The worst job you had before becoming a Nurse?

allnurses Guide · Mar 25, 2016

Probably the very worst job I had before I became a nurse and I have had some crappy jobs was being a Dog Warden in Oregon. That's fancy talk for dog catcher. The catching wasn't so bad and I got to carry a gun as I was a sworn peace officer, but when we had to kill dogs -sometimes 10 or 15 a day (by lethal injection) it was the pits.

Hppy

beckster_01, BSN, RN · Mar 25, 2016

Strawberry picking. It sounds happy and fun because... Strawberries! But it is really early, hot, messy, and buggy. And depressing because the migrant workers are MUCH better/faster! I guess that is the difference between making pocket money and supporting a family...

Dogen · Mar 25, 2016

While in college the first time I sold cellphones in the mall. I was always trying to sell people the neat phone - you know, the best camera, or the one with the interchangeable body shells (remember Nokia faceplates?)... but my bosses wanted me to sell people the expensive phones, plus the warranty, plus an extra line, plus text messages, plus roadside assistance, plus a bundle of accessories that were worth less than the box they came in. I constantly felt like I was cheating people, but if I wasn't cheating them then I was getting in trouble with my bosses... and then there were people who would come in with a 5-year-old phone that they had run over and expect me to replace it for free.

I had an on-duty cop (in uniform, with a gun) slam something or other down on the counter and scream in my face because it was the wrong model or color or whatever.

There was never a single good day at that job. Though, being 18 and working in the mall - surrounded by stores where cute girls work - wasn't so bad.

Farawyn · Mar 25, 2016

Worst job- Text chat operator. Not bad until the owners started ripping off the bonus $$. The only saving piece was that you worked from home.

Did anyone from Howard Stern ever call you? Those were awful/hilarious! :blink:

CardiacDork, MSN, RN · Mar 25, 2016

I've only had one job before becoming an RN and that was working at a low class grocery store where someone paying in cash/credit/debit was a rarity. Learned there that you can live off the government and afford fancy phones and Michael Kors bags. :Shaking my head:

allnurses Guide · Mar 25, 2016

I've only had one job before becoming an RN and that was working at a low class grocery store where someone paying in cash/credit/debit was a rarity. Learned there that you can live off the government and afford fancy phones and Michael Kors bags. :Shaking my head:

Soooo many of those folks at Dollar General, as well.

Saddest day was when a very nice lady came in with her kids. Her assistance card was declined. The look on her face was devastating. She was able to find enough cash in her pocket for bread and baloney... and that was going to be their dinner that night and maybe the next.

She was one of the few who you knew was struggling and you could tell by the way she dressed, though the kids were dressed as nice as she could manage.

THAT is what government assistance is about and the ones who abuse it should be ashamed, but you know they're not.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Mar 25, 2016

I've only had one job before becoming an RN and that was working at a low class grocery store where someone paying in cash/credit/debit was a rarity. Learned there that you can live off the government and afford fancy phones and Michael Kors bags. :Shaking my head:

Some of those "luxury bags" are paid from "off the truck"...just sayin'

OrganizedChaos, LVN · Mar 25, 2016

The worst job I had was working in a grocery store. This was when I was a teenager but it was miserable.

I lived on an island that is a popular tourist spot during spring break & summer so the grocery store would get *packed*! There would be lines alllll the way to the back of the store & of course the customers always thinks they're right, they're not. I would get yelled at for everything under the sun. Not to mention the punk kids who would steal crap.

klone, MSN, RN · Mar 25, 2016

Telemarketer for a video dating service

Guttercat, ASN, RN · Mar 25, 2016

Concession stand cashier at the movie theater. This was way back when they didn't have cash registers at the stand.

Customer: I'll have two medium buttered popcorns with two pumps extra butter and two large popcorns with no extra butter and one small diet coke hold the ice and three large cokes and one Milk Duds and two boxes of Good n' Plenty's and three Ju-Ju-Bee's and a rabbit in a hat with a half-side order of balls of newt.

Me: Yes, sir. That'll be, uh, OK how does $24.50 sound? I threw in $.50 because of the extra butter.

djh123 · Mar 25, 2016

A 'consultant' (programmer/analyst) with a former 'Big 8' accounting firm. They sucked, and they thought I sucked. I worked hard, but I never fit into their little fraternity and vice-versa. I was only in my mid-20's but they nearly gave me a stomach ulcer + had some sciatic pain... went away after I quit. Surprise surprise surprise.

brandy1017, ASN, RN · Mar 25, 2016

Worst job was a word processor for an insurance company. Ironically it had won some award for being a great place to work, but for the clerical staff it was really a pink ghetto where we were watched like a hawk with quotas to meet and being forced to compete with your coworkers basically printing out mindless form letters where your speed, your errors and your quotas were being monitored and once you reached one quota they simply raised the next quota. My fingers would ache at the end of the day and I only worked 5 hours a day! Thankfully I came to my senses after six months and resigned and found a much better job as a ER admissions clerk. I would say that was my best job, most fun, no stress, interesting, laid back but couldn't live on the wages.

Nursing has enabled me to buy a house, travel, enjoy hobbies, help family and give to charity, but unfortunately at the cost of my health and peace of mind. There are shifts that make my word processor job seem downright pleasant, sad to say! At least there I wasn't being hit by crazy demented people, bombarded by endless alarms and ruining my back and body moving morbidly obese people!