(not quite) 40 Jobs I've Actually Held

(Updated 04/25/2019)

Yes, believe it or not, I was able to come up with (not quite) 40 different jobs I've had in my life. I am the consummate 'Jack of All Trades, Master of None.' I may have forgotten some. If so, I'll add them in. Meanwhile, prepare to be confused:

1. Litter Picker-Upper - The first job I ever had. I had a stick with a nail in it and walked around the apartment complex where we lived and picked up trash. I sucked at it, and Mom (who was manager of the complex) fired me.
2. Seasonal Dept Associate - I worked at Target in Toys and Seasonal. It wasn't too bad of a job, really. Well, except for putting together lawn mowers and patio sets.
3. Fry Cook - Yeap, I put my time in at McDonald's. In fact, I worked at several different ones during my life.
   
4. Pizza Delivery Guy - I've worked at several different Pizza Huts in different states. At one point, I actually worked at Mickey-D's AND Pizza Hut at the same time. Ah, Shan hated those days...
5. College Lunch Line Cook - Believe it or not, they actually let *ME* cook on the grill at the first college I attended and they paid me for it! Crazy people!
6. Computer Sales Associate - I worked for a small computer consulting company. They offered me an assistant manager position if I would stay and not go back to college. Thank the Lord, I chose to return to school!
7. Lawn Mower - I was hired to mow a hill.
8. Computer Lab Manager - At the first college I went to, I got a job working in the computer lab. I loved that job, and it is probably what started my career path, though I spent most days playing Wizardy on old clunky IBM-PC's!
   
9. Door-to-door jewelry salesman - Seriously. I drove my car all over the state, trying to sell jewelry to business employees.
10. Radio salesman - I sold ads for a radio station.
11. Radio disc jockey - I worked for the local commercial radio station in college.
12. College radio DJ - When I wasn't working at the commercial station, I was working at the college station.
13. College radio news director - I was in charge of newscasts for the college station. I won two awards for my work there.
14. College radio station manager - I eventually made it to manager (co-manager) of the campus radio station.
15. Virginia Whiskey - I had a temp job where I was the guy who made sure the bottles of whiskey got put into boxes. The bottles came down a line single-file and then at the end of the line, they formed a 3x3 grid. Below the bottles, the boxes would come along and my job was to expand the boxes so the 3x3 bottles would drop in. Lots of bottles would smash into each other and I left there smelling like (and wearing) whiskey.
16. Administrative Assistant - Yeap, I was an office manager once. I helped the interim director for a state organization.
17. Human Resources Assistant - I worked for a great woman who taught me a lot about human resources, organization, law, etc. I actually had two bosses, and the second one had me running all over the place getting the company ready for JCAHO certification.
    
18. Network Administrator - While at Youth home, I was allowed to troubleshoot computer and network issues, and they added those duties to my job and paid me for it! That was where I cut my teeth on Netware 2 and 3 and first learned just what the heck a token ring was. I also wrote an access database program for them. I loved that part of the job.
19. Computer Repair Tech - I worked for a local university as a computer tech. I liked the job fine, mainly because the higher-ups included me in everything we did. I learned a ton working there, and it's there that ultimately led to what I do now.
20. Education Service Center Technology Coordinator - I left the university to take a job that I knew nothing about other than I was asked if I liked gadgets and if I liked to help people with technology. Since my answer was 'yes' to both, there I was. Little did I know that I'd be TEACHING technology classes. I was pretty rough at first, but over time, I learned how to take things slowly and actually help teachers understand the technology they were being asked to use.
21. Pizza Waiter - Oh, i forgot, for a while I worked as a waiter for pizza hut. I made good tips because I was good at it.
22. Pizza Cook - and, I was also a pizza cook for a while at pizza hut. I enjoyed it a lot, but I always got dinged for putting TOO MANY toppings on my pizzas. Rather than use the scale, I used my eyes. I laid enough toppings to make the pizzas LOOK good... Yeah, I used way too much. Oh well!
23. Distance Learning Coordinator - I enjoyed the 'techie' side of distance learning and I have to admit, visiting the baseball hall of fame through interactive video is AWESOME!! I had a lot of fun in the job.
24. Computer Consultant - My catch-all independent work. I've done work for friends, family, and a congressman. This job covers everything from networking to virus removal to recovering lost files. I really never know what each will bring.
25. Internet sales guy - eBayer. For a while, I was hitting it hard and heavy - buying things off other sites then selling them on eBay.
26. Lifeguard - for a very short time, I worked as a lifeguard.
27. College Practicum Instructor - while serving as radio station manager in college, I also team-taught the class in which students got their 'hands-on' experience at the station.
28. School District Technology coordinator - I served as the district technology director for a local school district.
29. Education service center technology coordinator - yes, I know I already listed this, but it is sort of a running joke around my circle of colleagues because it seems I always come back to this title (I've had it three times, well, technically four times).
30. Podcast Host - Starting in 2015, have been co-hosting the EduTechGuys podcast. We not only do a weekly show, but also provide coverage at education conferences around the country.
31. YouTube Creator - In 2016, officially launched a YouTube channel. As of April 2019, it has 5100 subscribers. Not bad for a 50-year old, eh.
32. Adjunct Professor - I taught English Comp I at the local 2-year college.
33. Author - I have two published books and have a short story in an anthology as well.