All the jobs I've ever had

[marydell]

Consideration of all the jobs Homer Simpson has ever had has inspired me to try to list all the types of work I've ever done.

Before I turned 16, I wasn't legally allowed to work for pay, but I liked working so I did a bunch of stuff:

Substitute paper delivery person (cash)
Film projectionist at the public library (volunteer)
Babysitter (cash, starting at $1 per hour when I was 11)
Comic-book shop stock clerk (paid in credit)
Comic-book shop cashier/buyer/general person (different store, still paid in credit)
Falafel maker (the guy who ran the Lebanese takeout place by the comic store would let me help out with cooking sometimes. Also taught me to play backgammon)
Catsitter

Post-16, pre-college, most of my jobs came via my professor parents networking on my behalf. I was home for a couple of summers of college and those jobs are included here too:

Babysitter (one summer I looked after 7 babies on a regular rotation)
Burger King, cashier (already knowing how to work a register saved me from working in the kitchen)
Filing clerk, University archives (my professor dad and mom would hook me up with jobs)
General staff, University Law Library
Secretary, University admissions office

College & Grad School (thru age 24)

Stagehand (minimum wage to work on opera sets. Coolest job I ever had)
Secretary, Journal of American Philosophy, or Psychology, I don't remember (10 cents or so over minimum wage)
Editorial Intern, Journal of Victorian Studies (for school credit)
Bindery temp (putting glue on things in a warehouse with no AC. Quit after a few days)
Research assistant
Writing Tutor (another cool job, working at the university writing center)
Babysitter (my fallback career!)

Chicago (age 24 to now)

Technical writer (Ameritech, Sears)
Secretary/temp (Ernst & Young)
Data Entry temp (Ameritech)
Help Desk (SBC, IRI)
Programmer (IRI)
HTML Developer (Arthur Anderson)
Help Desk (again) (current company)
Writer/Interviewer (freelance gig for 3d graphics company)
Artist (freelance work, pays enough to cover most software costs, but nothing more!)
Sysadmin (current company)
Manager (current company, current job)

Comments

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

You've been a very busy bee. It looks as if your career path has been pretty linear, though, and focused.

[marydell.livejournal.com]

Hm, I don't know if that's sarcasm! I've had very little focus, actually - just a desire not to be bored at work, and not to be broke. When I left grad school I thought I'd make a living as a proofreader or editor, but then I discovered that knowing how to use a computer is an actual skill, and so I started developing that.

I'm kind of at a loss now, because I've hit midlife pretty hard, and don't feel that I'm using my gifts well, even though I've been successful. If the adoption doesn't work out I'm planning to go back to school for a graduate degree, although I'm not sure what in. If it does work out I can postpone the whole crisis for a decade or so!

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Not sarcasm at all. It looks as if you've had some direction. And have been moving steadily upwards and always learning.

[marydell.livejournal.com]

Well, I've always had a lot of drive. "As if a demon was at your heels," as my husband says. But my direction has mainly been away from something, which is effective but not as satisfying as working towards something. So now I'm trying to figure out what I'd like to move toward.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Away from something is generally towards something else, even if the latter is not always defined.