What jobs have you had and what was your worst/best one and why?

[youngfarmer]

OK so I'll start;
waitress in a cafe (weekend job at school)
department store assistant (weekend job)
silver service/catering company waitress (uni p/t job)
travel agency adviser
hotel receptionist
hotel deputy manager
owner of my own corporate/event catering business & still hotel deputy manager p/t

Worst job was the dept store assistant, awful uniform and some awful customers too (it was a very high end store with some very 'entitled' customers), best job is what I do now, although it's a bit exhausting juggling both jobs!

Best- never had a good one
Worst - numerous. I mean in the hundreds

Best - working in a deli.

Worst - secondary school French teacher.

Best one I ever did was a waitress in a pub. I was 20. We were all young. We messed about. Danced in the kitchen. All went out for drinks and dancing. Best year ever. Also met my husband as well.

Never really had a worst job really

Worst - working in a retail store called b&m. They treated the staff like shit and was run by absolute con men/women. Never again!

My worst, for a term I cleaned student rooms in a Hall of Residence. OMG.
The stinking wet sheets shoved under a bed
The used hair wax, complete with hairs just dropped all over the floor
The mattress pushed up against the door to stop anyone getting in
The couple having loud sex as we cleaned the rooms either side of theirs
The awful oily shower/bath gel that stained everywhere.

But worst of all, the absolute rudeness and arrogance of some students towards those they saw as simply cleaners. Their parents raised gits .

Worst job was a company where all the other women hated me for no reason. Well, one of them did, and the others sort of went along with it. They'd all go out for lunch and leave me in the office alone, whisper near me when there was no-one else around (making it obvious it was only me who they didn't want to hear them) and didn't even say goodbye to me on my last day. I was being paid a lot more than them for less hours, was 15-20 years younger and I don't think they liked it. Lasted six months and I've not had another senior role since, it really knocked my confidence. Wish I'd been honest when I handed my notice in but instead I pretended I was leaving to be a SAHM.

Best job. Working for a company who rewarded you with shopping vouchers for a job well done. Offered team days away with overnight stays in nice places. Had six monthly performance reviews, lots of development opportunities. And discount for a well known home improvement store :) Colleagues were also lovely.

Worst was working as a waitress. Was sacked after 3 days.

Best my second to last job before my boss changed it. Met my skillset, I could work at home, and was very well paid.

the absolute rudeness and arrogance of some students towards those they saw as simply cleaners

I think I was a bit like this . Although to be fair, I think we reacted to the rudeness of the cleaners. I remember one going around hammering on all our doors and calling us into the kitchen to shout at us for the mess. And another one, on the day when I was moving out and had given my keys back, literally screaming at me and calling me a harlot because I wouldn't leave the kitchen because I didn't have anywhere else to go at that point. I think she had issues.

Best - tailor made travel consultant.
Worst - zucchini (courgette) picker, or door to door salesperson for some sort of shutters. I would have walked off the first job but we'd all been taken there in a truck so we're in the middle of nowhere - it was one of the longest days of my life though!

One of the best was waitressing in a well known a Pizza chain. This was before they bought in all these 40% off deals etc. The tips were lucrative. I could make 40-60 a night on top of my hourly rate. I took home 120 for a double shift once.

The worst was MacDonalds at an airport. How people could be so miserable about to go on holiday was beyond me.

I’ve worked as a Saturday girl, on the till at Woolworths (that dates me); as a nurse, specialising in Theatre nursing once I qualified; as an exam invigilator for external exams; as a temporary, part time school librarian, and I did a week as a part time school receptionist.

Of all of those, my favourite was working in the school library. I loved being in charge, organising my work, interacting with the pupils, and I especially enjoyed sorting out the non-fiction books, and putting new, neatly-written Dewey Decimal number labels on them. The sense of satisfaction I got from seeing shelf after shelf of books, all neatly labelled, was amazing.

I just wish I had known when I was a teenager what a great job being a librarian is, I would have done a degree in it instead of doing my nurse training - but then my life would have taken a completely different course, and I wouldn’t have met dh, or had my three dses.

Worst: Strawberry picking. It killed my back.
Best: A research position where I got to plan all my own work.

Best working a riding holiday cebtr

Oh the OP was about all jobs too.

Ok:

Kitchen prep in a family pub
Bar staff at the local Tavern
Chocolate box maker
Waitress
Maccy Ds
Airport cleaning
Dispatches team for terrible computer company
Pensions administrator
Bar staff in cocktail bar
Telesales
Customer service rep for toaster manufacturer
Workshop faciliator
Project worker
Project manager
A la carte waitress
Administrator
Pr/accounts manager

Also strawberry picking/farm shop

Oops working at a riding holiday centre on a residential basis, although bloody hard work for little reward 6am -11pm by the time we’d served dinner and eaten and put horsesto bed. I loved every minute of it met some amazing people I slept in an old caravan or a shed in the garden with two dogs. It sounds horrendous but being able to take the horses swimming or for a beach gallop or a day long ride to the pub. It really was heaven

Worst was working for a large insurance company, which no longer exists. I was very naive and believed the hype they fed me. I was also self employed (I don't think this would be allowed now). I had to do cold calls on the phone, which made me sick with anxiety. Also, even though I managed to earn a bit, they wouldn't pay me what I'd earnt, just a proportion. One of the happiest days of my life was the day I walked out.
Best was a summer job in the channel islands. A long summer of sun sex and booze!

Sorry - I forgot to say my worst - sadly it was the nursing, especially the Theatre nursing. I got sick and tired of the way the surgeons treated us - I think they saw us as there to serve them, and they didn’t seem to have any clue about the work we did behind the scenes to make sure things went smoothly. We would be in theatre before them, setting everything up so it was ready when they came in, then, once the operation finished, they could go and have a coffee, whilst we did the cleaning and tidying, and then set up for the next case.

If I was the only nurse in theatre who could ‘scrub’ for cases (ie. the person who hands instruments to the surgeon, counts the swabs and needles etc, and assists when a junior doctor wasn’t assisting), I could be on the go all morning, without even the chance to go for a wee, let alone have a coffee, scrubbing for one case after another - and that was my job, I know - but the lack of appreciation was so disheartening.

The surgeons were quick enough to criticise if things weren’t exactly as they wanted, but had zero awareness of the work that went into it all.

Add to that the clique-y nature of some operating theatres - fine if you were in the ‘in’ group, shite if you weren’t. One place I worked, I was repeatedly allocated to the orthopaedic lists when I was pregnant, when X-rays were to be used during the operations - which was entirely unsuitable. To be honest, I wouldn’t have expected this to happen at all, in a hospital ffs - but it happened not once, but several times. In the end I left at 20 weeks - too early to get maternity leave - but it was the best decision I ever made.

Worst - secondary school teacher

Best - what I do now as a physicist but I did enjoy a little job I had at uni working in a cafe

Best - the time I spent in the army. Made the best friends I’ve ever had, who are still a big part of my life now, saw some incredible places, learned skills that will benefit me for life, and also experienced things that really push you to your human limit and show you what the human body and psyche is capable of.

Worst - Bar work.
Male customers who talk to your tits instead of your face and expect you to answer when they yell “oi love/babe/darlin’!” across the bar Customers who wave money at you instead of waiting their turn to be served. The grumpy, chauvinistic old bastard who just slammed his pint glass down on the bar and expected it to be refilled - manners cost nothing. Customers who think they can flirt with you and you’ll fall at their feet with your legs wide open. Customers who think it’s ok to launch a glass at your head when you refuse to serve them again after drinking up time
All in all shitty work for shitty money, and I wouldn’t do it again unless it was my only option to feed my kids.

Best jobs- police officer, student post woman, Bejam till operator.
Worst jobs- Crayola crayon packer. I can’t think of anything worse. God help you if you packed more than one colour in the same box

Many jobs.

Student ambassador (pt, uni)
Nursery nurse
Staff in a children home for teens under LA care. Where the most aggressive and violent teens went as no foster carers would have them.
Tesco
AO in PIP - admin work and later taking inbound calls
AO in Fraud in DWP (just started, so far enjoying training and sounds interesting)
Probation Practitioner (new job which starts in may)

Favourite was Tesco. I loved it, great team and I loved customer service. Only let down was the hours. 10hrs a week guaranteed, bloody Flexi contracts. Some weeks you'd have 50hrs and some 10hra, so impossible to plan or save. Unreliable working hours as your shifts would change every week. 8days holiday a year (as you only work 10hes in theory, hence reduced leave). Unable to take a rest as you never know when work will dry up, I took whatever shifts I was offered. As I could be tired but if I turned down this week who knows what next week brings? Permanently tired and working 70br weeks regularly. That said, while the conditions were crap, I loved the job. I really enjoyed customer service and helping people and won awards for my customer service, was sad to go.

Worst was the kids home. Was a private company and took the most violent teenagers, who no other home would take. They really should have been in some form of secure unit as were a risk to themselves and others. The one resident was 1-1 staffing but should have been 2-1. Had suspected BPD but would not engage with services. Big issues smoking weed outside door but wasn't stopped. Regularly trashed house and no consequences, regularly hit, punched, threatened staff. Felt terrified going into work the 2months I worked there. Staff had absolutely no control over the children. Manager was useless and unprofessional - when I was in the process of leaving, he was telling the children details of my circumstances, which my colleagues then told me off. Tried telling me you should expect to be assaulted and I wasn't up to the job. This was after me being held to a wall with a lit cigarette an inch from my face, I pressed charges, went to court, she got off. Manager worse than useless, more on the children's sides than staff, completely unconcerned with our safety or fears, or even the kiss rights as they needed specialist care. Once I left I reported him and the company to the CSSIW. Disgraceful company, unorganized, uninterested, money was the main motivator not the wellbeing of their staff or kids.

Jobs I've had:
Waitress in a cafe
Cleaner in a caravan park
Kitchen assistant in a residential home
Working in Burger King
Bakery assistant
Masseuse
Carer in a residential home
Healthcare Assistant
Receptionist
Computer-based job in NHS (current)

Worst job was being a kitchen assistant in a residential home. Probably the most stressful job I've ever had. I was never quite sure what I was doing and there seemed to be a ridiculous amount of work to do in too short a time, so I ended up doing a lot of unpaid overtime just trying to get it all done. The only time I met the manager was the day she fired me . I was only 17 and felt like a total failure!

My best job is my current one. Interesting and varied work; a lovely boss and team; lots of opportunities for advancement and little extra projects you can do if you fancy it; I'm in charge of my own workload and I don't have any contact with patients. Oh and nice NHS benefits too .

Oh and I had to work 8am til 11pm as standard. Quite often do an overnight, which was 8am til 7am. You'd get paid 35quid from 11pm until 7am as you were sleeping. Only you weren't as the kids would play up and you'd be lucky to be in bed by 2am. Wasn't unusual to have to work a day, so 8 until 11, then a night, and then the following day! Add to the fact that I lived 40mins away (applied for a job in town next to me, they agreed, then only offered me that location, couldn't bear going back to UC) and it's easy to see how I was knackered constantly

Best and worst were the same teaching job. I was there for years and have made life long friends. I loved my subject, but had to teach others I wasn't qualified in. I loved my kids, but had to also teach age groups I wasn't qualified for. In the end, I got ill at work and almost died. I had to leave after that.