I work, you jerk.

[PayneTrayne]

I'm eighteen and have had multiple jobs. I work as a Gameroom at Chuck E Cheese (not hard physically, but people treat you like rubbish), Haunted House (scaring the crap out of people for minimum wage, hands down best job), Wedding Decorator (Boring as hell, moving fabric and candles and tying hundred of chair covers), Carnie (family business, really annoying), and Factory Warehouse (Heavy and frequent lifting, it sucks so bad).

 

[Susan Arendt]

Many jobs have a very high "emotional labour" component, which means keeping a smile on your dial the whole day regardless of how you might be feeling.

So, so, SO true. I've always maintained that every kid should have to work some kind of retail or convenience store job in order to graduate high school, just so they know what it's like. People are so incredibly rude to the folks behind the counter, and there you are, having to smile and tell them to have a nice day. Then someone calls out, and you can't leave, because the store can't close, so you're stuck working a 12 hour shift or longer, for crap wages.

I think it's very important to put in an honest day's work, but that doesn't have to mean breaking your back.

Oh, and I'm way out of your demographic, too, but I've been working since I was 14. Worked all through high school and college, though my college job was on campus and loads of fun, so it almost doesn't count.

 

[Sedweiler]

I grew up in a farm, that also has forest, so physical work isn't a stranger to me; taking care of animals, carrying hay, moving piles of shit, carrying tree trunks and logs...

But I do get the OP. Especially if you're in a line of work that involves mostly mental labour (or you're a student like me), then physical work like throwing logs can feel really gratifying and refreshing. Hell, I'd rather work at my folk's farm for three months than work on my MA, but since I want to graduate some day, I just have to try to write that thing and avoid wasting my time on the Internet.

 

[Vhite]

Im 17. Im trying to learn so I dont have to get any physical job. I was working on building site last summer holiday and only thing I got from it is money so Im trying to avoid it even though its not that easy because I live in a village.

 

[Eliam_Dar]

I work, not a physical labor, but a very intellectually challenging one, which is great.
However I had worked doing physical labor in the past, carrying bricks and I building a wall, for some reason I like that and from time to time when I have something to fix or paint at my home I do that.

 

[Jacob.pederson]

I've worked at very physical jobs in landscaping, stand up all day jobs in restaurants, and now IT, which has both the heavy lifting (laser printers) and the mental work. Of the three professions, I found the pure physical jobs to be the least demanding. Employment that requires you to be "on" socially or mentally longer than your limits are extremely stressful. Physical labor (especially if it has variety) gets easier every day as your body gets stronger. I don't find the same to be true of mental or social labor.

 

[YouCallMeNighthawk]

I'm 20 and i've had 4 jobs.
Concert security (well checking tickets)
Removals (fucking hated that shit, now if anyone said i didn't break my back trying to do the work i will break theirs! lol)
Bar work (Old mens club easy)
Now i am currently in a supermarket working nights 10pm - 8am.

so i wouldn't say i have had alot of job experience but i know i have worked fucking hard! especially in removals!

 

[Kajt]

I can't help but get the feeling you're over valuing physical labour as though mental work isn't hard. I don't do any physical work, granted, but I still get that feeling of "ahh, home after a hard day's work" after college, which is shortly followed by "...And you have homework and revision!".

This. The mental work that is school can also be hard.

And yes, I do physical work. I help the family with the reindeer and in the forest.

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

I work in healthcare. Rarely physically demanding, but usually psycologically and emotionally demanding. At the moment I think I got one of the best jobs I could ever wish too, so its also rewarding. I don't have to work long shifts of 24+ hours but still my social life is quite dead as I don't know what weekends and holidays are since I started. My schedule/rota just sometimes meets with my friends so I learned to plan things on my own and enjoy days off and even travelling on my own. This week for instance I just have one day off on Friday.

 

[johnman]

I am a full time student, but work 9 hour shift on saturday as a computer tech, also still have my paper round and do various odd-jobs.

 

[Jory]

I'm a full time student also, but in the summer I work 45 hour weeks in a shop in my home town.

 

[Keava]

To be honest physicall labour is so much easier. You just dont have to worry about all sorts of stuff, all the whys and hows dont mean that much because you just have your work laid out pretty straight forward. Sure you may be more tired from it due to obvious phsyical endurance limits but mentally its much less strain than a work the requires you to be creative.

I did phsycial labour between age of 15 and 18. It was pain in the back, literally, but also was just mechanical, put things A in place B, something that did not required much of afterthought as long as things held together.

 

[Nickolai77]

The only work experience i have had was the mandatory two weeks work experience i did in Year 10 which was at a bookshop. I tried getting a job last summer, i rung several shops and buisnesses but most places had either filled their summer job vacanies or weren't taking anyone due to the recession. I'm going to try and get at least two weeks work experience this coming summer, if i carnt find any paid work then i'm going to do some volinteer work instead. My farther suggested that he could aks some of his contacts if they would take me on as an un-paid worker for a couple of weeks just so i can get a bit of experience.

I'll happily do that, because i need work experience if i want to get a graduate-level job after i graduate. There are university graduates whom end up working full time in Tesco's because they don't have the work experience. I think thats a sign that something is badly wrong with either the economy or education system in this country. I'm not happy about it- i don't really need the money so much because my parents are quite wealthy, but i just need the experience.

 

[Zacharine]

I have not had a summer vacation longer than a week ever since I turned 18. I'm 25.

Goes with working full-time every summer to bring so much needed cash in for the uni. Except for the year 2004-2005 which I spend fulfilling my universal male conscription duty to the army.

So yea, I work. In fact, I just came home from work, logged in 8h30min + lunch today. My last uni exam was less than two weeks ago.

And I couldn't agree with you more: having a steady job, even for a month or two, does wonders to youth's self-dicipline (those 5-6am mornings getting to ya yet, buddy?) and appreciation for money. I know it did for me. And knowing how many of my uni buddies doesn't have a job, makes me appreciate it even more.

 

[Sronpop]

I have been working in McDonalds for 2 and a half years, and do you know what, I recommend that everyone should have to work there at least once. It has completely changed my outlook and I think it has made me a better person because of it. Now it has also destroyed some of my faith in humanity. But like, fuck other people anyway.

I still like McDonalds, its actually a great job, my boss is amazing, but I am looking for a new job. I recently dropped out of college and have fuck all qualifications now, but hopefully something will turn up. If not, McDonalds it is.

 

[Captain Pancake]

I work in retail. Its very soulcrushing after a while and you have to take all sorts of s**t from people without ever rising to the bait. its a hard slog man.

The sad thing is that my dad is one of the people giving you and others like you a hard time. I apologise on his behalf for any grief.

 

[DefunctTheory]

To be honest physicall labour is so much easier. You just dont have to worry about all sorts of stuff, all the whys and hows dont mean that much because you just have your work laid out pretty straight forward. Sure you may be more tired from it due to obvious phsyical endurance limits but mentally its much less strain than a work the requires you to be creative.

I did phsycial labour between age of 15 and 18. It was pain in the back, literally, but also was just mechanical, put things A in place B, something that did not required much of afterthought as long as things held together.

Untrained physical work is easy. Trained is not.

People in physical fields risk things office brats never have to: health and life. They strain and snap muscles, break bones, and permanently damage their locomotive skills, in addition to the life time of illnesses many will suffer due to poisonous materials they handle and decades of breathing in hazardous materials. All of this, and it can STILL be mentally straining. You have no idea how much math and creativity goes into something as simple as, say, adding a room to a house, or building highways.

 

[DazBurger]

Im having my longest non-working period since I was 13... A whole year! I want a job!
Gimmeh a job nauw!!! :,(

I need moniez!