Not to be all "Pollyanna" (sorry, Hayley Mills) about this, but how about the five best "real jobs?"

1. Teaching: Yes, there are asshole administrators and asshole parents and asshole school board members and every other school-type asshole you can name (almost invariably an adult)...However, there are students who, even when they are being assholes (remember your Senior year?), are still the least of the problem in schools. There is nothing like the feeling that comes over one when they see the light bulb go off over a learner's head when one has helped put it there. (Those of you who have experienced this know exactly what I mean -- I hope that you comment.)

2. Landscaping: Outdoors, sunshine, sweat, good workout. What else is there to say?

3. Cold-call marketing: Sure it smacks of Wall Street and Boiler Room, but where else do you get to hide behind a phone and say outrageous shit to people whom you will never meet, aside of prank calls, which are a felony?

4. Meals-on-Wheels Food Deliverer (or equivalent): Yeah, some of the people you deliver to can be depressing -- who can blame them? However, if you spend some time, talk to them, and remember their (and your) humanity, there are a lot of interesting people to meet and learn from. Oral history is a very powerful resource.

5. Actor. Having done "real" jobs all of my adult (and adolescent life), I can tell you that acting is a great (and "real") job. It is challenging, demanding, frustrating,
and exhausting hard work, but very, very satisfying and rewarding.

Tranfergirl,
I love it! We had this one kid--he was so cute, 3 yrs old. Not potty trained, but totally stole your heart. He had and older brother in the senior camp and you could tell he was the supprize with in his sibblings, if you get my drift, his dad was like 60! He would run around at 8am singing(no more like screaming in your ear) Kelly Clarkson and 'Pump It'. It was a sight, he had full dance moves to everything. I think there was something there too, some days he would be so out of it, we would actually get a little concerned. But he was the best! Watch I run into him in like 10 yrs. when he's with his friends and I'm like, "Your that kid from camp who sang kelly clarkson!" He would probably be totally mortified! I'll never forget him, he was the best, kept me laughing all day long!!!!

Try being an accountant that is an actor. You will make sense to no one.

UPS
Garbage Man
Postal
Bus Boy
Cashier

I baked and mixed dough for making bagels from 10pm to 8am ..... every day. It sucked when I had a matinee at 1pm and I had to drive an hour from baltimore to DC to get there. And then, after the night show..which ended around ten thirty, drive back to b-more and get to work until eight or so the next day, and do it allllll over again. I got no sleep, but, plenty of free jewish donuts! and I got to smoke a joint here and there.

More shitty jobs:
working for local rec and parks-lining baseball fields for little league games and dealing with the f'ed up parents tell you everything was done wrong.

and the biggest road block:

Just Ruining People's lives.

quote:

Originally posted by transfergirl:
There was the girl, who was 14 at the time, and something wasn't right. Didn't get a medical explanation, but there was definitely some sort of mental challenge there, which was probably why she was allowed despite the 12 year age limit. The girl ran like a track star. She was like a reincarnation of Forrest Gump. She was remarkably athletic and strong. She danced around like a gangsta rap video ho shouting, "RAISE THE ROOF!!" Eh, I think that's what she was saying, but I'm not familiar with whatever music she was listening/dancing to in her head and she had a speech impediment. And ah, the day when she ran around chasing and humping the other kids...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! ROFLMAO!!!!

[

quote:

Originally posted by actorgersh:

<br />2) Catering specialist employee: This was my first ever job and still ranks as one of the worst. I had various positions for this company that hosted and catered events including moonbounce attendant, hayride attendant, ponyride attendant (including cleaning up after them), and various cooking and serving jobs. Hated, hated, hated this job! I burned my uniform (which was basically a T-shirt) after I quit.

^I worked for a catering company for only a night (they needed extra servers and they were a friend of a friend) and it was NOT FUN. It ws for this Christmas dinner and we had eaten lunch right before we got there and they told us not to worry about bringing dinner or anything, that they'd provide it for us. They also provided us with shirts, which were all the same size- XL! Setting up was fine, and it was all good until we actually started serving- the people we were serving were really kind of rude... and their moods were not improved by the fact that, after we served about half the room, the guy who ran it realised, hey, we don't have nearly enough food! So he started cutting the other portions in half. Meanwhile, all of us servers are about to pass out because, whoops, they forgot about the whole feeding us part.
My sister was working the same tables as me, so when we thought one of us could handle all of the tables, the other would go into the lobby and take a cracker or two from the front table (they were appetizers for the guests).
We were there for about ten hours, I'd guess. We got paid good money, but it was just not a good experience, especially when you and your sister are only sixteen and fourteen!

LOL, basslake06, my mom's a respiratory therapist, and I agree it's not a very glamorous job!

And biglessmarvinfan, I agree with you (wow, how odd, on an actor's board, LOL)- I've only had a few "real jobs" especially when you exclude my acting jobs, but I have to say, it is definitely the best. Not just because I love it- or maybe because I love it- but because you work so hard and you see such great results (well, usually ). I love coming home exhausted from a rehearsal or a performance because I know I did my job. I remember my first professional play, during our first rehearsal, the director was like, "If you're not exhausted after every performance, you're not giving it your all." I was like, "Yeah, okay, but I only have one scene." It was later bumped up to two, but I still wasn't worried (I played one of the girls on trial in The Crucible who act like they're possessed). Opening night was a Thursday, and I was practically dead the next day in school... and I was so happy about it!

I worked at a bird store - a petstore specializing in birds. Cleaning bird cages is about the worst job in the world. The retail part of it was a total breeze. I longed for organizing and dusting shelves, sweeping the floors, helping customers, and answering phones. What sucked was scrubbing bird cages with bleach, trying not to get the bleach on my clothes, in the heat. And changing the paper's in the bird cages every morning. I'm not talking a few birds - a store filled with them, and a back room filled with them. Then distributing water to all the birds, and food, and putting the dirty dishes into the dish washer.... Oh my gosh. Not a good experience. Birds are lovely, but don't work at a bird store.

Fast Food (ANY)
Door-To-Door Sales
Telemarketing
Roofing
Septic Tank Repairman

Hooters Girl/All American Cheerleader - I almost got stuck doing this again the second half of the summer, but fortunately landed another acting gig. The money isn't all that bad, but warning guys ... WE HATE YOU!!!

Truck Stop Waitress - I did this when I was 17. You wouldn't believe how bad some of those men smell ...

Paralegal - I had an acting teacher who swore she would shoot any one of us who even considered doing this as a survival job. Apparently, they expect a bright, college educated person to do 90% of a lawyer's work for around 10% of the pay and expect you to spend nights and weekends at the office with no overtime for under $40,000 per year. My teacher quit/got fired when her boss tried to get her to come back into the office around 30 minute call on opening night when she was playing Kate in "Taming of the Shrew!"

Porn Retail - I have a friend who did this. Customers apparently make a lot of assumptions ...

Telemarketing - That's gotta suck ...

Based on personal experience
1. Bagging/Flora work- Dislike taking carts in during the winter
2. Waitress- "Give me some eggs!" dislike rude customers, especially if they don't tip when they have huge family gatherings.

---
3. Teaching- I hate to think that these kids are moving on, and I am still stuck at the desk.
4. Fast food
5. Garbage Man

quote:

Originally posted by miss stone:

- exotic dancer- need I say more?

I would never had known unless this thread was bumped.

Five jobs to kill your faith in humanity:

1. Corrections officer / prison warden

2. Slaughterhouse worker

3. Family lawyer specializing in divorce/child custody

4. Executioner - death row

5. Los Angeles parking enforcement

quote:

Originally posted by Mystique:

quote:

Originally posted by miss stone:

- exotic dancer- need I say more?

I would never had known unless this thread was bumped.

Hey, I'll say anything to keep 'em talking- doesn't make it true, peaches.

Telemarketer
Fast food cashier
coal miner
sewage plant worker
party clown