Looking Back on Our Summer Jobs
WHETHER IT WAS DURING high school or college, whether the goal was to have spending money or to pay rent, most of us know the struggles and the joys of working a summer job.Because we are feeling nostalgic as summer is in full force, we’ve collected summer job stories from members of our team!
Worst Summer Job Ever
Sometimes we find ourselves in summer jobs where the only good thing about them is that they only lasted a summer. Do any of our team’s stories sound familiar?
Frances
The summer after my freshman year of college I worked as a pool server at a country club in my home town in Alabama. It only took a couple days to realize that it was not the job for me. Poolside in the Alabama summer heat is very nice when you can hop in the water to cool off when you need to, however, in tennis shoes, khaki shorts, and a thick Hawaiian shirt it is quite miserable. I stuck it out for the whole summer but was extremely ready to go back to school in the fall.
Felisha
My worse summer job ever was working in a hot, sticky, gross warehouse! There was NO a/c and having to pack boxes filled with books was not ideal at all. Did I mention there was NO a/c, I mean my mustache was sweating….grossssss….never again!
Melanie
When I was in college I worked two summers in a warehouse. It was so incredibly hot and we always had to wear pants. Some days when it was going to be in the 90’s we would come in at like 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning to be able to leave when it started getting really warm. The people I worked with were mostly nice but I was a young college girl so you can put two and two together to imagine how much they…liked me.
Ashley
My worst summer job would have to have been the summer I spent working at a mechanic and auto-body shop. Some days were great- I got to get dirty changing oil and doing tire rotations, which I loved! I learned a lot about cars and had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, looking back on that job, what I remember most was the unbearable heat with no A/C, running a lot of really dumb errands for a boss that wasn’t the best, and enduring constant inappropriate commentary from the fellow-employee peanut gallery (who, by the way, would drink on the job!!)
Stephanie
The worst summer job I had was when I was working for a doctor who had no respect for his employees. He was very unprofessional and would yell at me in front of patients just because I was standing in the wrong spot. One memorable time for me was when he was missing hemostats and asked me to please go from op to op and get all the hemostats. I than had to stop what I was doing with the patient and get all of them together and bring them to him. Once I did that I asked him what he wanted with them and he told me to now put them back in every op where I found them. I felt so embarrassed in front of the patient and she eventually stood up after treatment and gave me a hug. She told me not to let someone treat me like that.
Check out this video from Jimmy Fallon to hear about some more bad summer jobs!
The Good Times
Just as there are bad summer jobs, there are also good ones. Maybe nothing particularly dramatic happened, but they still hold a fond place in our memories.
Frances
The summer after 7th grade, I started babysitting for an 8-month-old little girl. Almost a decade later, I still baby sit for her when ever I go home to visit. Watching her grow up over the years has been one of the sweetest jobs I have ever had.
Felisha
My best summer job ever is what I love to do the most…racing my cars on the track! It’s probably the best feeling in the world crossing that finish line with a win!
Melanie
The best place I worked was being a camp counselor for a sports camp. It was fun to be interacting with the kids and playing games. It was most fun when we took field trips and did fun activities such as going to a Schaumburg Boomers game or the public pool.
Ashley
My best summer job was hands-down the summers I spent working part time at my local vinyl record shop. I didn’t get paid much, just thrown some cash here and there occasionally, but I was always able to pick out whatever records I wanted at the end of a shift (within reason)- which grew my collection, so to me was almost better than money. My boss allowed me blast music as loud as I wanted, and we had a huge drum kit in the back that I could play when we were dead (which was often). There was even a whole room dedicated to his vintage arcade game collection I was able to pass the time in. It was heaven!
Stephanie
The best summer job I had was when I worked as a nanny for a boy with who was deaf and had autism. His name was Brian and he was 8 years old. He was the sweetest kid I had ever met and all he wanted to do was be outside on hikes or at the park. He loved when I would take him to the pool so he could swim. He loved the water. Some days were rough when he was having a bad day but other than that it was the best to see how happy I would make him just by being there. I learned to speak in sign language, that was a challenge but we made it work. Once I decided to leave and go to work for a dental office he was very sad and it through him off. I still see Brian from time to time he is now 16 years old.
Now, It’s YOUR Turn!
What was YOUR most memorable summer job? Share your own experiences in the comments section below or send us a message on our Facebook page!
