11 Mar 21
1 edit
@ghost-of-a-duke saidPoor FMF, he will be devastated with two red thumbs.
Not me.
An interesting thread.
- Joined
- 14 Mar 15
- Moves
- 29599
11 Mar 21
@torunn saidMy first salary was barely enough to live on. Lived in a dodgy studio flat in Streatham Hill.
It was suggested I start a thread about job experiences as they are probably a big part of what has formed us as individuals. Many of us started working early - I was 16,5 years old when I was employed as qualified secretary. Let's see if we can share our experiences in this thread.
Let me add, my salary was 600 SEK a month, about 60 USD.
11 Mar 21
@yo-its-me saidNot boring at all, all interesting experiences to me.
Digging out world war ammunition! wow
My jobs have been very boring in comparison.
At 11, a paper round it was a short round and I used my bike before school. I liked it. I'd whistle. A few streets of all bungalows, elderly people.
Various seaside restaurants and a local clothing shop while I was in school.
When I went off to study I took silver servicing waitressing ...[text shortened]... t.
Now I have an office job which I love. I work for the 3rd sector and it's a real feel-good job.
11 Mar 21
@wolfe63 saidI remember in my teens doing voluntary work on one of the long stay dementia wards in an old asylum. I was basically trying to improve my chances of getting to medical school, but that was hard work. It infuriates me the pay that nurses and care workers get for such demanding work. There have been so many years of pay freezes as well over recent times that these jobs just survive on the back of good will and people with an incredible sense of duty and work ethic.
As it was an early part of my training regime; I assisted the elderly in care homes with ALL activities of daily living (ADLs).
It was, at times, very physical, filthy and disgusting... but personally, it was quite rewarding.
11 Mar 21
@ghost-of-a-duke saidOne day when I was feeling a bit fed up with junior doctor hours I sat down and did the maths. In fact there were so many hours worked that the take home pay per hour was less than I had been earning serving petrol. Because of the sheer number of hours I was able to be debt free after three years whilst affording very low rent accommodation on hospital sites.
My first salary was barely enough to live on. Lived in a dodgy studio flat in Streatham Hill.
11 Mar 21
@relentless-red saidIt's very upsetting to know that people taking care of others - hospitals, care homes, home aid etc - have such low salaries. I read somewhere some time ago that one of the reasons nurses still have not achieved a decent pay level is that they fight for it together. If there had been individual pay negotiations, it might have been better to help raise the levels for all in the long run.
I remember in my teens doing voluntary work on one of the long stay dementia wards in an old asylum. I was basically trying to improve my chances of getting to medical school, but that was hard work. It infuriates me the pay that nurses and care workers get for such demanding work. There have been so many years of pay freezes as well over recent times that these jobs just survive on the back of good will and people with an incredible sense of duty and work ethic.
11 Mar 21
@torunn saidThe curious thing is that as nursing roles separate out into different and specialist positions, on different pay scales, it's the people in the really tough jobs who get left behind. The people in the roles Wolfe describes not only get left on the lowest grade, but they even get replaced by cheaper untrained health care assistants. Nurse Specialist and even Consultant Nurse roles have evolved, but as they get extended roles including prescribing they are in fact being used as a cheap solution to managing with less doctors per head of population than other northern European countries. Individually they can get more, but by taking more responsibility than was previously in their role, whilst being used as a cheap solution to keeping doctors numbers down.
It's very upsetting to know that people taking care of others - hospitals, care homes, home aid etc - have such low salaries. I read somewhere some time ago that one of the reasons nurses still have not achieved a decent pay level is that they fight for it together. If there had been individual pay negotiations, it might have been better to help raise the levels for all in the long run.
11 Mar 21
@moonbus saidIt's indispensable.
@Relentless-Red
Nursing is probably one of the least appreciated jobs, and most needed.
- Joined
- 10 Jan 08
- Moves
- 19036
11 Mar 21
Well you see I grew up in an area the TV license people would be too scared to visit and while not really a job, my first way of making money was from taking old planks of wood from a block of flats the council was renovating, chopping them into fire sticks and going around the doors selling them, I was 8/9 years old. 50p a bag, cheaper than in the shops and straight at your door, of course now most people have oil or gas so would be a waste of time. Wood burners are getting very fashionable though.
11 Mar 21
@trev33 saidThat's a touching story, Trev. You were only a child. Heartbreaking. 😍
Well you see I grew up in an area the TV license people would be too scared to visit and while not really a job, my first way of making money was from taking old planks of wood from a block of flats the council was renovating, chopping them into fire sticks and going around the doors selling them, I was 8/9 years old. 50p a bag, cheaper than in the shops and straight at your d ...[text shortened]... eople have oil or gas so would be a waste of time. Wood burners are getting very fashionable though.
11 Mar 21
Dumbest job I ever had was 2-summers in between school years sorting mail by zip codes. Literally thousands of envelops per night-shift. I can still recall a few cities' zip codes. Mtn. View CA is 94040. Silver Spring MD is 20906. I remember house numbers and phone numbers of places where I lived that no longer exist, and the license plates of cars I no longer own. I know the serial numbers of all my bicycles. Oh the absurdity of an eidetic memory.
Machinist apprentice in a factory. Cook in an Italian restaurant. Bicycle mechanic. Photographic laboratory technician.
I finally found my calling as an informatics instructor (at last, a practical application for my memory).
Er, what did you say your name is?