Labor Day is a time that many of us celebrate with BBQs and rest. It’s a day to acknowledge the work of everyone in our society. However, many people work on Labor Day, including but not limited to 9-1-1 dispatchers, grocery store clerks, nurses, and sewage treatment plant workers, etc.
This is also a day that I think of the show “Dirty Jobs” on the Discovery channel. The host, Mike Rowe, travels around the USA doing the most hardcore gross work. He could be shoveling pig manure in one segment, running around in liquid compost at a turkey farm or the back of a “roadkill” recovery truck the next minute. The jobs he profiles will make you grimace.
However, we don’t have to go that far in this area to see jobs that are less desirable. You make choices in your employment options as much as you are able, while others have fewer choices based on their skill set or physical capabilities.
So as you enjoy your BBQ and libation today on Labor Day, can you think of jobs in San Jose that you simply would not do, or jobs you did when you were younger that were not fun?
For example, when I was 15 years old, I worked at Burger King (don’t tell Councilmember Campos) and worked the fryer station. There is nothing like being a teenager who is already prone to acne being exposed to all that greasy air. The job was hot and tedious and I made $3.35 an hour before getting promoted to “Whopper Board” making $3.65.
I am not in a rush anytime soon to work at Burger King again. It was fun to race against my colleagues, Tung and Ajmir, who could make burgers faster, which was a big deal then. However, cleaning out the fryers, broilers and dumpsters was less prestigious.
Do you have similar work experiences that you would like to tell us about?