What is the very worst job you have ever had?

@jillhill (37354)
United States
June 22, 2008 8:09pm CST
When I was young back in the early 60's.....my sister and I wanted to earn some money. We went to the local bowling alley and signed up to clean the grease off the bowling pin setters....this job was done by taking acid and stripping off the grease. Well the owner gave us rubber gloves but as soon as the acid hit them they would melt or disinegrate and fingers of the gloves would fall off! And did it burn when it hit the skin!! We each earned two dollars and never volunteered to do that job again!
8 people like this
34 responses
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
23 Jun 08
Ouch, that sounds painful. I am sure that has to be illegal to do now. Well, I mean at least with not much protection. I think the worst job I had was not because of the task itself but because of how long we had to work. I worked for two hotels and a convention center. I was a banquet server which means we set the tables, served the food, cleaned the silverware or dishes if they aren't completely clean, and then we take it all down. It seems fun, but really got the monotinious. We had to work with temporary's and that means doing double work. We worked sometimes triple shifts. When I say 23 hours, i'm not kidding. I also lived with family at the time, and you know how that can be. I wasn't getting any sleep because of all the noise in the house. Well, I hope you have a Great day.
2 people like this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
I bet that was taxing! Getting no sleep would get me down!
2 people like this
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
24 Jun 08
Jillhill it was very tiring, I can tell you. It was a nice enough job but I as well as a few others had suspected we weren't getting our money's worth. We were payed on Gratuity as well as $3.00 an hour, and there were a few times when we should have made more. Mdew - I agree with you, and I am glad that you got a promotion. We were eligible for transfer every 90 days. I had originally applied for front desk but made to be banquet server.
• China
23 Jun 08
I can't agree with you anymore.working for a long time without just a litte rest is horrible., and I would never forget those days.Out client push us to complete a project in just one week,which requierd two weeks or more in the normal conditon.We had to do what the wanted just beacuse client means god for us.During that week,I slept four hours on evarage.So tired,but I got promotion a month later.I think I got enough compensation,and that horrible experience excited me to work harder,because i believed that no pain,no gain.
2 people like this
@baileycows (3665)
• United States
23 Jun 08
I would have to say it would be a paper route. The money is pretty good, but it gets your schedule all out of whack. Waking up at 2AM to throw papers till 5AM then sleeping a few hours and going to your real job or school. It is very hard and if I had not wanted the money while I was in college I would not have done it. Not to mention all the wear and tear it can have on a vehicle.
2 people like this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
All three of my kids did that and it's a tough job. And a demanding one...they had to deliver everyday and then find a sub when they couldn't do it and no one wanted to be a sub.
1 person likes this
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
23 Jun 08
Well, I definately can say that none of the jobs I have had were as Bad as this one, and I do not blame you for never wanting to do this one again. That does not even sound right or safe. For me, the worst job I would say that I ever have had would have to be Fast Food. I worked at Burger King. It was low pay, and not the funnest of jobs. For me, for what you had to do, it was quite stressful. The only part of it I did not mind was Cashiering. The rest I hated and you could never pay me enough to ever consider working Fast Food again even part time for some extra Cash.
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
I don't think that job would interest me either.
1 person likes this
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
23 Jun 08
I had a chuckle reading this and it's far worse than anything I've ever done other than making jam at a fruit factory.
1 person likes this
• Canada
23 Jun 08
Oh yeah but look how smart we are now from our past experiences hehehe.
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
When you are kids sometimes you are not so smart! LOL
1 person likes this
@ellie333 (21016)
23 Jun 08
Hi Jill, I think I am very lucky really as I have always enjoyed whatever job I have had so there isn't a worse one really on the paid front. Worse job ever in the home though was went the toilet got blocked and it overflowed into the bathroom, it took me forever to steam clean and dry out and for weeks there was a yukky smell. Ellie :D
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
That would be yucky! LOL.
1 person likes this
• United States
23 Jun 08
omg how horrible!! well hmm.. i have liked almost all of my jobs even if they were fast food or being a janitor.. i think it would be a call center since im scared of phones.. which im not scared of getting phone calls so i figured it would be ok but the pc system for cell phone support wouldnt work and the whole place people were catty towards everyone else and it just stressed me out so i quit.. i wouldnt have even tried or gone to get the job if it wasnt for that it paid more than 90% of the jobs in that town.. and jobs were so rare there as is.. but other than that would have been a housekeeper at a hotel.. my pain probs were really starting to show and they wanted me to move a grand piano with another girl and im like uhhhhh hello?!?!? im dont have that kind of strength!! they are saying i could because it has wheels but you still had to get the piano to jump out of the grooved cup type thing in the floor that kept it in place.. i moved it a little ways but then was asked to do something else and by then i was like SCREW THIS!! and quit.. there were major probs with my boss towards everyone and my bestfriend at the time that was tearing the whole place apart so that didnt help lol
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
LOL....I don't think I could have moved a grand piano either!
1 person likes this
• United States
24 Jun 08
it was so freaking insane that they could even think it.. if they wanted it moved they should have gotten off their butts and done it theirself.. haha
@vanities (11395)
• Davao, Philippines
23 Jun 08
my first job was a casual on a govt. agency which caters approval on bldg. permits and electrical permits..i was assigned in the building permits section..would you believe that no one was giving me assigned task or work? i really dont know why and i did ask for one and give me some log books to re write all the stuffs, my gosh what a work!!..sometimes i just sit there reading some books and yet the govt. was paying me for it ..it lasted for six months..since i finally decided to quit since im bored and need some job experienced to move on for a higher rate..
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
I was at a job like that once and it was a challenge to stay awake!
1 person likes this
• Philippines
23 Jun 08
The worst job I ever had was when I'm working at a bank. It only lasted for a month. I worked there as an analyst but then my boss told me I also have to answer customer complaints. It's like having two jobs at the same time and I decided I'll just find a new one than to stay there.
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
Ah and answering customer complaints would be a tough job!
1 person likes this
• United States
23 Jun 08
Oh my god,that horrible,do they still do that?i don't know i think the worse job i ever did was scraping grease out of grill pit,unless u count cleaning out the swamp in the back of our house that was infested with snakes and water mocassins.
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
I'll vote for the snakes and water mocassins....that would be the worst!
1 person likes this
@yogeshdhusa (2236)
• India
23 Jun 08
Hi jillhill, When i was in collage, my sister and I decide to do screen painting job, we started but the only problem was the finance. after completing the job , the fix rate was too less that others, thats why we went down closing the business. still we feel that i should start one more business but dont have any idea. suggest if you have one, please.
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
I'll see if I can come up with an idea!
1 person likes this
@jer31558 (3683)
• United States
23 Jun 08
That would definitely be a job that I would hate to have. I think that my worst would be a helper on a dredge. I was stuck in the middle of a lake, at night for 12 hours. There was an operator, but he was busy operating and so pretty much there wasn't even anyone to talk to.
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
I don't think I would like being in the middle of a lake at night.....yikes!
2 people like this
• United States
23 Jun 08
My worst job was baling hay. It's very hot and itchy. I did it once and never again...lol. If you don't wear long sleeves the hay pokes you more. If you do wear long sleeves you are even hotter. It's a no win situation. I would never do that job again.
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
I grew up on a farm and did that myself...that and picking rock out of the fields were both hot and hard jobs to do.
1 person likes this
@lazeebee (5461)
• Malaysia
23 Jun 08
The very worst job I had, was when I first left college. We had to sell cleaning services to housewives who use gas cookers. Each day, the supervisor would collect us in a van, and dropped us in a designated housing area, and we'd go house-to-house talking to the ladies. There were a number of frightening events, like the dogs chasing us, a weird-looking guy following us, and shouting from some ladies. And our pay at the end of the month was just peanuts! Since then, I would never do any personal selling...it's terrifying!
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
I have seen some of those people...I dont' think I would like to go door to door either.
1 person likes this
• United States
23 Jun 08
the job i hate the most is cleaning up at mcdonalds but it's worth it.
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
Well if it's worth it then it makes it bareable.
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@nonew3 (1941)
• United States
23 Jun 08
I would have to say it was the job I had once working at a processed-fish plant. It was hot and humid, so loud you had to wear earplugs constantly, a lot of strong chemicals were involved, you had to wear thick rubber boats, a lab coat, a hair net, and safety goggles, it stunk really bad of hot fish to high heaven, there was a lot of palatizing heavy boxes, and a lot of conveyor-belt type stuff. I often had to clean pureed processed fish goo off conveyor belts and such, and keep putting frozen fish things onto conveyor belts and into boxes on assembly line type tasks. I often worked the swing shift. I don't eat fish now after all that.
@nonew3 (1941)
• United States
23 Jun 08
Now you can see why I have recently turned organic-vegetarian. It kept making my stomach turn. It was all I could do to somehow force myself to keep working there night, after night, after night. I kept coming home stinking to high heaven of fish. The stench permeated my clothes even though my clothes were covered with lab and safety gear during work. I had to keep taking showers and washing my clothes after work. I couldn't go around stinking like rancid fish. And, I kept thinking, "People are EATING that chemical-ridden, stinky, gooey stuff!" Yuck indeed! I no longer eat meat or fish. I am slowly weaning myself off dairy and egg products as well, gradually working toward a mostly-organic vegan diet. It's obvious why I am doing this. I have seen, smelled, and experienced too much of what really goes on behind the scenes, and it's grosser than gross.
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
Yuck! I wouldn't eat fish either!
@luvstochat (6907)
• United States
24 Jun 08
The worst job I had was working as a telemarkerter trying to get people to get credit cards try calling someone and asking for their social security number! I only did that for one day no more of that!
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
24 Jun 08
Oh Oh....hope I didn't hang up on you! LOL
@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
23 Jun 08
Along with my cousin SusanLee i worked on a shrimp boat. One day! Never again!
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
AH.....I remember the scenes from Forest Gump! dont' blame you a bit!
1 person likes this
@cjgrooms (4456)
• United States
23 Jun 08
It was okay before it got daylight, then it was just hot and miserable and smelly, by the time we got home i was sick as a dog (i can't tolerate the sun or heat very well) and red as a lobster. of course a storm had to blow up while we were out (i can't swim) and take my word that didn't help. I laugh when i think about it now because i can't believe we actually did it. What were we thinking?????
@awapak (1275)
• Pakistan
23 Jun 08
I had to do a clerical job to support my parents,brothers and sisters.It was a very tough job,which I hated the most as it was never according to my aptitude.Thank God i got rid of it.
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
That is something to be thankful for!
• United States
24 Jun 08
i worked at KFC for one shift and never came back. first of all they expect you to learn every menu option on this large panel in like one hour. then all day long you hear the crew or managers yelling at you to hurry up with the chicken order. then at the end of the night we all had to stay behind and clean and mop the whole kitchen, then to top it off i was asked to clean the whole bathroom alone. i politely walked out letting them know this was not what i signed up for.
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
24 Jun 08
Good for you!!!!!!
• India
23 Jun 08
Soon after leaving high school, I tried my hands in giving tuition to kids thinking it must be easy. Well, the tuition part was okay but the unruly kid, whom I was teaching was quite difficult to manage. He would bite without any provocation, just for fun even to. It was horrible experience!
@nonew3 (1941)
• United States
23 Jun 08
Wow! That sounds awful! Was there anything at all that you could do about the biting? Did he draw blood? Yikes!
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 08
Yikes! I don't think I would have lasted long at that either.