I've had some pretty awful summer jobs. I used to actually temp during all breaks in high school and college, so I've really seen it all.
Probably my worst job was when I was told to stand on a platform several stories up, and chainsaw the wood I was standing on. Umm... I'm no genius, but isn't there a chance that the platform I'm standing on will no longer be able to support my weight? There was absolutely no safety equipment or harnesses, let alone a hard hat. Plus they gave me no training with chain saws. It's the only time in my adult career that I've completely refused to do a task. They brought in some other temp to do it, and I went back to my other demeaning tasks. (No word on whether the second temp survived his assignment.)
I've done every form of demolition and light industrial work known to man. It was pretty unfair being a temp: they'd give the girls the cushy jobs, and the guys would all be forced to work construction or "light industrial". When you called the temp placement office, the first question would be, "Do you have steel-tipped boots?" Man, I can type 100 words per minute - give me the cushy desk job! But alas, it was not to be.
What's the worst summer job you ever had?
Comments (19)
i do nail fo five dolla dolla dolla
Modeling for an underwear/sportswear fashion line - inside a freezing mall!
Denny's Dish pit.
Enough said. Yuck!
I've never worked a bad summer job...
but I DO feel bad for those people wearing bear costumes outside of A&W..Better be wise next time you choosing your summer job or internship jobs.
Fireworks stand. Currently working there right now, and just about to leave to get there. Every day is 11+ hours, and it's a 7 day a week job. The only electricity available is for charging credit card machines and for the lights, and if I need to use the bathroom, I gotta completely close up, run to the nearby Weis, run back, and reopen the stand. I get back at 9:30 at the latest (12 hours after I leave for work) just to sit on this chair for a few hours then go to sleep for the next day.
Plus side: sacrificing my social life for a month for a $10.00 salary and working no less than 78 hours a week is, in the long run, pretty awesome.
Other Cons: I don't get the fireworks; I have to pay for them out of pocket. When it rains, the stand leaks a little... <<
@vashts6583@xanga - wow, do you get overtime?
Not having one.
Worst and best job of the summer; working at a landfill on operating and working on heavy machinery. Working 60-70 hours a week in nothing but heat and sweat...not so much.
The money every week though, it was almost worth it. For sure.
I worked at a Dairy Queen (not just in the summer though), and it was miserable. I mean, I know a lot of jobs suck, but a job at Dairy Queen, Rita's, or any other ice cream shop gets progressively worse and the hours get progressively longer as the days get nicer. That was the torture of it all. Imagine coming in for a shift at 3, looking forward to close at 10:30, but still not knowing how long it was going to take you to clean up. It could range anywhere from an hour to two and a half to clean up after an average summer night at DQ (we also did have a grill too, so that added to it). That was definitely breaking some child labor laws..I had way too many hours at 16.
Plus, at the DQ I worked at, they didn't follow labor laws at all. I usually worked six days a week from 3 to..whenever we could get out, and the only time I ever had a break was because I had a migraine, which caused me to need to go to the bathroom and vomit. Not exactly pleasant conditions. Not all Dairy Queens are like that, but mine, unfortunately, was. I quit before this summer started though. I don't think I could handle another one.
I never had an official summer job, per say, but I did work my families firework stand during the summer. Sounds like fun right? Sounds like a hoot, telling people all about fireworks, testing the product, shit like that? NO!
People hated dealing with me cuz they'd ask what something does and I'd tell them "It goes up, it blows up." I said that about everything. Even sparklers. I'd have to haul heavy boxes of fireworks from the wholesalers to our stand. I'd have to stock shelves. It sucked. And all the while I'm doing this, my dad is yelling at me to hurry my fucking ass up cuz there were more customers who needed to be dealt with. All that for like, two hundred dollars.
I still help out now during the summer, only difference is, I get promised money that I never actually get. Fuck my life.
@immaairheadxl@xanga - best answer.
Sorry I am one of those women with an amazing desk job.
@yourblondeness@xanga - LOL ><
Seriously having tits pretty much assures you get an easy job. well if you're a girl that is if you're a man with tits you still get the shit end of the stick. and no one enjoys yer man tits either. its kind of a lose lose.
My worst job is also my first job; McDonalds, because the pay is sxxx.
@bob@xanga - No overtime, but 3K in about a month while I'm still in school is worth it. It'll also help me get a... real job... eventually.
Working at a gas station was both alright but also quite a pain.
It was mainly alright due to the people I worked with, they were awesome.
All summer you sweat your ass off, in a rush everyone's going crazy and getting pissed off because you're tending to three other cars and a large monster of a truck that all want fills and they're tired of waiting for you.
All winter you're frozen, no matter how long I sat infront of that tiny heater the feeling would not return to my hands, feet and face, though the rest of me is sweating and assisting me in getting sick.
Not to mention I got robbed as well haha.