Today is my last day of work!! Scary, but I’m also kinda excited. It seems like the last day of school and I feel a little lost, like I should have a yearbook for people to sign or something.
In honor of my last day of work, I thought I’d put together a post about all of the jobs I’ve held since I started working at age 15!
- Build-A-Bear Workshop (age 15). Build-A-Bear was the only store in the mall that would hire 15 year-olds, so I jumped at the opportunity to get out of the house and make money. I was fired after a little over a year–apparently I missed a mandatory meeting because my parents took me to my Grandparents’ house over the Thanksgiving holiday. Pshh I didn’t need them anyway.
- Rave Motion Pictures Movie Theater (16-17). I actually really loved this job, even though I was an usher and just cleaned up after other people. I didn’t have to deal with customers, got free movies & popcorn, and was promoted to a supervisor position! I totally let the power go to my head though. I was fired after I badmouthed a manager (behind her back) in front of other employees…she overheard me and I got the axe. I wasn’t getting off to such a good start in my working life, huh?
- Teen Assistant for a Writing Camp (15-18). For a few weeks every summer, I was an assistant at an all girls writing camp. My job was to encourage girls aged 8-12 in their writing. It was one of my favorite jobs by far that I ever had.
- Writing Center Assistant, then Tutor (18-21). My freshman year of college, I started working in the writing center at Drexel, scheduling tutoring appointments for kids to get help with their writing. I eventually became a tutor myself where I met two of my bridesmaids, Lea and Jess!
- Screenwriting Camp Assistant (18 & 19). Drexel held a camp for highschool students looking to learn more about screenwriting. I did it for two summers as an assistant and an RA.
- Video Equipment Room Assistant (19). I checked out video equipment for my fellow film students.
- Maid (19). Yeah, that’s right. I was a maid. I answered an ad on Craigslist and went to this old German gay dude’s house to clean. Smart, I know. Anyway, the guy had paintings of naked men EVERYWHERE around his home, made me count in German before he would pay me, and had fuzzy handcuffs chained to his bed. I only went three times before I quit. SUPER creepy.
- Wedding Bartender, Jeffery Miller Catering (19-20). I went to bartending school at the ripe age of 19–before I could even drink myself (legally). I got a job as a bartender for one of Philly’s largest catering companies. It was HARD work setting up for weddings! I was so oblivious to wedding culture at the time though, I rarely paid attention to the bride, groom or wedding details. I came, did my job, barely noticed what it was FOR, and left.
- Intern, Humble Journey Films (20). When I went to LA for my 6 month internship, I found two jobs and thought I was hot shit. I quit this job after three weeks. I worked for Eriq La Salle and he was probably the biggest douchenugget I’ve ever met in my whole life–oh, the stories I could tell about him! On my first day, Don Cheadle called the office. I had to answer the phone, having never answered phones at a job before.
Me: “Humble Journey Films! How can I help you?”
Don Cheadle: “I need to speak with Eriq”
(Eriq isn’t in the office and his assistant is on the phone. I panic)
Me: “I’m sorry, he’s unavailable at the moment, may I take a message and have him call you back?”
Don Cheadle: “Yes, this is Don Cheadle, have him call me.”
Me: (Jawdrop) “I’m sorry, what was your name?”
Don Cheadle: (veeery slowly and patronizing) “DOON CHEEAAADLLLLE”
Me: “Okay, of course. And can I have your number?”
Don Cheadle: (silence) “He has it.”
Me: “Okay, thank you, have a nice day!”
I about DIED. And then I had to tell the assistant who had called. She cursed me out like I’ve never heard before in my life, so angry that I didn’t forward the call to her. I thought I was going to be fired then and there on my first day. It was humiliating. I have SO many stories from just those three weeks…oh, it was bad.
- Intern, Fortress Features (20): This was my other internship while I was out in LA. I read scripts that would come in and wrote summaries of the good ones to pass on to my bosses. One movie I recommended actually came out a few months ago with Jake Gyllenhall called “Source Code.” My company didn’t pick the script up, but someone else apparently did! Anyway, this job was okay, but my bosses didn’t really ever try to connect with me. I hated the “too good for you” attitude that was so rampant in the film industry (Don Cheadle, anyone?). After my two internships, I realized that LA life just wasn’t for me.
- Grateful Dogs Daycare (20): Since my two internships were unpaid, I got a third job working at a cage free dog daycare while I was in LA. Here is where I learned almost everything I know about how to handle and train dogs.
- Sniffles and Friends Dog Walking (21): When I got back to Philly after my internship, I started my senior year of college. Since I had the experience working at the dog daycare, I immediately got a job as a dog walker. It was awesome. Flexible hours, I got to see inside rich people’s houses, and it kept me active. Loved it.
- Marketing Assistant, Greater Media Philadelphia (21-23). I worked at five Philly radio stations for a year and a half in the marketing department. I did mostly web work, managing content for various sites, and I put together sales recaps for the salespeople. Really amazing perks to the job, like meeting celebrities and going to free concerts, but there was no room for growth and I wanted a bigger challenge.
- Web Specialist, Stonhard Flooring (23-24). I’ve been here at Stonhard for a year and a half now. My main job was to redesign their website, which I had no experience doing before I got here. I worked it out though and launched their new website, so I’m proud of the work I did.
Wow!! 14 jobs in just under a decade. Overall, I feel good about the experiences I’ve had working for most of these companies since I learned a lot from each opportunity. I was a hard worker throughout college and highschool, and I think it definitely led to the success I’ve enjoyed in the “real world.”
Have you held a number of odd jobs? What’s the strangest job you’ve ever held? I’d have to say the strangest one for me was being a Maid…followed quickly by my short stint at Humble Journey Films.
