How many jobs (being employed) have you had in your life?

To many ads? Support ODJT and see no ads!
DJ Ricky B said:
Mke, I didn't know you quit at the radio station. Was it time to let go, and move on? Also, that is amazing that you were at the same station for 30 years.
Click to expand...

It was time to move on, but it wasn't my decision! The company has been in a financial slump for 10 years.
They are required to pay back loans with a dwindling income,
so they fire people and distribute their job duties among the "lucky" ones who are still employed.
The only reward I got for 30 years was a chance to be employed a little longer than most.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jeff Romard and ittigger
Remembering I am an ex military brat as well as ex military
High School overseas in Germany (Canadian Military Base Baden Soellingen, West Germany)
- Dishwasher at greasy spoon restaurant
- Summer job at the Bomb Dump for the CF-104 Starfighter Fighter Squadrons (very cool job)
- Corner store clerk at CANEX (Canadian Forces Exchange Europe) - 25 cents for German Beer with no real drinking age for soft alcohol
- Base Construction Engineering Road & Grounds Crew for 1 year before repatriating back to Canada

College years in Alberta
- Royal Glenora Country Club Zamboni Driver and DJ for Figure Skating Club
- Edmonton Telephones 411 aka Directory Assistance Operator (with myself , my brother, one other guy and 250 ladies - needless to say we had the best college parties around)

Moved overseas again to Lahr, West Germany (2 Years)
- CANEX Audio Store (tax free military non-commission sales)
- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation TV Station Switcher for two broadcast channels (French & English)

Carlton University Ottawa - full time student in Physics program with no time for work or play

Calgary Alberta
- Sounds of Music High End Audio Store sales person
- Electronic Store - sales
- Sony Store Retail ( all awaiting acceptance into the military)

Joined the Canadian Forces as a Naval Officer then Navy Diving Officer (22 year) living in many locations and doing many neat jobs including:
- quite a few years of training
- Ship driver/navigator/watchkeeper
- Above Water Weapons (Gunnery and Electronic Warfare) Officer
- Demolitions Officer
- Naval Boarding Officer
- Ships Diving Officer (Part-time Diver)
- Clearance Diver (Full time Diver and Diving Tender Captain)
- EOD aka Bomb Disposal Operator/Officer leading an Operational Team
- Project Officer and Program Manager for US Navy EOD Tech Div Indian Head, MD for 3 years
- Ops O of Operational Diving Unit
- Senior Staff Officer to the Admiral Commanding the Navy for Diving, EOD and Mine Warfare post 911 at National Defence Headquarters Ottawa
- Head-hunted to retire from CF and work for Defence Construction Canada out West
- Program Manager and Technical Specialist for the UXO (Unexploded Ordnance) Program for 5 years (one of my projects was actually filmed on the History Channel Bomb Hunters Show Season 1)
- Shifted to being a Senior Liaison Officer job for Capital Projects at Canadian Forces Dockyard in Esquimalt, BC for the past 3 years and counting (less travel)

Part-time (but very busy ) DJ as of late - I really really like doing this as my mid-life crisis pass-time with hopes of passing it all on to my son (now 19) who is genuinely showing interest....
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: DJ Bobcat, DJ Ricky B, Jeff Romard and 2 others
jr high/high school
trained and showed horses
college:
worked in a print shop
worked in financial aid office
worked security
worked for a dry cleaner/laundromat
worked in biochemistry lab
taught riding & led trail rides at a YMCA camp in NJ
worked at a reining horse barn in MD
worked nights in a sweet corn processing plant (very short lived seasonal job)
taught horseback riding as teachers asst
worked in a pig barn (processed baby pigs)
sold car & home stereos and home theater
worked for multi op DJ company (office and as a tech on the road)

post-college:
continued in electronics sales (same company)...expanded to helping with some install work both commercial and private jobs
continued with DJ multi op...managing up to 250 events a year, hiring/firing/training, marketing, contracting, etc...pretty much everything
started up our own DJ/production company and parted ways with the multiop
worked temp for the UPS store--ended up developing a printing business there which became top in the country in printing
started our own printing business 3 years ago

Probly missed a few...covers the basics tho ;-)
 
  • Like
Reactions: steve149 and DJ Bobcat
I haven't been on this forum in a little while, so I'll play. :)

High School
  • -Patient Accounts Clerk at a hospital: I followed up with insurance companies regarding unpaid claims and then billed patients for their co-pays/deductibles. I also worked in the mail room.
  • -DJ: I worked for free for the family business. Well, Dad made sure I had food and drink, and we usually went out for a late night meal or picked up Chinese food on the way home. :)

College
  • -3rd Shift Front Desk Clerk at my dorm: I sat around for 8 hours doing homework and crafts. I occasionally had to exchange quarters for bills for students who needed to do laundry.
  • -Greeter at Dorm Cafeteria: I swiped student IDs and got a free dinner as a perk. I only did this for a semester. I wanted more time to study.
  • -Student Technical Writer for an IT department on campus: I wrote documentation.
After College
  • -Cashier at Walmart: I lasted a month with the stupidity. The pay was enough to cover as I transitioned to a monthly paycheck at the next job.
  • -Web Designer at the same IT department on campus: I designed pretty websites and trained users on the content management (SharePoint) back-end.
  • -Unemployed for 1 year and 5 months: My contract ran out when the Great Recession hit. I collected unemployment and tried to get into some freelance work, and then my next job happened.
  • -Technical Writer in the healthcare IT industry: I wrote documentation.
  • -Sr. Technical Writer/Publisher in the healthcare IT industry: I write and publish documentation. I was good enough to get promoted, and here I am today. :)
I DJ on the side, too.
:djparty:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jeff Romard, Dan The Man, DJ Bobcat and 4 others
Well...don't wanna count my chickens just yet...
but I just may be able to change my post, and my resume!
Tomorrow morning at 10am (Eastern Time) I have a meeting with my former station's competition.

get this......

doing the SAME JOB I had at the other place for 30-years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ittigger, steve149 and DJ SVO
Ausumm said:
Well...don't wanna count my chickens just yet...
but I just may be able to change my post, and my resume!
Tomorrow morning at 10am (Eastern Time) I have a meeting with my former station's competition.

get this......

doing the SAME JOB I had at the other place for 30-years.
Click to expand...

Sounds BORING, But GOOD LUCK on the interview!

...Your generation is very different from mine. My Generation generally doesn't want to perform the same job/task for years and years on end. That is in part the reason why so many Millennials change jobs every year or two, or 3 years, or even 2, 3, 4 times a year. The other part is most jobs today pay so low of a wage, that the incentive to stay aboard at jobs is low anyway. The only long term job I am seeing that Mellinials are a part of are either TEACHER, or Police Officer...It seems if a member of my generation get into either of those fields, they are in it for the long run. Everything else seems to have poor employee retention today with people under 35 years old.

But outside of being a Mobile DJ, I can't think of anything I'd want to do for years on end. ...Maybe Talk show host at a Radio, LOL...Only because they sound like they love their jobs and are having fun while on the air. How awesome would it be to get paid (WELL hopefully) to hang out at the station and talk about current events, and funny issues/stories for people's listening pleasure out there? ...The trick is to continue to be funny and entertaining as time marches on I guess to stay on the radio in talk show format for the long run.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ausumm
Ausumm said:
Well...don't wanna count my chickens just yet...
but I just may be able to change my post, and my resume!
Tomorrow morning at 10am (Eastern Time) I have a meeting with my former station's competition.

get this......

doing the SAME JOB I had at the other place for 30-years.
Click to expand...
Hopefully at 30% more $$s ....
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ausumm and ittigger
DJ Ricky B said:
Sounds BORING, But GOOD LUCK on the interview!

...Your generation is very different from mine. My Generation generally doesn't want to perform the same job/task for years and years on end. That is in part the reason why so many Millennials change jobs every year or two, or 3 years, or even 2, 3, 4 times a year. The other part is most jobs today pay so low of a wage, that the incentive to stay aboard at jobs is low anyway. The only long term job I am seeing that Mellinials are a part of are either TEACHER, or Police Officer...It seems if a member of my generation get into either of those fields, they are in it for the long run. Everything else seems to have poor employee retention today with people under 35 years old.

But outside of being a Mobile DJ, I can't think of anything I'd want to do for years on end. ...Maybe Talk show host at a Radio, LOL...Only because they sound like they love their jobs and are having fun while on the air. How awesome would it be to get paid (WELL hopefully) to hang out at the station and talk about current events, and funny issues/stories for people's listening pleasure out there? ...The trick is to continue to be funny and entertaining as time marches on I guess to stay on the radio in talk show format for the long run.
Click to expand...
It's also why people of my generation hesitate in hiring people from yours .. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ausumm and DJ SVO
steve149 said:
It's also why people of my generation hesitate in hiring people from yours .. :)
Click to expand...

True!

It's going to get real nutty when late born Gen Xers are completely in charge across the board and transitioning to Millennials starting to take over at the helm in higher positions as hiring managers at companies and institutions, and as political leadership across America. Might be game over for all! Changed world for sure.

I talked to one girl at my most recent job...We were talking about length of time staying at jobs...she said something along the lines of "1 year at the same job?!? ...That's like an eternity...the longest I have stayed at a job so far was 8 months". Of course she is like 23 years old, but still!
 
  • Like
Reactions: steve149
I just love my job, and the recent changes have made it better and an increase in pay. I'm going into my 10th year down here in 2016.
 
DJ Ricky B said:
Sounds BORING, But GOOD LUCK on the interview!

...Your generation is very different from mine. My Generation generally doesn't want to perform the same job/task for years and years on end. That is in part the reason why so many Millennials change jobs every year or two, or 3 years, or even 2, 3, 4 times a year. The other part is most jobs today pay so low of a wage, that the incentive to stay aboard at jobs is low anyway. The only long term job I am seeing that Mellinials are a part of are either TEACHER, or Police Officer...It seems if a member of my generation get into either of those fields, they are in it for the long run. Everything else seems to have poor employee retention today with people under 35 years old.

But outside of being a Mobile DJ, I can't think of anything I'd want to do for years on end. ...Maybe Talk show host at a Radio, LOL...Only because they sound like they love their jobs and are having fun while on the air. How awesome would it be to get paid (WELL hopefully) to hang out at the station and talk about current events, and funny issues/stories for people's listening pleasure out there? ...The trick is to continue to be funny and entertaining as time marches on I guess to stay on the radio in talk show format for the long run.
Click to expand...

I disagree with this. The 'job flippers' are the ones that won't commit to anything. There are alot from this generation that do commit - such as teachers, police officers, fire fighters, engineers, scientists, pilots / flight crew, etc. You get back exactly what you put in.

A bunch of the on air radio people that you know and hear, have been doing that exact thing for many years and possibly for many stations before they got to where they are now. Many of them have been paid crap for years and are only now beginning to make money.
 
ittigger said:
I disagree with this. The 'job flippers' are the ones that won't commit to anything. There are alot from this generation that do commit - such as teachers, police officers, fire fighters, engineers, scientists, pilots / flight crew, etc. You get back exactly what you put in.

A bunch of the on air radio people that you know and hear, have been doing that exact thing for many years and possibly for many stations before they got to where they are now. Many of them have been paid crap for years and are only now beginning to make money.
Click to expand...

There will always be people who commit to careers. Teachers, and Police are the top two that I see where the Millenial is drawn to. I am sure Pilots will be another category as time marches on. I work in a Airport hotel very part time which has contracts with the Airlines. Most of the Pilots I see are in their 50s and 60s with some in their mid to upper 40s. Can't say I've noticed some young pilots walk through our doors yet, but at some point those jobs will need to be filled, and by the Millennial.

The truth of the matter is that the Average Millenial will have many more jobs in their life time compared to previous generations.

Regarding On Air Radio...Of course it took them years to start making money. However, I believe the field in general pays less than it did when Radio was BIG back in the 80s and 90s. I remember back in the 90s Jack Diamond was huge in Maryland...I heard he was being paid over 800K a year at one point. I can't think of any morning show hosts today in Maryland that earn that kind of money. I am sure there are a few earning over 250K...Maybe Ricky Smiley up here in Baltimore (He's out of Atlanta but broadcast all over the place)...He's been around forever on 92Q. Also Elliot in the Morning on DC 101. I don't live near DC any more so I haven't heard his show in years. But I do remember he was also broadcast out of multiple other cities like Richmond, VA, Ocean City, MD, and a station in New York state aired his show as well. He's probably still the top dog of morning shows based out of D.C. VA/MD, but I doubt he makes the money he use to 10+ years ago.


I'd be happy being a talk show host with another funny host on a medium to large market station earning 50K - 75K a year. The trick is to continue to be entertaining and draw the listeners in.
 
Ricky...
My job for 30 years was making radio commercials. It was different every day, I got to use all of my creativity and talent, and the end result was making people happy. I looked forward to work every day for 30 years. (maybe not as much near the end..)
Much like the same satisfaction we all get from DJing. Are you getting bored spinning music?
The younger generation are job hoppers, but not necessarily by choice. Businesses these days realize that the long time devoted workers demand more money, more respect, and are less likely to embrace change, especially when the change makes it more difficult to do their job. So, it's easier and cheaper to train a new hire at half the salary, than it is to battle with someone who earns more because he's been there longer than the bosses.
With that being said...here's the news!
I am now the Assistant Production Director at WODE FM in Easton, PA.
It's only part time, but they are pursuing ways to get me more money. (weekend air shifts, etc)
And best yet, it's the same job, I am good friends with my immediate boss, and most of the staff are former co-workers.
Part time is probably better, because I am taking computer classes three days a week until March.
If I am not full time when I get certified, I will look for a full time IT job.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DJ JohnThe1, DJ Ricky B and ittigger
Ausumm said:
Part time is probably better, because I am taking computer classes three days a week until March.
If I am not full time when I get certified, I will look for a full time IT job.
Click to expand...

Congrats and an early welcome to the dark side (or dork side as it was called years ago) ...
 
  • Like
Reactions: ittigger and Ausumm
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back