How many paying jobs have you had?
 

I was thinking back to my first job as helping the school janitor in 6th grade after school. Since then I had 16 jobs before the job I considered my career job. Each one so different. Being in college, divorced and raising two toddlers I wasn't choosy, I took what was offered. From poultry plants, to motel auditor, to newspaper editing and everything in between. LOL I look back on those jobs now and realized how much each job enriched my life with experiences I'd never get anywhere else. Those jobs experiences cinched my dream job later on. I taught my kids never underestimate any work or consider it beneath you.

I have never counted the number of jobs I have had, but the most unusual one was scrubbing Geoduck necks.

Geoducks, pronounces gooey duck, are large clams harvested off the BC (and I am sure other) coast. The necks are very big, I cannot politely say what they resemble, they are removed from the body, scrubbed on spinning brushes, the tubes cleaned out, then flash frozen and shipped to Japan. It was the only job in my life that I quit because I did not like it. I was cold, wet, I had an eczema breakout on my hands, but the last straw was one day being told, after I was dropped off, that there was no work that day (4 mile walk back home) and the next being expected to work an 18 hour shift with no notice. There was no place nearby to get more food, as I had only packed a regular lunch, not enough for an 19 hour shift.

Good for you Onebyone! Let's see how many paying jobs...
1. Wendys
2. B.Forman Co-sales associate
3. Goodtime Charlies - busgirl --> waitress
4. JJ Finnigans - waitress
5. Ground Round - waitress
Became a mom - not paid with cash, just precious moments and memories
6. Local hospital - tech
7. Same local hospital - Nurse

So I guess that makes 7 paid jobs in my life so far. Just about to turn 46...

Berry picking
peeling cascara bark
baby sitting.
All by the age of ten.

a lot of company policies over the years ticked me off. A few I quit over. But it can never be said I had a boring work life. For my Tibetan Oracle exercise I came up with sixteen different paycheck job types. And if I run across anyone who is obviously experiencing first day horrors, I always tell them they are doing a great job.

along with those I also volunteered 4 years at the pet shelter, and many times for Red Cross blood drives and cancer wigs for the American Cancer Society.

This topc is under Recipes?

That is one crazy looking clam! Wow!
sandy

I have no idea why. LOL It should be moved.

Beautician - got fired
Beautician at another place, quit after I turned someone's hair green (this was in the late 60's and not the trend back then)
Wig stylist, better suited for that
Toy's R Us, before the store opened, that was a hoot
Cost Plus, before the store opened, they put me in the coffee mug department, but I kept breaking the coffee mugs
then they put me in the crystal ware (wine glasses, etc.) that didn't go so well either
Jenkle Davidson, where I helped people pick out glasses
Sold crafts at craft's show
Sold house plants at plant parties
Secretary for a gentleman that was a beast to work for, that didn't last long
Typist to a gentleman to write his memoirs and then he died
Care giver to a really very wonderful older lady, then she had a stroke and died
Owned a business that sold police, fire and postal uniforms
Assistant property manager to 12 shopping centers
Secretary at Longs Drugs for 15 years until they were taken over.
Finally decided I had had enough and retired.

14 jobs, and that doesn't cover the little jobs, like cat and dog watching and being paid for that

It's nice to see the work ethic many of us had in growing up. We were willing to do almost any job if we wanted to earn money.

I had a variety of jobs starting out as a cashier at the Music Center (in the parking lot below the theaters) in Los Angeles (which paid for my college education) to finally what I enjoyed most: running mainframe computers.