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Thursday, November 20, 2014

Thinking Out Loud: Jobs I Had

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Thinking-Out-Loud

Thank you to Amanda @ Running With Spoons for this Thinking Out Loud link up! Today is all about... jobs!




This post ended up being longer than anticipated...
Oh well, I hope you enjoy a little history of all the different types of jobs I have had!


Baby-Sitter

When I was a kid, I loved reading The Baby-Sitter’s Club series. I couldn’t wait until I was old enough to baby-sit. I actually usually didn’t mind baby-sitting because it was easy money. When I did mind it, it was because I would get bored or would have to get up early to do it. There were a few terrors I sat for, who shall remain nameless… But I have had a kid run away while I was baby-sitting and another kid chuck pencils at me. Yeah, those were good times...


Grocery Store Cashier

I loved working at grocery stores! I worked at a tiny one in my hometown, and then one summer during college, I cashiered at Giant. I am fast, organized, and friendly, so I was a good worker. I loved "dinging" the stuff through the scanner and I loved organizing my coupons. I know it is weird, but other than teaching, it was my favorite job!


Waitress

I worked at a restaurant as a waitress for about two weeks one summer. I hated it because I had no clue what I was doing. I was only 16 and had zero serving experience. Not only that, but I was barely trained. I had no clue how to work the computer or anything. I screwed up so many people’s orders. I’d serve them tuna salads instead of tuna subs. It was just a nightmare. I have never served again. (And yes, I am an awesome tipper!)


Choreographer

When I was a kid, I loved to make up dances! I would do it all the time with my friends. Turns out, I never grew out of it. I was still making up dances with my friends when I was in high school. In fact, if one of my friends approached me today and said, "Hey Megan, wanna make up a dance?" I'd be like, "Uh, YES I WANT TO MAKE UP A DANCE!"

My first official time doing choreography was our high school's production of Anything Goes. No, I am not a tap dancer, but I went to a really small high school where NO ONE could tap dance. I was savvy enough to make up a couple easy moves that anyone could do. During and after college, I started doing choreography for community theaters and also for the high school of the school district I worked in. I also performed in most of the shows I choreographed (but not all).

Some of the shows I choreographed: Anything Goes, The Music Man, The Wizard of Oz, Guys and Dolls, Footloose, The Will Rogers Follies, Damn Yankees, Beehive, Pirates of Penzance, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, 


Substitute Teacher

My first job out of college was substitute teaching. I remember my very first placement- a 2nd grade classroom. During student teaching, the youngest I taught was 5th grade, so these 2nd graders looked like three-year-olds to me. I had no clue what I was doing and the classroom teacher left me horrible plans. “8:00-8:30 am = Opening Activities,” her lesson plans read. How was I to know what the opening activities were? Never fear. The second graders knew. They ran the classroom that day. I would just tell them what was next and they knew what to do. It was amazing to me. Now that I have actually worked at an elementary school for almost 10 years, 2nd graders don’t seem very young to me- and I totally get how they’d be able to run their classroom themselves if they needed to!


8th Grade English Teacher

After graduating from college and subbing for awhile, I accepted a long-term subbing position for 8th grade English. I didn’t have an English degree, but since the school was desperate, I got emergency certified in English and that sufficed.

I can tell you a few things about this experience…

1.    The pay was AWESOME. I was getting a first year’s teacher salary without all the insurance and retirement stuff taken out of it. In other words, my pay check was the same then as it is now- after 9 years of teaching. (Isn't that depressing!?)

2.    I really, really enjoyed teaching middle schoolers. I think it was because I could just talk to them like normal people and be sarcastic. It helped that it was a nice school with good kids.

3.    When we took the 8th graders on a field trip to the state museum, our tour guide thought I was one of the students. (I looked reaaaally young when I was 22.)

4.    I had no clue what I was doing, but I didn’t know I didn’t know what I was doing, so I didn’t stress about it.

5.    At the end of the year talent show, I organized a group of teachers to dress up like the Spice Girls. I was Scary Spice. We lip synced and did a dance I choreographed to “If Ya Wanna Be My Lover”. A good friend of mine is now the guidance counselor at that school and apparently, 10 years later, that performance is still legendary and is stalked about among the student and staff. I must have left my mark! (Not as a teacher, but as a performer!)


Piano Teacher

I have been teaching private piano lessons ever since graduating from college. Boy have I learned a lot over the course of running my own little side business. I could tell you loads of awesome stories about my students and even the parents, but I’ll just pick one. Years ago, I had a student who’s mother would stand right beside the piano during her daughter’s lesson. If her daughter would hit a wrong note, her mom would correct her, chuckle, or make some other noise equally inappropriate. It took one or two lessons of this for me to gently tell the mother that perhaps sitting on the couch would enable her daughter to focus more. Nowadays, I’d tell someone like that to sit down right away! I guess I was too nice back then.



Elementary Music Teacher

This is my current job- general music- K-4 and 4th grade chorus at a public elementary school. I have been doing this going on 10 years now and as long as the education cuts don’t get so bad that they eliminate the arts from school, I plan to stay here for the rest of my career!


Personal Trainer

As of August, I have opened my own personal training business called Megan Michael Training. I don't have too many stories about this one as I am still sort of new to the business. But so far, I have really enjoyed helping people make fitness goals and work toward them!

What types of jobs have you had?
Any substitute teaching/baby-sitting/waitressing horror stories?

23 comments:

  1. This is great! Too bad there isn't a video of the Spice Girls Routine. I can say for sure, I would have LOVED to have you as a teacher, Meg.

    Mine are: babysitter, checker at Kmart, secretary at CSU while I got my degree, Nutrition counselor at a health club & program manager at HP.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Did you like being a nutrition counselor? Why did you leave? (I am assuming you don't do that now, because I think you are a program manager now??)

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    2. No, I didn't like it. People don't want to hear what I have to say because it's not radical enough....

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  2. I think everyone has been a server at some point in their life. If they haven't I think it should be required to see just how hard it can be at times. They will have more compassion towards them. -L

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    1. I agree! I mean, most of the time it's not even the server's fault!

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  3. I HATED babysitting. One summer I babysat for these two kids who were total brats. The little girl tried to drown me in the pool one time and the little boy sneakily handcuffed me to a railing and wouldn't let me go one time. My dislike for those two is still very strong. They were rude and insufferable, but their parents KNEW they were bad kids so they paid me well. I tried to quit once, but they couldn't find another babysitter willing to deal with those kids so they gave me a raise to come back. I shouldn't have taken the money!

    I LOVED working at Walgreens. I love love loved using the cash register and I often tell Adam I am going to quit my job and go back to Walgreens! I was fast, organized, friendly and had the good luck of youthful skin so I was able to recommend and sell a lot of cosmetic products which earned me a nice commission, haha.

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    1. I can totally see you being a good saleswoman! I liked my cashier job too. I don't know why it was so therapeutic to "ding" things through!

      That is hilarious that you tried to quit the brats and the parents gave you a raise. Did the parents not discipline them, is that why they were so bad???

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    2. I loved being a checker! So social and you get to see what people buy. When life at my job gets crazy, I tell Rick I am going to go work at our grocery store!

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  4. Let's see...
    My list, babysitter, then a full time nanny (loved it--GREAT kids), nurses aid, waitressing at the Jersey Shore (before it was hip), one summer I worked at a nursery planting 15,000 mums--AWFUL job, organist, lab proctor for nursing labs in college, youth director, rehab physical therapist, home health physical therapist, coach (xc/track) current--"professional volunteer" current. Yeah, my list is ALL OVER THE PLACE...

    ReplyDelete
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    1. That list IS all over the place, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do! A lot of them sound at least a little related though- the nursing/proctoring stuff. :) I do not have a green thumb at all. I would have single handedly killed all 15,000 of those mums.

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  5. Kids ARE exhausting!!!!! I am typing this comment on my lunch break... just had 80 kids in here for Chorus. Why am I more tired than them??

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  6. I worked in a grocery store and as a waitress but I've never had the pleasure of teaching I can't image it. I love my kids but I can't image a classroom of them.

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    1. Haha that is funny- I was just explaining in a comment below that I like the structured nature of a classroom, but would never be able to deal with kids outside of that because I definitely appreciate how difficult it is to be a mom. No children for me!

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  7. Oh I loved this post! My first job was babysitting too which I loved. I also worked at the pool snack bar one summer and that was awesome Bc we got all the free food and candy we wanted!!! I worked as a legal secretary for awhile and then 9 years in finance (which I hated) and am now a full time nanny!

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    1. Nice! You must love children. :) I could never baby-sit/nanny now. Even though I am a teacher, I like the structured classroom environment. I used to say "I hate kids", but that is not true. I hate "kids in unstructured situations" haha.

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  8. You've had some pretty amazing jobs! And I totally had to laugh at the grocery store cashier, because although I've never been one, I've kind of secretly always wanted to be. I imagine it would be all sorts of satisfying dinging people through, and there's definitely a part of me that'd be super curious to see what people are buying ;)

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    1. It IS satisfying to ding! :) I did this back before I was into food/nutrition so I wasn't curious about what people were buying but NOW I would be. :)

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  9. I loved your post about all the jobs you've had. I especially love the comment that you didn't know that you didn't know what you were doing!! I feel like this is me every day!

    Jobs I've had:
    Clerk at a poster/tapestry shop that got mistaken as a 'head shop'
    Sheep herder (farm hand)
    Back of house stagehand (where I met my hubby!)
    Hostess
    Music and media reference librarian assistant
    Daycare Teacher
    4th Grade Band Director
    Private Music Teacher
    Substitute Teacher
    Phlebotomist (intern)
    Park Ranger
    Park Environmental Educator
    7th Grade Science Teacher

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    1. Haha! If I don't know what I'm doing, I'd prefer NOT to know, otherwise I would stress out about it. ;) You have had so many jobs... you are such a chameleon. My hero!

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  10. This was fun to read!!
    Like you, one of my favorite jobs was working at a grocery store - I was a checker and loved it. I did this for 3 years in college and a year after before grad school and ended up working int the office and balancing all the tills every night - great part time job!!
    I subbed for a bit - not my favorite!
    Being a middle school science teacher and coaching was one of my favorite jobs. Middle school kids really are fun!

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    1. It seems like everyone who worked for a grocery store loved it! I agree- MS kids are fun. :) Subbing can be stressful, that is for sure.

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  11. I didn't realize you taught 8th grade before!! I still get mistaken for one of my students lol. Did you end up going to the elementary level because you wanted to teach music?

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    1. No, I had my degree and was certified to teach K-12 music. I was subbing before I got a music job and the one MS I subbed at was desperate for someone to finish out the year in 8th grade English. They actually needed a home ec teacher too, but they let me pick. Obviously (as you can tell by the lack of recipes on my blog!) I chose English! I got emergency certified, which was simply paperwork, and was able to long term sub in that position until the end of the school year. The E cert. has since expired, it was only good for a very short amount of time. So then, that summer, I started applying for music jobs, and I got hired for the next school year in the position I currently have. (Not the same district I subbed 8th grade english in!)

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