I have been sort of retired for a year at the end of this month. Even though I still work a few hours most weeks I think being mostly retired is pretty much the best "job" I have ever had. Thinking about that reminded me of some past jobs I have had.....not exactly a career path, but some fun along the way. (Some of this is from a post I wrote a long time ago about the pain of writing a resume.)
My first job, other
than babysitting, was when I was 14. I opened mail for a newspaper columnist. He wrote a humor column for the Tulsa World, so he, in
turn, got some pretty funny mail. Not a bad first job.
When I
was 16 I worked after school in the stationery department of a fancy department
store. My favorite part of that job was eating in the store's hoity-toity tea room on my breaks.
Then
came college and a journalism degree. That got me a job at a newspaper with
stellar assignments like writing obituaries and covering school board meetings
in Norman, OK.
Next came Motherhood, my most important and most lasting job, but not exactly a
resume filler. Over the next 15 or so years, I had several part-time jobs in
several cities. I taught pre-school (loved
it) for a few years. I did some free lance
writing for local publications. I worked as an assistant producer for a radio
talk show, which was one of the most fun jobs I ever had. I did some modeling
and taught a class at a junior college called "Poise for the Professional
Woman". (I hated that name). I wrote feature stories and a weekly column for the
Daily Oklahoman in Oklahoma City.
After
some life changes (divorce) and some additional schooling, I went to work
full-time for the first time in years as a paralegal. After a few years I
decided I needed something more lucrative and worked for a factory rep firm that
sold furniture to hotels and hospitals. I was a dismal failure at that job, but
to this day I can identify the manufacturer of the fabric on a chair in a hotel
room.
A couple
of zigs and zags after that I spent 15 years in the job I still do part time in financial services. I will be more fully retired with time, but for now I like being able to work if I want to and not work if I don't.
What is your favorite of the jobs you have had?
I love your first job.
ReplyDeleteI think my favorite job was landscape design. I worked for a big nursery and that was always really fabulous!
If you only work if you want to it is not work and you are retired.
ReplyDeleteWhen people ask me how is my retirement going I tell them it is not working.
I love your different jobs -- especially some of your early ones! I didn't know you had a journalism degree -- no wonder you're such a good writer!
ReplyDeleteI'm just looking forward to retirement so much! I want to look back and yes, maybe pick and choose just the right job for me! Just a little one!
I suppose my favorite job was really the one I have now before it got to be the way it is now. It was a different time, lots of fun, a different kind of team, personalities that just gelled. I didn't want to go home. Maybe that's why I want retirement so much -- I don't want to forget what I loved or become the things I saw others become at some point.
Lovely post!
I am so impressed with your "resume!" And, I am amazed at the interests and jobs that we have in common! I may follow Betty and post my resume, as well! Thanks for sharing...great idea for a post!
ReplyDeleteGreat jobs you had, Jeanie. I, too, was a writer -- for the local newspapers, the radio, and I also wrote 3 books. I love to write.
ReplyDeleteI love all the variety in the jobs you've held. For most of my career I did public relations and publications for colleges and universities. I did a two-year stint in PR with a big insurance and finance company, and hated that. So glad I had the chance to get back into education.
ReplyDeleteIt was fun to get to know you better through your job descriptions, Jeanie! My most unusual job was as an editor at large for Family Circle Magazine - all I did was suggest story lines to them from my region which was the northeast at that time. I've mostly been a teacher. I taught all grade levels from elementary through graduate school. I like being retired best of all!
ReplyDeleteWow! You have had a varied and interesting career life. I'm sure each one gave you more skills and knowledge to grow and mature. I think working in a pineapple factory made me work harder at college to make sure I didn't end up smelling cooked pineapples for the rest of my life. Teaching became my passion and has given me lovely memories and friends. Motherhood, of course is always most precious.
ReplyDeleteI love this post. For me a career is what you have done to this point, not some sort of well planned progression from A to Z.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite job was a pipeline engineer on the gulf coast for a small company. I designed and built all sorts of stuff from Mississippi to California and loved it even though it was hard work and long hours.
I had a great sense of accomplishment.
That was such a fun post! I loved reading of the jobs you've had - great variety, and many sound quite fun & interesting!!
ReplyDelete