Most Rewarding Job

[coalesce]

What was the most rewarding job you've ever had? In other words, what job have you gained the most from? Not necessarily monetarily, but which one have you felt you've made the most difference for people?

For me, it's my part-time job I have now: exterminating. I fell into it in an indirect way. My boss Paul used to do exterminating for the house when my grandmother owned it almost thirty years ago, so I got to know him then. He's seen me grow up, and out of that a close friendship formed. I asked to work for him nights and weekends in 1996 for extra money, and it's been great. I feel like I've helped people solve their pest problems, and I've gotten to know a wide range of people. The hours can be a bit much, especially after I've worked a full day at my graphic arts job (where the most physically demanding thing I have to do is refill the stapler, but staring at a 21-inch monitor for eight hours a day can weigh on you nonetheless), and then I face the prospect of having to go out and work at either a restaurant, a few delis or a health club, then come home after midnight. But the satisfaction I feel when I helped get rid of roaches from someone's home, or solved their mouse problem, is a great feeling of accomplishment (though I think the mice might feel differently). And I love the idea of seeing immediate and tangible results.

I've also been able to meet a wide array of people form all walks of life—teachers, musicians, filmmakers, contractors, retirees—and I've learned so much from then. I also hope that I've been able to show them a few new things, as well. I really, really like it, but thankfully, I'm at the point now where I don't need the second job and I'll be giving it up by the end of the year. I love the job, but hate being away from my wife two-to-four nights a week. I'm going to miss it terribly, though, but at least my friendship with Paul greatly transcends employer/employee and will continue to grow.

So how about you?

Michael

[Glory]

Well, you certainly have changed how I feel about exterminators. I admitt that being able to call someone to get the rat who had taken up residence in the wall of my kitchen was a huge relief. If it hadn't been for the man who came out and trapped it and came out again to dispose of it, I think I would have had to move. I never knew I would be such a girl when it came to rodents. I now know why women in cartoons stand on tables when they encounter a mouse. When I saw that thing come out of the cupboard and race across the floor, I wanted nothing more than to make sure I had no physical contact with the floor. Anyway, I really appreciated that exterminator. You do good work.

I have never had an official job that I was really rewarded for, metaphorically. I've worked retail and made coffee, and answered phones. Nothing great. I want to learn how to build things. I think I would get satisfaction out of that.

Glory

[Luciana]

Thanks, coalesce, for your story. All exterminators are very close to my hear: I'm phobic of cockroach. And bad! For the last few years I've been doing a great job of rationalizing it, and at least now I just avoid it, but don't shout/run/cry as I used to. But I've had one episode of hysterics just last year so I know I didn't overcome it yet.

There has never been a single cockroach in my apartment, but that's because I call exterminators every 6 months, even though the protection is supposed to last one year. It's just the thought of finding a cockroach in my kitchen that leads me to think "I should get married soon". :D :D

As for best job... I have one career advice, and that's not "do what you like". That's just part of it. My advice is "admire your company/boss". Because I've been in this situation: I wasn't doing exactly what Iloved. In fact, my routine was very boring. But yes, I believed in the company's mission and admired my boss, so I knew that the success also, even if only a little, depended on me. That was such an energy boost!

So, it doesn't matter how much I earned or what I was doing - I wouldn't want to work for a cigarette company, for example. Nor the tyre industry. Not for a company that I considered unethical or irresponsible. Certainly, I wouldn't want to work for a boss who is a major bore, leech, etc. It's completely different when you work for someone you admire. Not only you learn, but you become much more productive, and with huge amounts of pleasure.

[coalesce]

Originally posted by Luciana Nery
Thanks, coalesce, for your story. All exterminators are very close to my hear: I'm phobic of cockroach. And bad! For the last few years I've been doing a great job of rationalizing it, and at least now I just avoid it, but don't shout/run/cry as I used to. But I've had one episode of hysterics just last year so I know I didn't overcome it yet.

Don't feel bad. I have a fear of American cockroaches, aka waterbugs. You know, the ones that over two inches long and *crunch* when you step on them. HIDEOUS!!!! That's part of the reason I took the job. I figured if I could get over my fear, and get paid for it, it would be a win-win situation. After 6 1/2 years, I'm 75% over it, but they can still freeze me in my tracks.

One fo the first jobs my boss sent me on was to take care of a pizzaria basement, whcih was about 25 feet wide by 60 feet long, and quite dark, save for my flashlight. When I opened the doors, they were all over the walls, the steps, the ceiling, everywhere I looked. With great trepidation, I descended into the basement and established a beachhead at the top step. I advanced, step by step, and it took me over an hour to get almost all of them. I finally had to stop because I used over a gallon of spray, and was able to angle the spray to reach about 15 feet ahead of me, but I got them! And the best part was that they didn't see waterbugs there in over a year.

And no, I didn't stop to try the pizza.

Michael

[Yahweh]

Originally posted by Luciana Nery
Thanks, coalesce, for your story. All exterminators are very close to my hear: I'm phobic of cockroach. And bad! For the last few years I've been doing a great job of rationalizing it, and at least now I just avoid it, but don't shout/run/cry as I used to. But I've had one episode of hysterics just last year so I know I didn't overcome it yet.
I made the sun, moon, stars, earth, and the entire universe in 7 days... yet I still cant get over my fear of insects - cockroaches in particular.

I have an intense phobia of cockroaches *shudders*... once one of those things jumped off the wall and landed on my arm...

[American]

They've all completely sucked, except this one I got that pays good + benefits and crap. I am bored to hell with life, totally unchallenged, thoroughly un-impressed with science, and it would be cool if this thread produced suggestions besides joining the Foreign Legion for excitement. (I got a few good plans brewing, but indecision is starting to hurt me.)

[coalesce]

Originally posted by Yahweh

I made the sun, moon, stars, earth, and the entire universe in 7 days... yet I still cant get over my fear of insects - cockroaches in particular.

I have an intense phobia of cockroaches *shudders*... once one of those things jumped off the wall and landed on my arm...

I once woke up with one crawling across my nose at 5:30 AM.

Didn't need an alarm clock that morning.

Michael

[coalesce]

Originally posted by American
They've all completely sucked, except this one I got that pays good + benefits and crap. I am bored to hell with life, totally unchallenged, thoroughly un-impressed with science, and it would be cool if this thread produced suggestions besides joining the Foreign Legion for excitement. (I got a few good plans brewing, but indecision is starting to hurt me.)

You can't let indecision get in the way, then you'll never be happy. I'll give you an great example. My brother Stephen went to a great vocational high school to study to be an electrician. Then, in his senior year, he decided that although he would've made a great electrician, he wanted to be an English professor. He had always been a writer, but now he wanted to pursue that side of himself. His guidance counselors, unaccustomed to helping their seniors get into colleges, came through in a big way. He then graduated college as an English major, and then in 1983, decided he didn't want to live in NYC anymore.

What did he do? He worked for a summer, saved up enough bus fare, and moved to Douglas, Alaska. He became a shipwright, met a girl, fell in love, got married, had two children, wound up owning the shipwright company after the owner retired, found time to teach English at the local college, and then moved his family to outside Port Townsend, Washington, and he's been there ever since, still building and repairing fishing boats. No "Armchair Hemingway" he.

But what would you like to do, American? For me, I always remember when I was in high school studying commerical art, I wanted to mold myself after one of my teachers, Mr. Anderson. He was a phenomenal illustrator, and I wanted to be like him: a solid commercial artist. Not flashy, but a spectacularly solid, under-the-radar kind of guy. I'm pleased to say that I've pretty much achieved that in my present day job. Is it the most challenging, rewarding, balls-to-the-wall job one could have? No, but that's not what I'm after. If I wanted that, I would've become an oil-rig firefighter.

The only thing I haven't achieved is getting my freelance illustration career off the ground. I'm taking tangible steps to get it done in the beginning of 2004, so I'll let you know how that turns out.

American, you can't let indecision hold you back. Because at the end of the day, no matter who you wake up with, ultimately it's you that has to be happy. Or else all the toys and arm-candy will mean nothing.

Michael

[arcticpenguin]

Originally posted by coalesce
What was the most rewarding job you've ever had? In other words, what job have you gained the most from? Not necessarily monetarily, but which one have you felt you've made the most difference for people?

People? (censored) people! My current job allows me to spend hours a day surfing the Internet. That's hard to beat.

[Chaos]

The most rewarding job...(to return to the thread´s subject...)

In Germany, there´s an alternative to military service for conscripts. It is called "Zivildienst", which roughly translates as "civilian service" or "social service" - I don´t think any other country has anything like that.
Well, I did that. Instead of crawling around in the mud for 10 months, I did social service for 13 months. Mostly, my fellow "servicemen" and I (called "Zivis" in German) took care of old people who would otherwise not be able to live at home instead of in a nursery home. We did the cleaning, washing, delivered "Essen auf Rädern" (literally, "meals on wheels"; it´s a delivery service for ready-to-eat meals that somewhat resemble those you get on an airplane), went shopping or got them to the doctor. A few of them also needed to be fed and washed or got medical care, which was provided by several nurses working at the same station.
It was not a physically demanding job, except at the rare occurences when two of us had to lift a 250 lb lady from the normal wheelchair to the electrical one or vice versa. It was, however, quite demanding emotionally. These people were old, frail, and more or less helpless - and we knew that we would probably all end up like that eventually, some time, before we died. And every now and then, one of the old people died; many of them were very nice people, and you grew fond of them over time. When they died, it was a little like losing a grandparent.

On the other hand, the job had its good sides. As I said, these people were (mostly) rather nice, they liked us, it was pleasant (and sometimes rather educational) talking to them. One old lady actually said she´d have wanted someone like me as a grandson. Except for those who were totally demented, these people also knew they needed our help, and they were very grateful for our work.

And the job taught you things you don´t learn at school - about growing old, about becoming helpless, about totally depending on other people for absolutely everything. You begin to learn to cope with death; I was spared that particular experience, but several of the others servicemen turned at one of their clients´ one morning and found they had died overnight.


I wouldn´t want to miss all these experiences; however, I don´t think I can cope with all that emotional demand long enough, so I never even tried to do this as a regular job.



Yours
Chaos

[Bluegill]

I spent a couple years working as a clerk/receptionist at the public health office in Laramie. The job was somewhat interesting--I had to learn a fair amount of surface knowledge regarding diseases and vaccines, I got to meet lots and lots of people (which included college students, college faculty, ranchers, immigrant laborers, doctors, firefighters, police...), and we occasionally handled disease outbreak investigations.

The best part, though, was my coworkers. It was refreshing to work with a group of people who had a very professional attitude, who were well-educated, and who were dedicated to improving the lives of those in their community. The people of that county definitely get their money's worth out of that organization. How many government agencies can you say that about?

[UnrepentantSinner]

Originally posted by Yahweh
I made the sun, moon, stars, earth, and the entire universe in 7 days... yet I still cant get over my fear of insects - cockroaches in particular.

Psst... 6 days... you rested on the 7th...

[Prospero]

I spent a short time working in a cancer research facility. It was truly one of the most interesting places I've ever encountered. I went into it thinking that the cancer patients would all be rather morose, perhaps depressed, maybe even accepting of their situation. To my surprise, I found the majority of them happier than any other group of people I had ever encountered. It was as though they knew that they had every right to be depressed and upset about their predicament, yet they chose not to to prove to both their doctors and themselves that they were able and willing to beat a disease that had a very real potential to kill them. I must admit, though, that it was frustrating to see patients take a cigarette break moments after looking at the metastasized tumors raging through their lungs and liver. Not only did it renew my desire to continue into medical research, but it also instilled a hatred for tobacco companies that would continue to market the most lethal product available for ready consumption.

[MoeFaux]

My last job was being a Nanny to a delightful Kid who just turned 3. It was really great to teach her new things (my favourite was how I taught her to say, "Let's go to Mexico" when she was in the car. But, really, to see her grow up and grasp new ideas and new words was really so, so cool. It was a joy to be a part of her life.

The job I enjoyed the most was when I worked as a barista in a little coffee/sandwich shop. There were a lot of regulars, mostly retired men. On the down time, I'd go play chess with them. I had a lot of fun there.

[xouper]

I had a rather rewarding job one summer as a jumpmaster for a skydiving operation at a small airport. The pay sucked, though.

[rockoon]

Consider this.. all those fishing shows on T.V. (like on ESPN) hire a full-time boat driver. Hows that for cool?

[Whomp]

Parent ... hands down, no contest.

Ist runner up:
Although it's technically not a job (meaning I can't figure out how to get anyone to pay me for it), I am a (professional?) advocate for children with disabilities.

I spend my time working with various state departments, parent activist groups, and service providers. I am working to make sure that the policies and procedures adopted by the state give the most benefit to children and families. I'm also trying to get them to change outdated, unfriendly, and overly restrictive policies. This year I'm adding lobbying to my dance card as well.

It's a long grind, and extremely exasperating at times. Iv'e put 15,000 miles on my car in the last four months.

But for some reason they listen to me. Knowing I have made things a bit better for thousands of children and families who have enough to deal with already? Priceless.

Whomp!