My father had two employers his entire work career. The government—I include his years with NASA and the Air Force as one—and General Electric (GE). When he retired, he was more or less set for the rest of his years.
My father loved the space industry. At GE he was basically the company’s liaison to NASA. He passed way too early, but I have never doubted he left this world a fulfilled man concerning his work
He was an excellent example for me to emulate in his work ethic, but the apple fell far from the tree when it came to staying with one company.
I marvel at people who have stayed with one organization their entire life. Ranchers and farmers who have generations behind them who continue their legacy amaze me.
As much I admire people who have longevity with their employer, I cannot personally conceive of not taking on the many jobs I have had. Even the bad ones.
I have had 87 jobs since I began work at the age of 15. This number is skewed somewhat because there were periods in my life where I had several employers at the same time.
I was in the workforce early because I wanted a car like any other teenager.
My dad told me he would split the cost of my first car and I realized my allowance wasn’t going to go far in this transaction.
Hello, Burger King.
Yep, my first paying job (not counting mowing lawns) was at a burger factory. I did that for almost a year before switching over to a Marriott restaurant where I was a dishwasher.
The grass looked greener and the job paid well. Too bad it sucked. Scrubbing pots for hours at a time got old fast. I went scurrying back to Burger King until I got a job selling newspapers over the phone.
It turns out I was good at selling over the phone. So good, in fact, an insurance company hired me to solicit leads for salesmen after the owner got one of my newspaper calls.
So, at 18, I found myself making great money for a kid still in high school who paid for most of his expenses—including clothes.
At that time, I had a favorite store called Jean Jack. This place offered me a job that paid me hourly with commissions. I hadn’t even graduated high school and I was making enough money to live on my own.
I credit these early jobs for teaching me hard work leads to rewards–and other jobs.
Right after high school I thought about moving to Florida, but a good talk with my father had me going to the University of Maryland. I did that while working two jobs.
At age 21, I had worked for seven companies. One part-time job I kept for four years during and after college.
My employment out of college was working for a man I had known since high school who was an amazing salesman. He had been watching me do different sales jobs and he wanted to train me to be his assistant and teach me everything he knew about sales. To a guy fresh out of college it seemed way cool.
It wasn’t really. I was on salary that was poverty wages with no commission because I was in training. I really didn’t have a problem with low pay, but my parents did. I might not have worked for him long, but he is the guy who taught me about firm handshakes and looking people in the eye when meeting them. His lessons on body language by others I still use to this day.
My part-time job employer then asked if I wanted to manage a store that sold Levis. I took it—pleasing my folks.
I liked retail well enough, but after a year I questioned that choice.
I decided to chuck retail and go back to school. It was a scary move, but leaving set a precedent for me not to be fearful of taking risk.
My folks were fine about me going back to school, even encouraging, but it was all on my dime. My girlfriend suggested I wait tables to pay for school.
At 22, I became a waiter at a steakhouse. I really liked the job and took service seriously. When they made me a bartender though, I had found my calling.
I put myself through school and got an English degree because I felt there might be a writer lurking inside.
I was hired by the Baron Report, a premier political newsletter. This was another game changer. The Baron Report was published by the National Journal and I got tremendous exposure to how politics and lobbying works in D.C.
I kept bartending because D.C. is an expensive city and I really needed two jobs to make ends meet. From the Baron Report, I went to work for Senator Dale Bumpers from Arkansas and after him, Senator Fritz Hollings.
After Senator Hollings, I got a clerking job with Dewey Ballantine law firm and was even considering law school. By this time I was married.
I was the perfect yuppie.
Divorce came crashing down and I just wanted to get out of D.C. What better place than Hawaii to go and reinvent yourself? Plus, I could work on a masters started at Maryland.
So, off I went to Honolulu and in the course of three months I had a half dozen different jobs working as hotel receptionist, country club waiter and bartender at Tom Sellick’s restaurant—all at the same time.
You have to pay to live in paradise.
I got a job managing a Waikiki youth hostel and I was supplied an apartment. That cut costs considerably, although I still bartended as my second job. I went through about four bars before I found the perfect one and I was set until I left Hawaii.
When I left Hawaii for Taiwan, the job count was at 27.
That may sound like a lot, but I was about to crush that number. In Taiwan I was a free lance worker because jobs on the island were plentiful.
I was an English teacher the first year and I worked for schools, businesses and some private individuals. While there, my bartending skills got discovered and I was used by so many bars for training that if I hadn’t kept a journal I wouldn’t be able to list them.
I only count the places I stayed more than a few months. Taiwan put to use skills I gleaned from past jobs. By the time I left, I was employed by two hospitals, two corporations and a half dozen individuals for teaching English. There was a restaurant/bar chain with seven venues that bounced me around bartending. I was in that go round for seven years.
In my 30s, I hit working for 50 organizations, not counting private students.
I came to Wyoming and got a job at the Hotel Wolf for the summer, which let me buy a house in Saratoga. I didn’t even really get to live in it because I took off to Noosa, Australia for the year.
I only had two jobs during that time.
In Australia, I learned I could make a living anywhere in the world.
Coming back to Wyoming, I worked for the Lazy River Cantina. Though I, again, left Saratoga to go back to the orient, the McIlvaine would alway have a spot for me when I came back to Wyoming over the years.
Back in Taiwan, I count three more jobs before my brother and I opened a restaurant. I had that place for five years when Jim Beam and other companies began to hire me to promote their products in Taiwan and China.
I am now up to 60 jobs.
I was brought over to China by a restaurant consortium that based me in Suzhou. I was with them for almost a year. With them, I got on the radar of more spirit companies and importers. I found myself employed by several global brands in addition to one of the largest import companies of American beers and spirits.
My number jumps up again.
I worked for several of these companies in China.
I am now up to 81.
In China, I discovered I was a decent negotiator and could set up deals. When dealing with global representatives, you have to listen. I think being a bartender so many years helped.
The last few years were back in America. I worked for three foreign-owned companies and, I have sworn, I will not work for any company that is not US based again.
I am at 84.
I opened a restaurant in Laramie that did well until the building collapsed.
Then, I managed another bar in the same town. That work acquainted me with how important the University of Wyoming is to the entire state.
Working for the Sun has put me at 87.
All my past jobs have gotten me ready for this one.
Though I admire people that have worked for one or two companies all their lives, I can’t see any other way I could have ended up where I am
Yes, 87 jobs sounds like a lot, but when you are living a life I believe it’s not how many jobs you have had, rather what you learned from those jobs. The cool thing now is I am at a job where I am still learning and the jobs of my past have given me a firm foundation for this education.
It doesn’t get any better than that if you ask me.
Reader Comments(0)