to think that most of us have worked behind a bar/ in a factory/supermarket/ as a cleaner at some point, HAVEN'T we?????

[bejeezus]

Came up in conversation today in the office, that I have worked as a barmaid; my colleagues where and I was equally that non of them have...I thought EVERYONE had worked behind a bar at some point in their life???

Ive had variousjobsinmylife, including factory work, working in kitchens, dog kennels, cleaning, callcentres; and now Im a professional

it gotme thinking--i went to uni and worked holidays/ evenings and weekends...now i think about it, hardly anyone else did that!

Am reading 'Chavs' at the minute and the author makes that very point....very large majorityof politicians have never done that kind of job and so cannot relate to the working classes AT ALL. It really hit home, how very far removed from normal folk, politicians are these days

But,most of yous have done/do these kind ofjobs-right?

I did a load of varied jobs when I was younger.

I started work PT when I was 12 so spent my formative years waitressing in tea rooms/coaching hotels.

Left school at 16 and started work as a chambermaid. Then when pregnant worked in a factory sewing together M&S knickers (until M&S outsourced the whole lot to the Far East, and the factory closed with about 300 people (mostly women) losing their jobs.

After dd was born went to a different factory on the shop floor, started to study for a degree, my workplace sponsored me in an element of it (bless them the ysaw some potential in me) and I ended up years later being an engineer.

Now I am a senior civil servant seconded to Whitehall. I work with some very rarefied types who have never worked outside the civil service fast stream. Their whole life has been very good school, very good university, very good career.

I don't think they are better or worse than me - just different - but I am very glad that I have done those jobs. I still think that those jobs are a lot bloody harder than mine in many respects.

I've worked behind numerous bars, a couple of factories, several supermarkets and as cleaners both employed and self employed in the past......
You go where the money is when there's bills to pay!
Haven't read whole thread yet, but anyone who thinks they are above these career choices is being unreasonable in my opinion!

While at school I was a waitress, had a paper round, and later worked in a shop. When I bought my first house and was broke I worked in a pub in the evenings after working all day. As a student I worked during the holidays filing, as a laundry assistant (AWFUL), taught English to foreign students and also worked in a factory. Sooooo glad those days are over. Even as a student I always had money for going out, getting drunk, clothes etc. Have to make a buck somehow.

My DD turned 16 in the new year.

She has been trying to get a Saturday job, week day or weekend kitchen shift, paper round, to no avail. (Sixth form college starts 5th September.)

I just went online with her (as per instructions from JobCentre) to look at vacancies for the local shift-based employers eg fast food outlets, supermarkets, etc.

Nothing.

Yikes.

I have waitressed and worked in shops.
Ynbu

I have never worked in a supermarket. Thank god actually as the only one where I grew up was a scummy Gateways.

I have worked in places (manufacturing) where if you were on the graduate scheme you would spend several weeks on the shop floor doing the most menial tasks, and learn how the things (cars, aircraft parts) were actually put together.

I have suggested that where I work now it would be a good idea where the more senior people spent some time doing the more coal face work, such as answering complaints in the shared service centre for example. People just look at me like this

I've worked in two shops (when at school), packed boxes in a factory, opened envelopes with camera films in for truprint (whilst at university- crappest job ever- so monotonous. Hats off to anyone who can do that sort of job long term) and answered phones in the customer care dept of the same company. Am now a teacher.

@beejeezus But those aren't the only types of jobs that can teach you a work ethic or how to be in a team. My sister worked in every uni holiday for British Gas, doing data processing. It paid really well. She didn't enjoy it much, but it was definitely 'white collar' work. She was taken on as a clerical assistant ater school, changed her mind about going to uni, left (to go to uni) but got rehired on short term contracts every holiday, because they liked her, she was a good worker, she'd been trained, she was trustworthy with confidential information etc.

line it is bloody hard for teens to get a PT job. DD has been applying for everything for months. She luckily got a casual job washing pots and pans in a kitchen but has recently got a job in Macdonalds (good pay for 16 year olds). But she can't start until she has finished all her GCSE exams (company policy).

I worked at a hair dressers for a few weeks when I was 14, but other than that no. I went straight into the insurance industry when I was 16 and stayed for 20yrs, the worked for a charity for 11 yrs and now I'm the motor trade for 4 yrs.

Linerunner, the supermarkets change their recruitment pages daily, there might be nothing today, 10 posts next week, nothing the week after. They do their hiring in batches so they can all be interviewed and trained together. Keep logging on to the usual suspects (boots, m&S, sainsbos etc) and you'll see it changes day to day - just do your research before doing their online interviews - if you "fail" (they don't call it that) once you can't apply again to that company for 6 months or a year in some cases

Yep, I have worked

As a waitress
Behind a bar
In a shopping centre food court
In many call centres
Door to door gas sales
Admin work in an office

The bar work was the best, I wish it paid as well as my professional career!!

I really liked waitressing - it was very social and you got tips. Ditto chambermaiding - I actually really like getting hospital corners going and cleaning sinks.

The worst was factory production work. Overlocking knickers all day. And those FUCKING little bows on knickers. All day every day for weeks on end stamping those things on. Everybody hates knicker bows don't they? What's the point? Just to send some poor sod demented with tedium sewing them on (piece work as well, so you had to make an effort and not just drift off and daydream).

And a job making filters - I had to trim little pieces of corrugated paper with a scalpel and then pile them up in rows of 24 in little metal boxes to be processed by the next person.

Very monotonous, constant clock watching and wishing your life away.

Thanks for all the info, GetOrf and Cremeeggs. Ace.

Really impressed with Macdonalds so far - she has completed a very thorough induction etc. The money is very good as well (exceeds min wage for 16 year olds anyway).

I've worked in shops, several pubs and as a cleaner, had various part time second jobs incl. answering the phone for a takeaway delivery service when I bought ex-dp out of our house and needed the money badly. Tried telemarketing once, it was horrid.

assembling tiny things
door to door selling (horrible, would rather clean toilets all day, or anything else really)
shopwork
barwork (fun and helped improve my arithmatic, but would get too tired now)

during uni (well poly) holidays

bar work again
temp office work

after poly

temp office work
kitchen work
warehouse (in a warehouse, not the clothes shop)
cleaning (good when have own keys and choose hours)

I've worked behind a bar, cleared tables in a cafe, sold burgers and fries in a fast food joint.

What marks me out as a member of the relatively privileged middle classes is that I never relied on any of those jobs to pay the rent, they were always pin money - in the immortal words of Jarvis, if I called my dad he could stop it all. And in most cases the people I was working with were also doing it for pin money so I wasn't getting anything like the breadth of life-experience implied by the sound-bite "I used to work in a burger bar" - the context is as important as the job itself.

All the jobs that I've relied on to pay the rent have been office based - although one of them paid 5 grand a year, which even in the early 90s was bugger all.

I have worked -
as a paper girl
as a cleaner
as a care assistant in a nursing home
as a deli shop assistant
as a hotel breakfast waitress & dish washer
as an ice cream seller
in tesco
as a doctor

I think my years working in a nursing home made me a better doctor.

Hah! Missed out:

Trimming tulip bulbs (Holland)
Coffee shop worker (Amsterdam)
Laundrette worker
Delivering leaflets
Ticket agent (Royal Festival Hall, on the phone)
Mail sorting
Postwoman
Teaching assistant (although that was sort of related to what I trained for.)

Not 'above' doing any of those jobs again, though I think I might struggle with some of them now as I'm a bit older and would look ridiculous in the skimpy uniforms.

I have met people who never have had to work doing 'menial' jobs- (for example, during my degree when I had two jobs - loads of those kids seemed to be from rich families who just paid for everything). If I'm honest, I've probably had a bit of a chip on my shoulder with people like that in the past, but reading this, perhaps I have some sort of advantage- even if it is only that I've done so many different random jobs..!

I did those jobs for no pay.... I worked for my Dad. I hated that some of the employees were open about their distain for me and I was always referred to as the owners daughter. It was a huge exposure to real life and reverse snobbery. I also did the cleaning (staff toilets et al) when I was home and mucked out the horses (my Dad also breeds horses as a business) at 5am. I still help out to this day and am his defacto controller of his new company (old one was sold). It annoys me that people assume that you must do certain jobs to be able to relate to others. You need to be observant, ask questions and listen to be able to relate to others.

When it comes to making a hiring decision I don't care what type of work was completed. It needs to be on the right side of the law and there should be some consistency such as staying in one position for the summer. When it comes to selecting interns to interview I like to throw a wide net. I like to hire as many interns as i can as no one gave me the chance to get experience when I was going through university. Our department budget is for 3 interns.... I am looking at hiring 10 from very diverse backgrounds.

That's a really good point dilys the experience of a job is likely very different depending on context

I cried after every shifts when I workedin one particular factory. I hated it, but I couldn't not go until I found a different job

Good grief yes - i agree with OP . i have worked in cafes, bakeries, done delivery driver jobs and cleaning jobs as well as farm work. I did them in my hols from school from age 16, earning £2.50 an hour (early 90s). worked every weekend and in the hols sometimes racked up 70-80 hours a week and saved most of the money (several grand over the course of a few years) and spent it with great enjoyment at university.

Loads and loads of my uni mates never had that kind of job though - i was in a minority but at 16 my folks were keen i started learning about the world of work.

it was vitally important life experience in my opinion although at the time i hated it sometimes, other times it was fun and gave me a bit of independence. some of my friends thought i was sad for doing that kind of "shit job" . however it now means i don't treat people who some would regard as having menial jobs and customer service roles like pieces of shit, as many folk with a bit of education and cash can do.

I have - done all those jobs when DCs were small as in those days ( I'm very old and had my DCs very young ) there werent the flexible hours and child friendly working hours etc etc so they were the only jobs I could do really.

BTW what's all this 'Text enhance' stuff coming up on certain words ?

Cant you tell why I never got far?

Oh and I worked in a chippy as a teenager for my grandma - it was her business. I was 13 and would come home from boarding school and be working the register, even on exeat weekends. When I mentioned this experience at interview for an investment bank the guy was open mouthed.