The Disposable Teen Syndrome

After a rollercoaster week, the non-resident teenager is once again employed but it has gotten me thinking and chatting with friends about the various and assorted jobs all of us have done over the years, many as a teenager. My daughter has been the victim of the disposable teen syndrome herself...rather than work out any problems, employers often simply choose to fire teenagers as there are 10 more looking for the job, failing to think about how that casual firing might affect the youth they let go. Often they are supporting themselves, such as my daughter is, with debts to pay, or are attending college, or helping parents out at home, or simply saving for something special, such as a trip, or a car and then the rug is pulled out from under them one day as they are told not to return to work for one reason or another.

So that got me thinking, as I said, about my varied employment history...it is lengthy as it is varied...so I'm going to try to recall all of the jobs I've had in my life, for pay that is.

1. pin setter in a bowling alley (before automatic resetting pins)
2. babysitter (who hasn't don't this?)
3. short order cook at a bowling alley
4. cashier/floor clerk at the military px
5. cashier at a carwash/gas station
6. cashier at a gas station
7. road crew for road repair ( hated this job, didn't stay long!)
8. labourer - church renovations
9. labourer - medical clinic construction
10. dishwasher at a flight kitchen
11. line worker at a flight kitchen
12. labourer - house construction
13. paid commentator for CBC Radio (once)
14. casual building superintendant
15. on-call superentendant
16. office assistant - married student housing office
17. waitress/short order cook at on-campus bar
18. research assistant (political science)
19. seamstress in the wardrobe department on-campus
20. research assistant (english)
21. prep cook at East Side Mario's
22. inventory worker (taking after hours inventory)
23. invoice clerk at the Dare Cookie factory
24. temp clerk at a law office
25. recepetionist at a meat packing plant
26. exports clerk at a meat packing plant
27. financial services assistant at an insurance brokerage
28. office assistant for local college
29. social worker for CAS
30. social worker for F & CS (currently)

I think that's all I can remember...of course, the interviews are another list...interviewed for many more...the most exotic location was Belize City, Belize, in 2004, for a job in the Northwest Territories.

Anyone have any interesting employment stories?