Sunday, August 14th, 2016 marks my Ten Year JOB Anniversary! That's right, on August 14th, 2006, I was hired for my first job at the age of 15 years old. I was hired as part of the opening team for the Hamilton, Ohio Walmart McDonald's(Which is no longer open, unfortunately). I was hired at $5.15 per hour(Ohio's former minimum wage).
The store was so slow in business, all we would do is goof off every day. I worked there for about six months, and then I quit.
So, I was inspire to create a MyTake which gives a brief explanation of all ten jobs I've had. I will also rank every job I've had, which uses a criteria of wage, quality of life, quality of work conditions, fairness, and management(The lower the number, the more I liked the job).
1. McDonald's
Location: Hamilton, Ohio(Inside the Hamilton Walmart).
Time Span: August 14th, 2006-February 4th, 2007.
Details: I was part of the opening team of a new store! Most of us were teenagers in high school, and all of our managers were fun! As I mentioned earlier, we pretty much just goofed off. We were open for 14 hours a day, and we would get about 30 total customers for the whole day. I was a general crew member, but I spent nearly all of my time working cooking the food on the grill. Needless to say, it was fun flirting with older girls in high school(and one college girl). I miss these days!
Reason why I left: To no surprise, I wasn't getting enough hours. I would get about ten hours a week, granted, I was just a high school sophomore, but my parents were sick of running me to work for barely any money. To make matters worse, the only two days they would schedule me were Saturday, and Sunday-The little bit of freedom I got from high school.
Ranking: 4/10
2. Marsh Supermarkets
Location: Hamilton, Ohio
Time Span: March 20th, 2007-December 9th, 2010.
Details: To this day, this is the longest period of time I've worked for a job(Three years, and nine months). For anyone who isn't aware, Marsh Supermarkets is a grocery store chain in Indiana, and Ohio. I was hired as a Service Clerk, which is basically a "fancy" term for someone who bags groceries, cleans the store, does "re-shops" of items, and grabs shopping bascarts off of the parking lot. I absolutely loved this job! It was fair, honest, the people I worked with were great, and I enjoyed what I did! Even our customers were fun to be around(Although we had a major theft problem), which is why this is ranked so high, and why I worked here so long. Unfortunately, in November of 2010, our store got word we weren't making enough money, and we were forced to close down. I was laid off, because they couldn't find me another store to work in.
Reason why I left: As I stated, I was laid off due to the store closing down.
Ranking: 3/10
3. Jolly's Drive-In
Location: Hamilton, Ohio
Time Span: February 3rd, 2011-March 5th, 2011.
Details: For anyone who doesn't know, Jolly's Drive-In is a local drive-in food joint solely located here in the city I live in(Hamilton, Ohio), and there are only two locations. It's pretty much a seasonal place, which is usually open from March until November. For whatever reason, in 2011(In a very brutal Winter), the owner decided to open up the place in January, and hire a bunch of people. I was a regular employee who would make the food, prepare the food, and cook the food. To no surprise, we didn't do very well in the cold weather(People often sit inside their cars, and eat), so I was one of the many people "laid-off" because he couldn't afford to pay us all. I didn't like this job too much. The people I worked with were unfriendly, the climate was very hot, I didn't get many hours at all, and the owner was obnoxious. It was supposed to be a side job to pay for college, but this was a complete failure. In a way, I was happy I only worked there for a month.
Reason why I left: As I stated, I was laid off due to the fact we didn't make enough money.
Ranking: 8/10
4. McDonald's
Location: Hamilton, Ohio
Time Span: August 30th, 2011-June 30th, 2013.
Details: Ok, I was hired in the month of August for a McDonald's position as a Crew Member in the city of Hamilton, Ohio. Does this sound familiar? Except this was a different location, a significantly busier location, and I was a college student. Also, I had just came from a nearly six month period of unemployment, so I was desperate for money! I actually enjoyed this job, but combined with the fact I was taking five classes in college, I was very stressed. We were busy virtually all of the time! The store was a mess, the pay was still minimum wage, and the management was a joke. I did have high school girls flirting with me, since I was the "mature", and older guy, but at the age of 21/22 years old, flirting with high school girls is a little...creepy. I was flattered, but I couldn't accept their advances, especially since I was studying to be a teacher. Overall, I did like this job-But I could only handle fast food for so long. It took a toll on me, and I was ready to move on.
Reason I left: I was offered another job which promises to pay better(I'll get to this shortly), and it wasn't in a fast food place.
Ranking: 5/10
5. Kroger Company
Location: Hamilton, Ohio
Time Span: June 22nd, 2013-July 19th, 2014.
Details: I was hired as an employee for the Delicatessen Department at a grocery store called Kroger. There are Kroger locations around the United States(They have a variety of banner names). When I was hired, since I had prior grocery store experience, I was promised a raise as soon as I finished my probationary period. The management seemed professional, the people I worked with were ok, and they also promised a "flexible" schedule .
Unfortunately, this would go down as the worst job I've ever had. For starters-I was lied too. I didn't get my experience-based raise, because I didn't have prior Deli experience. I was told I solely needed grocery store experience. Also, they had a very difficult time giving me days off, and working around my college schedule, so the whole schedule "FLEXIBILITY" was a lie too. To this day, my 23rd birthday(September 7th, 2013) was the only birthday I've worked(Although that's probably going to change this year). I virtually worked every weekend, and even in the most important situations, I wasn't given days off. To top it off, I still made minimum wage, and our only "raises" were when Ohio's minimum wage increased. I wasn't able to get full time hours, the managers LIED about me to get me in trouble, we had a liar in our Deli department getting people in trouble, the customers were unfriendly, and rude. It was a huge mess. Needless to say, after a year, I was fed up.
Reason I left: Regardless of everything I mentioned, they weren't able to work around my college schedule "anymore." So I had to quit anyway, and I went out with a bang.
Ranking: 10/10
6. Bob Evans
Location: Hamilton, Ohio.
Time Span: July 17th, 2014-May 29th, 2015.
Details: For anyone who wasn't aware, Bob Evans "farms" are actually restaurants on the eastern portion of the United States. I was hired as a line cook, and making a solid ten dollars an hour. All seems well, right? Well, bad luck strikes again.
I loved the job. The guy who hired me promised he could give me full time hours, but the problem is, he transferred. The new manager was the nicest lady in the world-But completely clueless, unorganized, and not a good manager at all. I loved the people I worked with! I had the "high school girl affect" happen to me again(unfortunately, at 23/24 years old). However, my manager was too much of a joke. I was getting about twelve hours a week, and even though I was in college, I still couldn't survive on that. It makes me mad, because this was literally the only issue I had here.
Reason I left: I had another job lined up, which promised more hours, flexibility, and it wasn't a food place.
Ranking: 6/10
7. Miami University
Location: Oxford, Ohio.
Time Span: August 26th, 2014-December 5th, 2014.
Details: This was the first job I got outside of my home city of Hamilton, Ohio. I decided to get a Student Job for the college I attended, Miami University. And for some reason, the span of bad luck continued. And for some reason, August is the month I'm hired to work in food.
I was hired to work in a food truck which drove around campus, and served students. I got along with everyone fine, and the students were snobby(It's a snobby college), but I had no serious issues. For some reason, out of the blue, my manager emailed me telling me she wouldn't schedule me for anymore shifts, because of my "inappropriate actions towards customers, and my co-workers." How? I had worked there a FULL month. Rumor has it(from a woman I worked with there, whom I trust), a jealous co-worker wanted more hours, and spread lies about me, saying I had bad hygiene, and was "harassing girls." This angered me, but it was just a second job to help with Bob Evans. I decided to work at the diner in October, but I was informed by Human Resources that the diner was the same legal entity as the food truck I worked in, so I was forced to leave.
Reason I left: This is the only job which admitted they fired me.
Ranking: 7/10
8. Frisch's Big Boy
Location: Hamilton, Ohio.
Time Span: January 2nd, 2015-January 16th, 2015.
Details: Frisch's Big Boy restaurants are restaurants solely in the southwestern Ohio region. This was the shortest amount of time I worked for a job, and bad luck struck again! I was doing this as supplemental income for that lackluster Bob Evans job, but unfortunately, my manager was an idiot. He told me he "hired too many people", coincidentally after I had a bad night as a cook(Granted, it was only my fifth day). There isn't much to add here. I didn't have any serious problems, but I literally only worked there for five work days.
Reason I left: This is the only time in my life I'm not sure. I still think I was secretly fired, but on paper, I was "laid off."
Ranking: 9/10
9. Menard's
Location: Fairfield Township, Ohio.
Time Span: May 29th, 2015-Present
Details: Menard's is a mid-western department store in the United States, and I'm currently a morning stocker for the Plumbing, and Housewares department. I love it here, and it's one of the best jobs I've ever had. They give raises every three months, it's fair, honest, professional, very flexible with my schedule, and they give a $2.50 extra premium pay for working Saturday, and Sunday! Right now, I'm doing this as a side job for my substitute teaching.
Ranking: 2/10
10. Center of Collaborative Solutions
Location: Pleasant Run, Ohio, but I can substitute anywhere in the Hamilton County.
Time Span: January 7th, 2016-Present.
Details: I am currently a substitute teacher in the Hamilton County, and this is the best job I've ever had! While I yearn for a full time teaching position some day, nothing makes me happier than subbing in local high schools, and Jr. high schools! I do this full time during the schoolyear.
Ranking: 1/10
Bonus: From August 24th-December 9th of 2015, I did an internship as a high school teacher for Ross High School in Ross, Ohio. It was unpaid(Student Teaching), but I loved it.
So, are you looking for your first job? Did you get your first job? Here are some general things I've noticed among jobs. Take my word for it: I've had ten of 'em!
-Jobs are more unfair than school-And school is already unfair.
-There is a manager you will hate, and a manager you will love.
-On this note, you will be surprised at some of the people who are managers.
-The "40 hour a week, five days, weekends/holidays off" notion is becoming extinct.
-Jobs can be a great, and horrible place to find someone to date.
-Customers suck. Deal with it.
-If you're in school, management will look down on you-Even if you're a college student.
-Jealousy is rampant.
-It's not what you know; it's who you blow.
-Don't steal. Ever. And I mean ever(It's not right to do anyway).
Most Helpful Opinions