Tag Archives: Work History

Work…in Progress?

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What jobs have you had?

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My work history is rather short, but I am currently in the process of adding to it.

While I search for a new job, I may as well speak about my previous work and remember better times.

My first job was as a doorman at a dance hall. On the weekends of my senior year in high school, I would ride my bicycle to the local Masonic Temple. The business owner rented the facility to host his DJ work. I would help him set up the sound equipment and then I set up a station near the entrance to collect entrance fees.

For my work, I received a portion of the proceeds from the event each night. I usually spent the money on my ride home each night. I would stop at the grocery store and buy a computer magazine, something to drink, and a sandwich for my dinner.

The ride home was around 11pm and the town was completely dark except for a few street lights. I knew my way around so this wasn’t a great issue. The traffic lights couldn’t see me in the dark so I would just ride through all the red lights or I might take a shortcut through the lagoon park.

This was my first job and I recall the time fondly.

While not quite a job, I did join a trail crew for the summer just after graduating from high school. The other members were an eclectic group of similarly aged people from around the county. The trail crew was led by older volunteers I think. I recall getting homesick and leaving the program partway through only to regret the decision and ask to be reinstated.

The trail crew was a stopgap. I was not looking forward to attending college after high school. It seemed ludicrous to go from school, which I didn’t enjoy, to another school right away. I was looking for an alternative. The trail crew was one option. The next option that I went with was applying to the Job Corps service.

I completed two vocations and attended a little college while attending the Job Corps Center in Astoria Oregon. After that, I moved to North Carolina and I got a job working at a pharmacy chain local to the Carolinas.

I got burned out working there and sort of fell to pieces. I couldn’t work for the next 2 years and eventually went to vocational rehabilitation and received counseling.

There was a short period when I worked as a Maintenance Technician for a local business owner and did lawn care, pool cleaning, and groundskeeping work for him. I also cleaned out rental houses and did some restoration and painting work.

After that short summer job, I applied to and was hired at another pharmacy. I worked there for a little over a year before injuring my back. I didn’t take the injury seriously enough and left it until my whole leg began to seize up.

I was fearful of reporting the injury at work. I had been reading horror stories about workers being mistreated by that employer on Reddit and this clouded my judgment. I made an excuse to my boss and resigned to focus on my recovery after that.

Two more years passed before I was able to walk properly without a cane again. Thankfully I was able to get employed back at my old job again and I happily returned to working at the pharmacy.

I kept working there until 2020 when I decided to return to school to get a college degree. Now I am one class away from graduating. I bought a car and now I need to find a job to pay my bills.

The job hunt has been difficult, but I will continue to apply to whatever is available. Hopefully, I can get something that aligns with my degree.


That’s all for today. Thank you for your time.

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