What is your work history? What were your goals at the beginning? How well have you met those goals so far?

Let’s see:

While in high school (so 15–17): McDonald’s when I was 15. Then switched to Wendy’s when I was 16 because they offered more money and more hours. Got fired from Wendy’s due to the assistant manager stealing money from my drawer when I was 17 (they eventually figured out it was her and offered me my job back, but I said no). Went to work at Burlington Coat factory for the Christmas season that year. Then started working at a brand new Walmart (still 17 at this point). Enlisted in the Army NG around that same time and started going to drill weekends once a month while finishing high school.

Then I went away for basic training for the Army after graduation.

18 – 20: Came back from basic, continued working at Walmart for a bit. Then I got offered a manager position at a clothing store and took it (I was 18). That store was an hour drive from my house, so when my car caught fire and was totaled, I no longer had a way to work. Started working at a Wawa that was in walking distance of my house. Eventually saved up enough for a new car and got a job at Kmart. Met my ex-husband and ended up moving 2 hours away from where I was living to be with him, so quit the job at Kmart and started working at a pizza place as a waitress and then switched to a chicken plant after getting mugged after work one night. Got pregnant, moved back up to be closer to family right after I turned 20. Got a job at Home Depot for a bit, but was then told I couldn’t perform my job responsibilities due to the pregnancy and ended up going back to the Wendy’s I worked at as a teenager. Stayed there until I had my son.

Stayed home with my son until he was 6 months old.

21–23: Got offered a job at a new Kmart making more than I had been at Wendy’s so I took that job. My ex-husband left shortly after I started working there. Worked there until it closed. Collected unemployment for a few months while looking for a new job and starting college for nursing. Found a job at Three Little Bakers (a dinner/show type of place). Worked there through the beginning of college. Had some issues with where I was living, so I had to move. Found a place an hour away from where I was living, so I had to get a new job. Immediately got a job at Food Lion but soon found a better paying job at a hotel. I was working full time and going to school full time. My roommate decided to have her boyfriend move in, so I moved (I didn’t really like him or want him around my son). Moved in with my mom which was an hour away from where I was living. So I had to get a new job.

24-present: Worked at Acme while completing nursing school. Finished the first part of nursing school and became a LPN, got a job at the local hospital. Continued in nursing school to become a RN while working as a LPN. Graduated with my ADN and became a RN, still working at the same hospital (where I worked for 3 years before moving). Started working on my BSN. Married my husband and moved to Texas to be with him. Got a job at a local hospital there as a RN (we ended up only being there for 6 months even though we were suppose to be there longer). Then the Army stationed us here in Kansas. Once we got settled here, I got a job at a local doctor’s office (where I have been working for the past year and I now work on a relief basis). I finished my BSN back in August.

I moved around a lot and it definitely showed in my employment history. Other than the Army, which didn’t work out, I didn’t have a career path until I started going to college for nursing. I plan to continue working in the nursing field for the rest of my life. I can’t wait to settle down and be in one location for a while though.

I started work at a delicatessen as soon as I was legal (16 in Pennsylvania). Joined the Navy reserves, went a semester at Penn State then went on active duty because I was tired of going to school.

Of course the Navy sent me to two years of electronics schools, then I went to Vietnam and eventually joined the regular Navy where they sent me to Electronics Engineering school.

Later went to work at NASA Langley, ran a test and maintenance department for a satellite navigation company, worked on paper machine control systems, then ended up at a manufacturing company where I work on heat treating and automation equipment design and optimization. I expect to keep working in this field until I die in thirty years or so. I also stay away from supervisory positions where I have to listen to people’s personal problems.

My very first job was a paper route in fifth grade. I was unemployed then until I was like 16 and got a job at Winchell’s donuts. I was fired for not showing up three days in a row. I had a brief stint as a housekeeper at a No-Tell Motel but I quit after a couple of weeks because the place was so gross. i then got a job at a local fast food place. From there I went to a baby store in the mall. I worked there for a couple of years before I left to teach at a local pre-school. I left there to work in the gift shop of a more upscale hotel.

That is when I started thinking in terms of career, so I took a job as a dental assistant (they trained me as I went along). I loathed it so I went from there to front office for an orthodontist. Loathed that too…

That is when I got my first bank job – as a receptionist. The branch manager noticed me within the first couple of months and I was promoted to his secretary. After a couple of years I left there about a week before the chairman was led out in handcuffs. I had accepted a job as a loan processor at another bank. A manager noticed me there too and within a year I was assistant to a vice president, regional manager. I worked for him for a couple of years, showed an aptitude for numbers and was promoted to financial analyst. I worked for that bank until they closed, got an amazing severance package, and went back to school. Rather than finishing my degree once and for all I decided to have kids. As soon as the youngest was in kindergarden I went back to school again. Here I am finishing up my teaching credential and on target to student teach in fall 2011. I will be endorsed as a media specialist (read librarian) and to teach mild to moderate special education.

As a child I had all kinds of plans for a brilliant career as a lawyer/model/pilot, but as I hit my teens all that just faded away and the only, rather vague, goal I had was to write Ray Davies: The Rolling Stone Interview. By the time I hit 18 I was holding on by my fingertips and trying to make it day-to-day. It wasn’t until I hit my 40’s, my kids started school, and I started to feel again that I realized that I had a lot to accomplish and set out to get it done.

Thank you so much, you guys! Your stories are amazing! Wish I could give you super-lurve!

Okey Dokey…

12–14 yrs old: Worked Summers at family’s Floral Market – unloading trucks, bundling flowers, etc. They paid me (no joke) in cookies.

15 yrs old: Worked in a Tobacco Store – kept the walk-in humidor stocked and organized. Was fired because I lied about my age (said I was 16).

16 yrs old: Worked at two mall-based retail chains. Met my wife at one of them.

17 yrs old: Worked as an apprentice-level Architectural Model Builder (was just finishing up at a vocational high school majoring in Architectural & Mechanical Drafting).

18–20 yrs old: Was an Airbrush Artist – worked at malls and State Fairs all through New England.

21–23 yrs old: Worked nights Collecting Defaulted Student Loans – a “Dunner” I beleive it’s called.

24–28 yrs old: Worked as an Archival Picture Framer full-time while I pursued freelance Graphic Design work part-time.

29–39 yrs old: Full-time Graphic Designer (occasionally freelance) and Adjunct College Instructor. I’ve practiced design at three different companies and taught at two different colleges.

I’ve always tried to do something creative with a couple of detours along the way. I make a point of becoming really good at whatever I am doing and I have never said ‘No’ to a gig. As such, work is always a challenge but I have never been without work.

That being said, now that I’m approaching 40, I’d like to learn how to work smart and maybe not always so hard. I fear if I don’t, I’ll end up dead at work some day.

As someone once said, “No one ever wished they worked more when they died.”

I started in banking then I became a nurse.

I achieved every goal I ever set for myself, first with the US Army and later with both General Electric and Exxon. The secret is to set a difficult but achievable ultimate goal, then work backwards setting intermediate goals, until you know each day what you need to do that day to work toward your ultimate goal. Use your research skills to determine what people at those various goal stages had to do to get where they are now. Few people do this so those who do are miles ahead.

My problem was that I didn’t set difficult enough goals. I could have gone a LOT further had I realized that I was underestimating myself.