As I approach the first “grown up person job” in a while, I thought it might be fun to look back on some of the crazy different jobs I have worked and other things I have done to make money to fund my travels…. Some of it is pretty funny so enjoy!
- 14 years old…. 1st job… KFC. Did it so much some nights I would come home and dream of putting chicken into a box with tongs… nuff said!
- Singing in pub bands. First pub band was Freefall and some of the best times of my life. Started at 17, still somewhat ongoing. On and off I have played more gigs with bands such as Alphanumeric, Platinum Datsun, Multigroove (Melbourne) and quite a lot of acoustic duo work.
- Driving a 50 ton suspended crane in an aluminium smelter. 12 hour rotational shifts in the baking furnace baking carbon anodes to be used in the electrolysis process. Dirty and hot work.
- Farming… cabbage harvesting, poppy seed harvesting, broccoli harvesting, organic farm work, more poppy harvesting….
- Laboratory technician for a biotech company. Mostly sterilization, chemical solution preparation and dish washing.
- First Year Chemistry Department at Monash University. Fingers in so many pies here…. Laboratory demonstrations, tutorials, exam marking, practical design, preparation of chemicals, troubleshooting, the one on one help centre.
- Folding children’s clothes at a kids clothing shop.
- Selling watches and handbags
- Selling hair and make up products at Aveda.
- Singing in the drag bars of Toronto as support for Drag Queens or as a part of ensemble shows. I swear this was one of the most fun jobs I have ever done! Too good!
- Medical testing…. I have written a blog post about this. I spent a lot of time doing non invasive brain function tests for the hospital research centre.
- Walking flyers and posters around the neighborhoods. I have done this for at least a good 3 months every day.
- Online reviews of cities and hostels.
- Driving forklifts, doing crop reception and sweeping and shoveling for poppy harvest.
- Substitute teaching and short term contract teaching involving every single subject you can possibly think of including kindergarten music.
- Can collecting and bottle return… (may or may not have stolen cans from campground recycling bins throughout eastern Canada to fund our accommodation and petrol bill.
- Online surveys
- Focus groups
- Cleaning and managing the front desk at a backpackers hostel.
- Promotions and marketing…. now this is a big one because each of the jobs I do are different. Many many sampling programs for things like milk, shampoo, icy hot packs, cans of Nestea and Quakers bars. There is also lots of hustling different contests. Below we will specify some of the more ridiculous jobs.
- Driving a popsicle van for 3 weeks.
- Dressing up in ridiculous costumes such as Shaun the Sheep or Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.
- Placing stickers on men’s urinals in pubs so they can pee on teams they don’t like.
- Filming a commercial for Edo Japan as the Edo Elf.
While this is a non-comprehensive list as I am sure I have probably forgotten something, it is still pretty ridiculous and funny. What is the worst job you have ever had? And better yet, is there anything here you’d like to know more about? Happy reading and I look forward to your input! 🙂
Thomas Takes On.... 