59 years old and over 50 jobs in my lifetime so far...

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While discussing work related topics, I have had people stop me and ask, "Just how many jobs HAVE you had?".
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Well.... here's a list of pretty much all the jobs I've had in my lifetime... so far!
I may not have exactly listed every one... but I'm pretty sure I'm damn close
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Bear in mind that at several points in my life, I worked more than one job at a time... so that sorta stacked the count!
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Also keep in mind that the vast majority of jobs I walked away from for my own personal reasons, while I've only been fired from 4 of these jobs, with a small bunch contracted to last a short, specific time.
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Other than Stay-at-Home-Dad... all my other jobs listed paid a wage
This list does not include any volunteer duties I've done... that'd be a whole nuther post! hahahahahaha
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Some jobs lasted a week, some months, some years (actually very few lasted years!)
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Here it all is........
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KID JOBS (up through 17 years of age)
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1.Spudnut Donuts... door-to-door sales (8 y.o.)
2.Mow Lawns
3.Make and sell Christmas Candles, and gather/sell Mistletoe
4.Sell Grit Newspapers, Greeting Cards
5.Janitor - Swept floors/carried out garbage... Apts above a Drug Store
6.Laborer - Hauled/Stacked railroad ties
7.Winchell’s Donuts - counter sales (16 y.o.)
8.Grocery Store Bagger
9.Sonic Drive-In Cook
10.Pizza Inn Cook
11.Cable TV box recovery
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ADULT JOBS (from age 18 through today)
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1.Medic/Paratrooper 82nd Airborne U.S.Army
2.Machine Shop - NC Mill operator Austin, TX
3.Ambulance Driver/Attendant EMT Austin, TX
4.Burglar Alarm Installer Austin, TX
5.Oil Field - Roustabout - TX
6.Oil Field - Roughneck - TX
7.Driver Trainee (18 wheeler)
8.Nightclub - Doorman, Barback, Bouncer, Bartender San Angelo, TX
9.Nightclub - Bar Manager Abilene, TX
10.Welder Trainee - Dismantling/Repairing Railroad Cars
11.Blood Bank Phlebotomist
12.Security Guard El Paso, TX
13.EMS Ambulance Driver/Attendant EMT El Paso, TX
14.Emergency Room Tech
15.Tupperware Sales
16.Cowboy Gunfighter Actor - Public Festivals El Paso, TX
17.Photo Screener for Professional Sports Photographer Seal Beach, CA
18.Boat hull cleaning (while attending Commercial Dive School - College of Oceaneering) Seal Beach/Newport Beach, CA
19.Phone Book Delivery
20.Dive Tender/Medic - Commercial Diving - Louisiana, Gulf of Mexico (26 y.o.)
21.Laborer/Welder Waste Mgmt Center construction project - Austin, TX
22.Legal Records Search Specialist/Computer operator Austin, TX
23.Taxi Driver Austin, TX
24.Phone Surveyor for U.S. Department of Agriculture Austin, TX
25.Quicklube Oil service - Pitman
26.Maintenance Man for Storage Facility
27.Shop Assistant - welding/painting motor vehicles
28.Phlebotomist - Medical Center Lab
29.Horseshoer (Farrier) - Texas/Oklahoma
30.Commercial Laundry - 90 lb washing machine opertator
31.Horseshoer (Farrier) - Alaska
32.Outdoor Recreation Assistant
33.Stay-at-Home Dad (33 y.o.)
34.Wildland Firefighter - Alaska Fire Service
35.Teacher’s Assistant/Perceptual Motor teacher
36.Lab Assistant - Hospital Laboratory
37.Wilderness Survival Instructor
38.Apple Picker/Sorter/Cider production/Delivery Driver
39.Fill-in Newspaper Delivery
40.Mallet Sewer - Marimba Manufacturer
41.Bike Mechanic - Shop 1
42.Bike Mechanic - Shop 2
43.Phone Book Delivery
44.Lab Assistant - Clinic
45.UPS Driver Helper
46.Commercial Diving Business Owner and Diver
47.Fabric Spreader/CNC Cutting Machine Operator (Watersports PFD, Paddling/Exposure Suits manufacturing)
48.Transit Bus Driver(59 y.o.)

Now time to start your own franchise, travel around the world and someone will put a list of those jobs on a wall...

I say this b/c I was an KFC last month (a rarity) and by golly, there was a wall poster listing a bunch of Colonel Sanders jobs over his lifetime. He opened his restaurant franchise at age 62.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Sanders

I really enjoyed temping/contracting in my late 20s... but have been "tied down" to one job into my late 40s. Pros and Cons. Time for me to start a new adventure.

I've counted buttons in the backroom for inventory and I've presented complex network designs to a corporate CIO. Guess which I'd do again in a hearbeat?

I don't paint, but I have a couple of painters who inspire me b/c they had "late careers":
* Grandma Moses who "began painting in earnest at the age of 78"
* Katsushika Hokusai "had a long career, but he produced most of his important work after age 60"

What's next for you?

Interesting about the Colonel.
Counting buttons... literally? Would drive me bonkers!
But then... my last 2 medical jobs were part of the 4 I got fired from because I was burned out and told the higher ups I didn't respect them... blah blah blah
I find it difficult to deal with many exec's when they forward ideas or changes that literally do not make good sense for the patients or the workers, and marginally make sense for the bottom line.
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Driving bus has been FUN!
Our ridership is predominantly University students and I have a great rapport with them... if only in my mind
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What's next?
Well.... in lieu of winning $451 million dollars in the lottery...
I'm slowly formulating the actions necessary to hire contract divers for the hull cleaning part of my dive business, while retaining the inspection/prop swap and other duties for myself. I've also started working on my submersible ROV so I can do some inspections without getting wet.
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Then there's the canvas sewing business I made a slight attempt at last year, but might pick up and work on again this year.
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I desire to rehab my welding skills to include aluminum welding, and go to work on wheelchair repair and design/manufacturing, along with custom physical aid devices (but in such a way as to avoid them being labeled "medical devices") utilizing my metal working tools and 3D printer.
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I have 3 inventions to finalize prototyping and then get my patent descriptions (applications) written and forwarded to the USPTO.
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1 Science Fiction book to write
2 Crime novels to write
1 Instructional Medical Guide to write
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1 Medical App to construct (need to learn Python or something else)
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But all this is only IF I don't win $451 million in the lottery!

I am currently looking for a new job b/c of similar concerns (mgmt changed and my current group got "dumb"). Counting buttons would evolve to sorting and creating efficiencies, so really it's the process engineering that appeals to me. My own little space to make it just so.

I saw a suggestion on here once: that the community have grants available for ASD folks with Ideas and Inspiration. I would totally have Things I would do (and invent and perform and write). How to do that myself.... by my own powers... not sure. I'm with you. I'm near 50 and in my mind have three lifetimes of Things I would like to do.

I read a book about the elders of elders --- I related to the 90-year old videographer, go-go-go. My ASD coach says I have more energy than any of her patients. ASD mixed with … chronic mania?

Wsmac, I bet you have some awesome stories. I too have worked a variety of jobs, occasionally more than one at a time. My most interesting was working as a bookkeeper for a sheep farm. My favorites were tutoring, working in a pet store, and working in an educational toy store. My least favorite was telemarketing.

Did you have to visit the farm much?

I like teaching. When I became the Perceptual Motor Instructor (not an actual teacher) at my daughter's elementary school, I had a pretty good time. I also volunteered for the after-school session for the kids... math and other subjects.
Teachers suggested I go to school to be a teacher, but I didn't see that working out.
I know I'd have issues with authority.. especially when illogical orders would have come down on me.
My issues with focusing would not help much.
Trying to organize class curriculum has always been difficult for my Wilderness Survival Class... can't imagine public school classes!
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A pet store eh?
Retail but with a fluffy edge to it? hahaha
Educational toy store sounds nice.
Telemarketing!
My oldest sister got me into the phone surveys for the Dept of Agriculture. After a while.. I absolutely HATED the job.

I wish I had your brain. I moved from a small rural town of 300 people to a slightly larger rural/cafe town of 1000 people. Every time I go for a walk, I look around and see nothing but one month of cherry picking work each year. Apart from that, a total blank. I think I'll reread your posts a couple dozen more times. They're good for inspiration.

I am 60 and I have had about 30 jobs.
The longest I have held a job is 15 years. I have had to quit several jobs in less than a year.

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Sorry... but you can't have my brain. My cranium would just be an empty vessel without it!
Back in the 1980's and 90's, it was MUCH easier to find work... especially since I wasn't so close to 59!
The 2 years prior to my finding the bus driver job I have now... I seriously struggled for the first time in my life to find work! It was depressing at times.



There's only one job I held longer than 3 years and that was working in a hospital laboratory. I think it was only because it was a small place, people generally liked me (or acted like they did), my bosses seemed to appreciate my good qualities and worked with me on my ADHD proclivities.
When I went to the swing shift (3pm - 1130pm), after 5pm it was just me and one other person in the lab. When the lab work slowed, I was able to walk over to the ER and help out (with my EMS background), check in with Med/Surg floor, the ICU.... basically I didn't wind up chained to one dept/room for 8 hrs... which helped a lot in me staying 13 years... until I was fired for telling off the HR department!

I've been thinking about writing a book on how to apply for jobs, how to interview for jobs.... considering I've done it so many times in my life successfully!
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Certainly there were some jobs that hired any warm body that walked in!
Most of them though, I had to fill out the application and do an interview.
A few required some sort of testing... physical or academic.
I guess I learned early on, how to present myself to an interviewer in such a manner that I convinced them to give me a try. I didn't have the correct skills/training/certificates for every job, but had a knack for selling my previous experiences and skills as right for the position.
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Sad to say that being over 50, without a College/Uni degree, or any up-to-date certifications.... finding a decent job was proving almost impossible.
I might have 'SCORED' a position at a McFood Place cooking low-quality stuff... but I never tried.
There are some jobs I just don't want to return to.... or experience EVER!
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I'm fortunate I am still fairly physically fit. I know prejudice against overweight and out-of-shape people is real.
Being a white male in the U.S. also has helped... especially when I lived in more Redneck parts of the country.