What's the worse job you've ever had?

[J.D.]

I had a job as an editor/proofer at a magazine publishing company a few years back (before I fell in love with the law), I loved the job and learned a lot. The one negative aspect of the job is that I notice every typo, every misspelling and every grammar mistake. I notice verb tense, unhyphenated adverbs....you get it. Oh, I notice everyone else's except my own and that's what makes it really suck.

[FinallyHere]

Not an entire job that was bad - just one aspect of one particular job.
During the summers while I was in college, I worked for the Port Authority of NY & NJ doing landscaping grass cutting, and general clean up around the roadways leading up to the bridges the the Port Authority owns. (BTW - the Port Authority operates the bridges, tunnels, airports and cargo terminals in the NY - NJ area. Also owned the WTC).

Anyway, One of the tasks we were often assigned was to pick up garbage/debris from the side of the road. It was usually wood or car parts and the occasional dead dog. One time, however, someone decided to dump several bushels of clams on the side of the road. This was on a Monday after the long 4th of July weekend during a heat wave. Needless to say, by the time we got there the clams were 'ripe'. We grabbed our shovels, pitchforks and other implements of destruction and tossed the clams into the back of a dump truck, getting covered with 'clam juice' and maggots in the process. When we went back to the shop, before we got cleaned up, we stopped into the foreman's office to ask him what him what else he wanted us to do. Remeber, we were covered in rotten clam juice at the time. Watching him gag and almost puke on his desk made it worth it

[LoneStarSpur]

I worked in a uranium mill back in the mid '70's. Hard, hard work...12 hour days. Big vats of acid. Nasty stuff.

Uranium is ugly looking. Really ugly looking.

-Randy

[Lucy]

Lucy, there was just a Dr. Phil on the other night with a woman who was horribly rude to wait staff and they made her be a waitress for a shift! I've never understood people who are rude to waiters/waitresses. And not just because they might spit in your food. Why do people have to get so high & mighty about someone serving them food? You don't act that way about a doctor, but you're still paying them for a service.

I've done a lot of manual labor jobs; I've done laundry for money, been a seamstress, worked in fast food, had demeaning secretary jobs. I couldn't say which was the worst, but I tell you something: in each of those jobs there was someone who had made it their life's work by circumstance and they were miserable. Thank God I'm not still sewing hundreds of polyester aprons, but I'm positive some of the women I worked with still are.

Exactly; a lot of the other wait staff where I was a waitress were doing that as their permanent job. I think everyone should have to wait tables once in their lives; it would make people a lot more understanding, not only of waiters but of others in service jobs.

[Glitternerfball]

I've got one:

Over the summer I worked ona documentary that will never air, because the director/producer is just satan spawn.

First off, he refused to pay people (except for me) fo anything, so he was being sued by numerous people and I got all there calls asking for money.

Second, he yelled at absolutely everyone! Even to people on the phone. He left his wallet in a cab once, then proceeded to scream at the top of his lungs at the customer service people for putting him on hold.

We had a researcher from Jamaica, sweet person I'm still friends with, who was originally supposed to research the civil war (He wanted to redo cold mountain, figured the casting was all wrong and could do a better version). However, he was also obsessed with rape and began asking her if it had happened to her, how she thinks it must feel, and wanted to add a scene of a 12 year old slave girl getting raped - when she told him 'no' he fired her, telling me she was too black, and 'not the good kind of black'.

Furthermore, he asked how I felt about our tech guy that I was friends with. I told him his is professionally good, then he asked if I'd go out with the tech guy, I told him that I keep things professional, and not to continue down that road. he said he understood, then that night asked me to stay late and fired the tech guy in front of everyone, screaming, refusing to give him his pay, and threatening to punch him and throw him out the window.

The next day I told him if that ever happens again, I quit. He told me that I have a medical problem, am too fat and he will pay for 'surgery' to help. I may have a little weight, but am in no way in need of any medical intervention, way off base on his side.

I'm in NY, and the day he said that was the day of the blackout. As if I wasn't stressed enough. I was one of the lucky ones who caught a cab, and was almost in tears. the cabbie was a sweetheart, we talked about it, he told me he wouldn't have even picked me up if I wasn't attractive, and after the 3 1/2 hours it took for him to drive me home, I had decided to leave this job, and the cabbie even gave me $20 to help out (sweet guy).

So next day, I go in, tell him I need my check in cash up to that point because an escaped convict is after me (total lie, but I knew he liked that woman in peril stuff) got the money and walked out with my sanity, and this story of the worst place ever.


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[Stargazer]

Wow, Glitter. That's awful. I'm glad you made a graceful exit from the lunatic.

[Igotalife]

I came in to talk about my worst job EVER as a waitress when I was 18 and someone beat me to it. Lasted only a month and never again. Had to wipe the condiment tops down before each shift, make sure all the sugars were facing the same way, salt/pepper shakers were full. Once I was late 5 minutes and had to end the day by filling ALL the ketchup bottles and I don't think I had a spot on me that didn't have ketchup on me when I was done (and tell that to an 18 yr old on a Saturday night!). That, and rolling napkins/silverware before every shift.

Add that to some rude customers, cheap tippers and I now find myself a big tipper to this day. These guys have it a lot harder than you'd think! Tip well my friends.

[Stargazer]

I have a tie for worst jobs,
It's either the first job I ever had, which was as a dishwasher in a resterant. This was before the dishwasher machines so it was done by hand in these huge sinks and you got greasy and wet and it was just disgusting.

Yech. I did that for a month when I first started at a restaurant (the manager liked to start everyone out in that position as a lesson in humility). Not quite like washing dishes at home, is it?

[hepcat]

I'm in NY, and the day he said that was the day of the blackout. As if I wasn't stressed enough. I was one of the lucky ones who caught a cab, and was almost in tears. the cabbie was a sweetheart, we talked about it, he told me he wouldn't have even picked me up if I wasn't attractive, and after the 3 1/2 hours it took for him to drive me home, I had decided to leave this job, and the cabbie even gave me $20 to help out (sweet guy).

That cabbie really earned his wings that day.

What a horrible, horrible boss. I'm still freaked out about the girl he was grilling about rape. And putting you down and trying to humiliate you - that's one of the warning signs of an abusive person.

Glad you got out of that situation safely. That guy sounded way to angry to be safe.

[Lucy]

I think you win the "worst boss ever" title, Glitternergball. Glad you're safely out of that insane asylum.