Jobs I've held.

In high school a teacher told us that we would have an average of 8 career changes. I thought he was crazy. I thought I would do one thing and do it to the best of my abilities until I retired. I was the crazy one. Read on about the many diverse jobs I have held so far.

Baby sitter to many nieces and nephews.

Right out of high school I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. So, I got a job at a candy import company. I was the switchboard operator. I directed eleven incoming telephone lines. I try to keep things positive around here, but to be honest I must tell you my boss was a total jerk parading as an upright 'christian'. He would send girls aged 18 to 22 to do candy shows, getting them the cheapest rooms available in the seediest most dangerous parts of the city. He was not a nice man, he actually hit one lady. I left after nine months, I had a lot of fun with the other employees at that company though, nothing like a jerky boss to unite workers. Another good thing about that nasty first job was that it made every one after it seem lovely in comparison.

My next job was at a baseball cap factory. I applied the little button to the top of baseball caps, but that's not all I did, no siree. I also put those little round eyelets in the cap panels. We all know how important those eyelets are! That factory closed after I was there a little over a year and I decided it was time to get back to school.

I still was not 100% clear on what career I wanted to pursue. I had always been a timid sort and had little confidence in myself. I made a conscious decision to try the thing that frightened me most. (Face your fears head-on to eliminate them and become a stronger person is what I was thinking here.) I took a weekend class on computer programming. I had never touched a computer before so this was a huge scary step for me. Guess what, I liked it. I enrolled full time and got a degree in computer programming.

While attending college I worked at a bank and did their nightly processing work. A fun aspect of this job was watching the ATM monitor. I would see people doing the oddest things when they thought no one was watching. ATM users made rude gestures, mooned the camera, kissed the camera and kissed each other. Fun times.

After graduating I went to work for a company that developed, sold and maintained software for about 90 banks throughout the Midwest. My job was to customize programs when a bank wanted to do things a little differently than the norm. I also helped people when they ran into problems and needed help working their way out. It was fun to guide them through their rough spots. They were always very thankful and thought I was the bomb! This company was eventually bought by a larger company and they closed our office. I was offered a job by the new company but I couldn't leave my family and move to their office in Missouri. I can't be without my family!

Payroll specialist was my next title. I did the payrolls for many of the businesses in my small town. The bakery, factory, restaurant, veterinary office and many others. I also did bookkeeping work for a few businesses. Have I mentioned that I prefer to be creative and don't enjoy numbers much? I stuck it out for a couple of years before training a niece to take over.

I went back to school to become a massage therapist just like my older sister. It was a good fit. I had had my first child by then and could set my own hours, staying home with him most of the day. A bad car accident that did some damage to my neck and jaw made giving massages too painful for me to continue.

I helped my carpenter brother Rick part-time building spec houses.

My nephew Justin is profoundly mentally and physically handicapped. I was a licenced respite care provider for him until he turned 18.

My husband Bruce and I started a trucking company. We haul a liquid by-product from ethanol production plants. We deliver the liquid to cattle feeders. Cattle love to eat the stuff, its very nutritious and it's cheaper to feed than corn. I am the one who contacts the plants to procure the syrup we haul in our tanker trucks.

We quickly became too busy for my husband to continue feeding the cattle we had on our farm. I took over the cattle chores, while he drove one of our trucks 16 to 18 hours a day. I drove tractors, mixed and fed cattle feed, worked cattle(sorting, treating, loading, unloading), hauled manure, fixed machinery, basically did everything required to take care of cattle. I think this was my favorite job.

I have always done the bookkeeping for our farm and trucking business.

I was geared up (Get it? Trucks have lots of gears? Just ignore me and read on.) to start driving one of our 18 wheelers full time when I was diagnosed with cancer. I was driving the trucks with my husband in the passenger seat. Fun fact: People who want to practice driving a semi tractor trailer before taking their driving test need to have a learners permit. I had already taken and passed all the written tests required. However, the cancer treatments left me too tired to do much of anything, hence the name Slug-A-Bed. We sold the farm, I continue to do the bookwork for our growing trucking company and I stay at home with our two boys.

Last year I was a substitute teachers helper at my boys' elementary school. I worked in the special education room with mostly downs syndrome boys. I loved it but I became too fatigued and I ended up contracting every virus that thrives in the perfect conditions an elementary school provides, a side effect of my leukemia. Only when I get a normal childhood illness it sometimes morphs into a nastier version and I can suffer for months. Had to give up being a teachers helper.

So these are the jobs I have held. Wow, that is a long and diverse list.

1. Baby Sitter
2. Switchboard Operator
3. Factory Worker
4. Bank Employee
5. Computer Programmer
6. Payroll Processor
7. Bookkeeper
8. Massage Therapist
9. Respite Care Provider
10. Carpenters Helper
11. Cattle Feeder
12. Entrepreneur
13. Teachers Helper
14. Most importantly, I am a Circus Trainer/Mom to two wild boys!

What jobs have you had, what jobs are you training for?