Worst/Best summer job

ZCyclone

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Mar 24, 2009
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Ames, IA
I'm in the midst of three summer jobs, one of them involving sweeping up a kitchen at 3AM after serving food for 7 hours. This got me thinking about worst/best jobs folks have had to pay for college/kill time in the summer.

My personal best is this summer researching in the Wind Tunnels of Howe or working as a line grunt at a regional airport last summer.

Worst is watching a few kids when I was a youngster. The kids hated sports, and would sit and play Pokemon for hours on end.
 
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abcguyks

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Apr 11, 2006
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Olathe
The answer has got to be detasseling. More than half of the kids that grew up in Iowa probably did this or had the opportunity to do this. There's nothing quite like spending all day outside in a cornfield where the corn is over your head in the month of July in Iowa.
 

HiltonMagic

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Apr 12, 2006
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The answer has got to be detasseling. More than half of the kids that grew up in Iowa probably did this or had the opportunity to do this. There's nothing quite like spending all day outside in a cornfield where the corn is over your head in the month of July in Iowa.

Grew up on a farm, yet never had to do this. I worked catering in hs, good pay, great perks (taking home leftovers). :yes:
 

mj4cy

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Mar 28, 2006
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Best working on staff for the Appalachia Service Project. Me and 3 other college students were in charge of a county in Virginia where we found homes that needed fixing and used over 500 volunteers to help create warmer and safter housing. Also were able to teach them the culture and religious aspects of what we were doing.


Worst was probably working for ISU dining.
 

BKLYNCyclone

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Sep 16, 2007
2,122
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Twin Cities, MN
Worst Job... RGIS Inventory Services, We worked from midnight until we were done counting and scanning all the items in grocery stores, gas stations, box stores, (target, wal-mart, pamida! etc).

I couldn't walk into a box store for a year afterward without getting an uneasy "I hate this job" feeling.

Best Summer job, working construction in Ames. Hours were good, and if it rained I had the day off. Made enough extra that summer to buy my first real tv.
 

cyclo120

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Apr 11, 2006
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My summer job in college was umpiring high school baseball, good money not much time. If you wanted to you get get a freshman game in morning and do a soph or varsity game at night.
 

Stelrs1995

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Apr 17, 2006
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Waukee, Iowa
Worst job was easily sorting old railroad ties by hand and bundling them in 8's. Creosote on the skin in 90 degree weather was not fun. But it was $4/hour, which to a 15 year old in 1981 was a lot of money.
Best job was counting cars for the IDOT, was I supposed to stay awake?
 

CycloneDaddy

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Sep 24, 2006
8,387
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Johnston
Worst Job: Picking sweet corn for a family whose dad was in jail for molesting two 13 year olds. Never knew what we were going to get paid until the end of the week and they always paid in cash. The only thing the son said to us is "All I want to see is elbows and a$$holes".

Best Job: Advance Training for the Army at Fort Huachuca in the southern Arizona desert. They would kill us Monday thru Friday but come Friday evening we were free to do whatever we wanted until Sunday evening. I sure do miss those limo rides to Nogales Mexico.
 
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cyclonemaniac7

Active Member
Apr 11, 2006
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Best was working for the city's parks and rec department. It was just as people picture.. pretty easy and laid back. When it would rain, we would drive around in the truck and stop at a gas station for food and do nothing. I loved it.
 

MaxPower57

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Mar 30, 2006
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I actually liked detasseling, so much that it would probably be my best summer job...got to be outside with no real responsibility

Worst job was working 12 hr days in a plastic factory or the week I spent being a telemarketer for the ISU Foundation, just couldn't do it.
 

Mr Janny

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I did my share of detasseling, and no it was not fun. But it doesn't even hold a candle to the summer I spent working in an egg hatchery. Easily the foulest job I have ever had. You haven't lived until you have used an emergency wash station to clean rotten eggs out of your eyes, nose, and mouth. If I close my eyes and think about it hard enough, I can still taste it.
 

MoreCowbell

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Apr 23, 2009
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I didn't mind detasseling. I only had to do it one summer, and the crew I was on was all friends from HS, so it was fun.

I don't think any of my summer jobs have been horrible. I worked as a waitress from age 14-20. The last two summers in college I had an on-campus job in Durham and a really cool boss.
 

IcSyU

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Nov 27, 2007
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My boss is the man. I love my job.

My boss last summer was a *****. I hated my job.

Same company, different responsibilities.
 

CycloneDaddy

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Sep 24, 2006
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Johnston
I didn't mind detasseling. I only had to do it one summer, and the crew I was on was all friends from HS, so it was fun.

You should have detasseled during the floods of 1993. Nothing beats walking through corn with water up to your waist all summer long.
 

flynnhicks03

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Apr 11, 2006
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I'm in the midst of three summer jobs, one of them involving sweeping up a kitchen at 3AM after serving food for 7 hours. This got me thinking about worst/best jobs folks have had to pay for college/kill time in the summer.

My personal best is this summer researching in the Wind Tunnels of Howe or working as a line grunt at a regional airport last summer.

Worst is watching a few kids when I was a youngster. The kids hated sports, and would sit and play Pokemon for hours on end.

Best job: selling appliances at Sears in Ames (RIP, Sears). Had a blast.
Worst: assembling golf bags at the factory in my home town. Miserable. Dad's plan to show me that a degree was worth it worked.
 

Mr Janny

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You should have detasseled during the floods of 1993. Nothing beats walking through corn with water up to your waist all summer long.

I detasseled that summer as well. It was nuts.
 

LeSchmick

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Dec 14, 2008
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I don't understand why everyone hates pollinating and detassling. I worked two summers for pioneer in johnston and dallas center. Yeah it was hot out but atleast the boss wasn't scrutinizing everything you did. I thought it was ok.
 

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