What Are Some Good Entry-Level Physical Labor Jobs?

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A little about myself

I was recently hired to be a Floor Associate/POS at Kohl's (retail). It's a seasonal position. I'm on my third week as a new hire and I still can not for the life of me get used to it. It's very mentally demanding and I can only wear my 'mask' as I like to call it for only a short time before I start getting overwhelmed. While yes, some of the work has become easier for me to handle, I still feel utterly miserable and anxious. I think day in and day out on how I can get out of this. I have no problem talking with people per say but juggling customer service skills and constant stocking turns out to be far more than I thought I could handle. It also doesn't help that it's the Holiday season of course. My last two jobs were certainly stressful in places, but never like this. Not everything about the job is bad on one hand, since my co-workers are very pleasant individuals. But I simply can not continue on much longer than this. I need a steady job which at least takes out the overabundant customer service aspect.

I was thinking about something that uses some good 'ol brute strength and just requires me to at worst get a little dirty. My previous employment could be described as pretty dirty as I have worked briefly at a Veterinary clinic cleaning up animal messes and have also worked over a year at a messy Roller Skating rink. I've looked at several options: Garbage Man, Custodian, Construction Worker, Warehouse, etc. and those do give me some hope that there might be something for me. My brother's friend for instance works as an Ice Bag Package Handler which has him lifting lots of heavy things and little else. It's hard work of course but I am enviable of such a position. Being a lawn-care worker would be good for me as well so long as it is not managerial. Just want something sweat inducing but does not clash with my Aspergers and Social Anxiety. I do NOT want to make a career out of it, but as I'm going back for another two years of school I want something that can help me earn a few bucks on the side and not make me worry too much about the social setting of the position.

Does anyone know exactly how one gets the hook-up for spots like these? I see many non-English speaking people doing these sort of jobs here in Florida so it shouldn't be too hard. I would also think it would help the I'm enrolled in my states DVR and have been officially given the diagnosis of having Aspergers. I have no experience with temp agencies and have a hard time trusting anything on internet job boards since I don't know what separates a reputable company from one that isn't so reputable in the fields I'm looking into.

Any help would be appreciated.

I'd suggest temp to hire factory work, if it's available. Some pay better than retail. I agree that customer service is miserable.

I'm going to be honest with you I did not even read your whole message bu I think I know what to do. The first thing you need to do is get to a local university and start make an appointment to talk to one of the Accommodation Coordintators. My next question to you is are you living at home with family? If yes you can take rest in the fact that you have a warm and dry place to stay.


I'm guessing that since you are diagnosed you have some supports. What you need to do is to admit the fact that you need help. Go to your local University and talk to one of their Accommodation Coordinators. Tell them about your situation and they can proceed to help you. Otherwise, the odds of your situation getting better in the long term are 99 to 1.

All good options.

walk in and ask to fill out an application form/drop off a resume.. it's that simple.

Depending on how they operate, they may hire people through temp agencies vs. directly. In that case, ask which agency and go sign up there and see about being dispatched out to that job. Alternatively, you could just go find a labour temp agency to sign up at and get sent to wherever you're needed. Pay is usually a bit less than you could get being hired directly by the company, but the process is much easier than going and applying for and interviewing for jobs - which is a-ok especially if you only need a job for a couple months before returning to school. I'm currently working via a staffing agency on a 6 month contract where the employer has the option to hire me on afterwards. I might just do it if offered, especially since it would come with a raise, the only drawback in my situation is that much of the work would be out of town for weeks/months at a time.. but it'd pay better to do it - so, depending on how things go and if it's offered and where the next job is I miiiight just do it. Anyways, I digress.. temp labour agencies are a great resource to slotting into a job like this. Look 'em up in your local phonebook or just drop in and see someone. Some operate on a daily basis where you show up at their dispatch office at 7am and get sent out wherever you're needed, others focus on longer term temp jobs like the one I'm on. Both have their pros and cons, but regardless there's almost never an application or interview involved (there was for this 6 month gig, but none of the others) as you're just sent wherever a warm body is needed to do some work and then typically paid weekly for it.

Good luck!

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