All the Jobs I’ve Ever Had

Loyalty means nothing any more, and my resume couldn’t be happier. I have a long history of job hopping and changing careers and that very rarely matters any more. The days of working at one company your entire career and retiring with a nice pension are long gone and I no longer worry about sitting in an interview trying to spin all the reasons I had for leaving boring, soul-sucking jobs with terrible managers. Corporations are not loyal to employees and employees should not feel loyal to companies that will lay them off at any time for any reason.

That wasn’t the case 30 years ago. And okay, honestly, that’s not the current case for me either, as I’ve ditched the miserable attempts to fit into the corporate world and have struck out on my own into poorly charted but exciting new entrepreneurial waters.

I’ve been working my tail off at real, paycheck-issuing, tax-deducting jobs since I was 15. That’s a little over 40 years if you want to keep count. I babysat and picked strawberries before I got my first job, like many teens where I grew up. In those 40 years I’ve been sexually harassed, paid less than less qualified male coworkers, and have enough stories to fill a book. I don’t want to write that book. That would be another sort of soul-sucking exercise, reliving all the terrible things humans do to each other. Instead, I’m currently writing a book about reinventing yourself when your resources are limited, and how negative past experiences can impact future realities in positive ways.

What does that have to do with all the different kinds of jobs I’ve held? It’s an interesting and useful exercise to list all of the different skills and talents you have when you’re trying to figure out how to do something new with your life, because very often you can build off the past or identify tangents to explore. You can do this with hobbies you have or had, your education and classes you've taken, and things you've learned on your own. Because I’ve had so many wildly different jobs in my lifetime I find that’s an easy place to start.

You should try it. I’ll go first.

All the Things I’ve Done For Money

Gas Station Pump Jockey – back in the full-service days. I pumped gas, checked and filled oil and tires, and washed windshields. I was the first girl to do this in my town. This job no longer exists in my state and many others.

Small Town Newspaper Worker – I drove the galleys to the printer and delivered the newspapers, worked in the retail office supplies side, made tear sheets for advertisers, and was the high school reporter, because I was still in high school.

Gift Store Cashier in a natural history museum and a high-end hotel

Bank Teller

Fish Processor – yeah, I cut the heads off salmon, stripped out their guts, and packed them for overseas shipment

Billing Clerk

Accounts Payable – I’ve had many jobs doing this over the years in all sorts of industries, from wholesale lumber and construction, to software and non-profits.

Law Firm Receptionist

Order Processor for a cold storage company – this job became automated a long time ago.

Data Entry Clerk – I’ve done this full-time and as a temp for, among other things, a brokerage firm and a manufacturer of a trendy brand of jeans from the 80s that no longer exists. This type of job, the way we did it, also no longer exists.

Receptionist at a Supercuts

McDonald’s cashier – I needed the money. I worked there one month, setting a personal record for shortest stretch of employment.

Sales Clerk at a boutique

Telemarketer – carpet cleaning and lightbulbs. I cringe at these memories.

AAA membership sales

Construction Accountant

Newspaper delivery

Assistant Controller

Staff Accountant

Field Administrator in Construction

Managing Editor of a national arts & culture website

Senior Accountant

Business & Operations Associate

I’m probably leaving a few out, but considering I started working in the days before PCs, I think I can forgive myself. It also leaves off some side hustles and a lot of part-time freelance work. So, what do I see looking at that list? As a writer I have breadth of experience to draw on. With a little training I could probably be a career counselor. No matter what profession I’m in, I am able to keep my books and do my own taxes, which is super useful. I have real-life stories I could turn into non-fiction articles or works of fiction.

Most importantly, I see that I should feel confident in my ability to pivot, adapt, and switch careers. Change is scary, but if you make a list like this you might see that you’ve done it more often than you thought and realize that you’re capable of handling it like a pro.