make a difference. Theres nothing local enough for me to work in the technical field that would look halfway decent on a starting resume. I'm wondering. How did you get your first job in college? What was it? and etc.

 

[TallBill]

hehe, i got a vball scolarship... volleyball is my job

 

[Modeps]

welp, i had 2 jobs at my college at 2 different times.

my first, i worked as a graphical artist, helping out with websites and such... the job blew, not enough work... so i left.

my second, I worked for student activities as a technician. we would do everything from setup tables, and chairs for events to setting up and running the sound equipment. We also were the crew to setup stages and equipment for any live band that came... we did Third Eye Blind andThey Might Be Giants while I was working there. It was pretty cool... Too bad 3EB really REALLY sucks live.
heh.. but I enjoyed the job quite a bit. plus the hours were very flexible around my class/girlfriend schedule.

 

[Axman]

I and a couple of buddies opened a bar/nightclub in the local hotel called the "The Gold Room" the building was not being used so the owner let me open it up , got a beer/wine license and got a couple of local bands to play, it didnt go to well at first but after I got a couple of pinball tables, foosball and a Pool table things started to pickup. I had lots of fun doing it and also made a few bucks.

 

[spaceman]

Job?I busted my hump in the summers and saved every penny i had.....worked out well financing my binge drinking for the semester!

 

[Midnight Rambler]

First time around at college I worked as a bouncer in a popular bar near campus (UC).

Second time at college I got smarter, I went with a co-op engineering program.

 

[rudder]

Got a job at the local airport fueling planes. It was not a busy airport and very fun. Met some great people and ended flying B727's because of it. I also have the fond memory of fueling a p-51, p-38, and b-25 bomber.

Are you going into the IT industry? Maybe find a small company that cannot afford a full-time admin or tech person and offer to work part-time. Great experience.

 

[Athanasius]

I did concrete work to get through college. It paid better than just about anything else I could get at the time. It was a small company that focused on removal and replacement of curb and gutter, removal and replacement of sidewalks, storm-drain structure construction, and a little bit of new home construction.

Many of my co-workers were alcoholics, drug addicts or dealers, or ex-cons. They also were a great group of guys to work with. What I remember most is working a 95 pound jackhammer all day.

It taught me to appreciate both my college education and those blue collar workers who adapt to hard physical labor.

 

[pcmodem]

Yo,
Worked for the college during the school year as a computer tech and also worked in the libraries. The library jobs were great, would work 2 hour shifts 5 times a week and most of the time you are free to study at the library desk. Just pick an obscure library that doesn't get a lot of students.

Of course, if you want to meet women, work at the Art History library!
-PCM

 

[Megatomic]

When I was in college, I was an instrument tech working in fossil fuel power plant. I also did some DCS and PLC programming.

 

[prodigy]

Cheerleader Masseuse

 

[rmblam]

<< I did concrete work to get through college. It paid better than just about anything else I could get at the time. It was a small company that focused on removal and replacement of curb and gutter, removal and replacement of sidewalks, storm-drain structure construction, and a little bit of new home construction.

Many of my co-workers were alcoholics, drug addicts or dealers, or ex-cons. They also were a great group of guys to work with. What I remember most is working a 95 pound jackhammer all day.

It taught me to appreciate both my college education and those blue collar workers who adapt to hard physical labor. >>




No doubt.

I worked at a construction company also. I started out driving delivery trucks. These were not ordinary deliveries. I had to handle 16 foot OSHA plank, up to 8 foot steel concrete forms, 80# bags of cement, drywall..... you name it. Heavy stuff.

On a whim, I rode along with one of the mecahnics who was going to take his CDL: commercial drivers license exam again. So , I took it with him, never thinking I would pass since I studied on the way over there. I passed and he failed again which was good for me because I bacame responsible for hauling the heavy equipment to the job sites. That was a lot less back breaking, for sure. It was fun driving and hailing all the backhoes, forklifts and such.

I remember some my finger joints locking from abuse and strain. I knew I had to get out of that crap.

My brother is a cement finisher. I see how beat up he is for his age and I somewhat regret he did not do something else like I did. He does his job well and enjoys it though.

I also worked as a cook before I landed the better paying construction job. I don't miss the heat of a sweaty kitchen.... I never went hungry though. I started out as a bus boy. The head cook took a liking to me and taught me short order cooking. I eventually took those skills and got a job at a more upscale restaurant preparing more involved dishes. Still somewhat limited stuff though; not like on TV. My favorite was breakfast. We made a cool fluffy omelet that would puff to about 6 inches thick... I learned all my flipping/tossing skills there. No spoons or spatulas for mix.


Oh yeah, back to original post.

During college the work you do is for the money not usually for your resume. It is tough enough to find something that will fit around your schedule. The computer related market is not looking so good right now either.

Good luck.

 

[Fausto]

Chugging beer and nailing sorority chicks, of course.

Oh wait...you said "job" not "hobby"....my bad.

Seriously though, I worked part-time at a local bike shop. I was on the cycling team and therefore wore out/broke a lot of stuff so it worked out well as I was able to purchase stuff at cost. Handy when you're a starving college student.

Fausto

 

[Pakaderm]

Worked as the System Admin for the campus Recreation Center. There were about 25 computer and one server. Once I got it all hooked up, there wasn't much to do. I spent a lot of time at work (20 hrs/wk) surfing the web and working on homework assignements. It was great, and the staff thought I did a lot of hard work because the system ran smoothly.

-Pak

 

[bunker]

Worked at a furniture store doing deliveries. During the summers at home I worked at a country club kissing member's behinds making mad tip money!!

 

[j0lly]

I just got an email telling me that I have a job at the computer lab for $7/hr.

 

[SnoopCat]

what is ur schedule this fall?

 

[blakeatwork]

working at Costco.... no discount, but a decent wage..

 

[LiQiCE]

I worked 3 different jobs in college ... 2 of them were for the same "division" of my school just different jobs ... All had flexible hours that worked around my schedule, so I would work 1 hour here, 1 hour there ... My time sheet looked nuts though ... Might want to see if your school has an Information Technology or similar department ...
the 3 jobs I worked were ... Information Technology Network Technician, I.T. Senior Desktop Support Technician, CSAM (College of Science and Mathematics) Technician ...

All of them paid pretty well (in the range of $6-9 per hour with wages increasing for working there longer) ... Not too bad if you just want to get a couple of hours in per week ... I typically got 10-20 hours in a week with basically no real limit to how much or how little I could work and it was great experience for me before I got a "real" job.

 

[mrchan]

tech support for the poli sci dept here at uc davis.

 

[miniMUNCH]

I worked in college...here were my jobs:

1) asociate R&D plant technican/engineer at Hunt-Wesson...you know Hunt's ketchup and Wesson corn oil...

2) mechanical design auditor for Hunter Engineering...boring job checking mechanical drawings all day long...

3) formulation chemist at Dunn-Edwards paint company

4) assistant operations engineer for Alkylation and Sulfur/sulfuric acid plants at Tosco refinery in Wilmington, CA...by far the most job I've ever had

Now I've been out of college for two years: I'm a process/control sys./validation engineer for a pharm company in SoCal. Not quite as fun as the refinery but still very rewarding. And there is tons of room for career growth...I just received my second promotion...I'm now only two levels (in terms of pay and rank) below Director level personnel in the company.

I would say go into pharm if you can...no matter your degree...the money is good and there is a lot really interesting work...also, the industry as a whole is definitely growing fast.

 

[Aelus]

I beg my dad for money, then i spend it on useless stuff, then i beg for more.

that's about it.

Aelus

 

[CronicallyImpared]

I work at a liquor store, and I even get a discount!

 

[Electric Amish]

I've been working and going to college for nearly the last 10 years.

I started out working the counter at Hardee's.

Then I got married and worked normal jobs and went to school at night.

amish