Oh, The Places You'll Work

Remember when you were young and you pondered what you might be when you grew up?

If you've ever read Mercer Mayer's book WHEN I GROW UP you might find yourself smiling as you remember all the things you aspired to be, both realistic and not.

Perhaps your list went something like this....
"When I grow up, I want to be a Mom and a Princess, and a Nurse, and a Teacher, and an Artist... and your list went on and on.

In reality, you didn't really know what you wanted to be - I mean who really wants to commit to just one thing? And, what if what you want to be doesn't pay the bills?

In the past, you found a good job with good benefits and you stayed there for life. Luckily, for the indecisive, this is no longer the case.
According to askville.com, the average person stays at one job for 4.1 years and will have 7-10 jobs in the course of their life.
Sometimes we don't just change jobs, we change careers completely!

I always enjoy hearing about jobs my parents or grandparents had.... so, if for no other reason than to document where I have worked, so that my children may be amused and amazed - here is the list of all the places I have worked and jobs I have had:

• The first time I remember working to earn money was when I was young - maybe 8-10 yrs old. At my parents prompting, my siblings and I had ask many people in the ward and our grandparents, and their neighbors, to save their newspapers and cans. We would go around on Saturday mornings and collect them. We would then neatly stack them on the patio until there were enough to load into the truck and take to recycle. I remember Mom would meticulously track everyone's participation so that everyone was fairly paid. I think this was my first job.
• Eventually I added babysitting, dog sitting, and house sitting. As I help my children with these types of activities now, I realize the overwhelming time commitment my parents made to teaching us the value of work.
• Next, was a newspaper route. I believe Marc and I had this route together.... the route stayed in the family and filtered through all the kids for many years - I even remember being in highschool and doing this route in the mornings with my Dad. There was always someone who wanted extra money willing to do the route.
• Around 14, I started working at JMG Services. (janitorial, maintenance and grounds services) This was a business owned by a family in the ward whom I babysat for a lot. I did everything from picking up trash and cleaning toilets to building fences and mowing lawns. I had this job until I went to college.
  
• During Summers, I would water the lawn at the neighborhood swimming pool (know as White Tower)
• One summer I had a job for Sandy City teaching a class called "Safety City". Young kids would come and we would teach them about all kinds of safety. My favorite was setting up the fake street & street signs where they would ride around on bikes and obey the traffic signs.
• There was that really fun time when myself and four of my siblings (Marc, Emily, & Carolyn) all worked at Taco Time together. We fondly referred to it as the funnest job you'll ever hate! I remember one of our co-workers wanted to add a menu item called a Damn Burrito. He always said, "wouldn't it be awesome to walk up to the counter, slam your fist down, and say give me a damn burrito!"
  
• I worked in the ZCMI hair salon for a brief period. I know, I'll give you a minute to pick yourself up off the floor.... you all know how much time I don't spend on my hair! This lasted only a few months. I was 19, back from Ricks College, and I was hired to be the assistant to the manager. This just meant that I would wash the clients hair for him and he would do the actual work. It is harder than you think to not spray someone in the face with those hose things. Getting their hair clean while not washing off their caked on makeup is also tricky - spoken like a true non-prissy girl!
• Discover Card. Aaah, Discover Card. This job I had for 10 years. At this job I met my husband. I met lots of neat people and held many positions.
• Then, there was a brief period of babysitting other's kids will trying to be an at home mom.
• Challenger. This was a fun job! Teaching pre-school was truly fun. I did this for one year.
• Then I moved to American Heritage where I am teaching kindergarten for my second year.
  
• I worked briefly for my brother in law at his plastic manufacturing place trying to make ends meet for the summer.
• And finally, (for now), the Post Office. Who would've thought? I applied for this job last summer when it was evident that no one was signing up for summer school classes (probably due to the economy). Unfortunately, I was not hired until the fall, but I really like the job.

As you can see, I have worked many places, and tend to work multiple jobs at a time for brief periods.

With the exception, of a teacher, I don't think any of these things were on my list of what I wanted to be when I grow up! Sometimes we just have to do what pays the bills.

Maybe this year I'll decide what I really want to be when I grow up!