Every Job is a Good Job

Every job is a good job. What my "meaningless" jobs taught me...

Paperboy: At 12 I had my own paper route. It taught me responsibility, customer service, revenue generation, accounting, and collections.

Lifeguard: During high school I guarded at private pools. It taught me about establishing policies and procedures, leadership, people management, focus, and how to maintain a pool.

Line Worker: One summer I worked on the "kill floor" of a beef processing company, preparing cow hocks. It taught me what hard work really is, flexibility (I needed take on different roles when staffing shortages required it), coaching (new people were constantly coming on board and I quickly became the line manager), working with all kinds of different "characters" and commitment (This was not a fun job by any stretch, but I stuck with it for the entire summer because that's what I agreed to).

Concert Security: For 8 years I was responsible for "babysitting" bands at local venues. It taught me how to say "No" to people, how to anticipate problems and needs, working effectively with people who can be very hard to work with, and understanding contracts and the fine print (there was a brilliant reason Van Halen demanded M&Ms with the brown ones removed).

None of these jobs were sexy and often they were looked down upon but each taught me valuable lessons and skills I still use to this day. Oh, and if you need help with the backwash valve on your pool filter systems, give me a shout ;)