I has a freelance job where I had to do Line drawings of a sex toy.
That was an intresting gig. It payed good though.
Ha good thread, I think I got some interesting additions:
Middle school: movie editor, mowed lawns
High School: Lobster fisherman, fish clerk, Bike shop gopher
College: Gym attendant, cafeteria dish washer, pipe laying tech (dug ditches), Art Supply store
I worked at a Camera Store in the photo lab, good for learning about what a big difference slight adjustments to pictures can make.
I worked for the US Postal Service as a robot, it was actually a great opportunity because I was able to listen to music and books all day while typing zip codes. It gave me some forced time to think about nothing else but whatever was in my head. I kind of miss it, but I do think remember times when I could sympathize with people who “went postal.” Actually while I worked there someone went postal in california at a building that did the exact same kind of work as us. I couldn’t really blame her.
I was an Au Pair in Switzerland, which is when I got to see more design than ever before, and decided that’s what I wanted to do the rest of my life.
Thank you for clearing that one up 
Oh yeah, that can get very technical!
mine: worked for The Man[tm], head projectionist for HUGE cinema chain, minibus driving instructor, worked in a bookshop (very Black Books), designed cheques for financial institutions, 999/Emergency Services Operator, Tarot Card Reader and cult novelist.
Well I thought I would chime in too.
I worked at various restaurants from being a dishwasher to being the head cook. It is all about presentation. Really is an art. Obviously the food should test great as well.
I also framed houses for three years. Having the knowledge to build a house is worth a lot. One of the most rewarding experiences I have had. Hardwork and sweat but creating shelter for someone is a great feeling.
I only shot myself once with the nail gun. I was nailing three roof trusses together about thirty feet up, Just had one more shot to go and I sort of aimed the gun back at me a little bit and it shot through the backside of the truss and it went into my knee hitting the knee cap but not sticking in.
My boss looks up at me and says, “You either have some barn paint on you or you zapped your leg.” Nothing a little duck tape couldn’t fix.
I did a stint at UPS too. I had way too many shitty jobs in college. Each one had something to offer though. You learn something from everything.
Hmm…
Stored-Value Card Top-Up Operator - “10 dollars added!”
Tree Measurer - descended into tropical forests to measure every single tree/sapling with diameter >1cm, for documentation/field study of growth of trees through their girths.
Painted the walls of the radiation lab at my university (still had 4 kids anyway)
Night watchman at trade shows (paid to sleep)
Darkroom tech for campus photographer (great experience!!)
Assorted small freelance drafting projects (got a taste of the real world)
First design job - designing clocks. The design manager had never been to design school and I had her job a year later. I was at the right place at the right time and never looked back…
12 yrs culinary, mechanic, tour manager small rocknroll bands…
went door to door trying to sell rocks to my neighbors (this was not a lucrative business, despite a nearly endless supply of cheap product)
paper route
pushing carts at the local supermarket
cashier/produce guy same supermarket
used book store
best buy
drove a truck delivering high end appliances
back to best buy, traveling to new stores to prep them for opening
Health food store
Started college/worked as a tutor/TA and delivered pizzas over the summer for two years and in construction the third.
Got recruited by my current company the day before graduation
worked in an interior design workroom for 10 years. did a little of everything they could do
sachristan, etc for my church for the four years of highschool
worked for the science department of my highschool preparing curricula, book orders, etc
mailroom at my university
referee and field maintenance at a paintball field
nightclub security/barback
gogo dancer/performer/promoter, same nightclub
temp machine operator at a paper slitter
coop at toy company (project management)
started a fire performing troupe. still doing this on the side
coop at defense contractor (manufacturing engineer)
weekend/evening shift at local supermarket
coop at PD consultancy (development engineer)
wanted to be an architect since 4th grade. moved to ME in late middle school thinking either automotive or aerospace design. working in toys introduced me to ID, and I knew what I wanted to do from there on.
Elementary School:
helped out in the family’s furniture store whenever I could
High School:
operated rides at a family amusement park
managed an IMAX theatre (Never put a 17 yr old in charge of a multi-million dollar venue!)
worked for the city’s Parks & Rec dept serving hotdogs at a concession stand
College:
spent a summer working in restaurants at Disney Land
worked as a server at several different restaurants near the college campus
held two design internships
bartender (best job ever!)
Post College:
Bartender
Designer (finally!!)
Set bindings in a ski rental shop during high school.
During undergrad, summers interning at IBM (part of scholarship package), interning at a local architecture firm during the school year (what first convinced me that engineering is less interesting than design).
After graduation, 3 years in East Africa as a high school science teacher and technical trainer, then 3 more years teaching science in a NYC prep school (about as different as two high school teaching gigs can be, but I’m still hard pressed to say which was more difficult).
Interned at a materials consulting firm and substitute taught during grad school.
Design work ever since.
This is fun,
as a kid, I traveled a lot as my dad was a smuggler.
after that I helped him keep bees and sell jars of honey. I hate bees to this day.
I cut grass for quite a few years, which today I think I would almost pay someone to let me cut their grass. When else do you get to drive a little tractor around in circles in the yard for three hours and not get arrested or committed.
in high school I worked at a:
gas station
cheese factory
sandwich shop
tavern
supper club
In college I was a janitor for a summer,
A secretary for two years, really not a bad job at the library.
shop technician
wood shop instructor I feel for the guy who shot himself with the nail gun, I stuck my finger in a jointer, not a pleasant afternoon in the ER.
I did some freelance work in design.
I was a firefighter for two and a half years in college as well.
now I’m working at an engineering firm.
lots of jobs, most of them have been a lot of fun. NEVER WORK AT A CHEESE FACTORY!
Cool topic.
In high-school I inherited some really old dark room equipment, experimented with B&W developing in a make-shift darkroom (with no ventilation; I can still smell that stop bath). Sold a bunch of blurry prints.
Did my stint at McD’s for a few years, paid for various Art College habits. Got five stars!
In Newcastle I served shooters and cocktails at a swanky bar. My first black-shirt-required job. Left before they went topless.
Graduated, went to Germany, drove a huge truck for 5 months. Also used it on the weekend for shopping.
I’ve spent the last 10 years of my life working professionally as a software engineer. I’ve worked for a whole bunch of companies but I am now on my last legs. I no longer have the passion or the drive to be a programmer and I sure as hell don’t want to be a manager. My creativity can no longer be bound so I’ve decided to retrain. Next year in March a I am going back to school to study Industrial Design.
-t
Wow I never thought his would get this many hits. Keep them coming.
who would be topless? you, the patrons, or someone else
R
I dug this one out of the archives. I thought sense we have so many new posters it would be cool to see what kind of rowdy rebels they were before ID.