The admins here at the Treehouse were chit-chatting yesterday (as we often do), and Menagerie called our attention to an article, Seven Signs You’re Too Smart For Your Job.

Menagerie said she noticed it because it was linked to by a former employee of hers.  This person (who apparently thinks that he/she is too smart for the job) failed to exhibit proficiency at either of the two jobs that were assigned, and refused to come to work if it snowed.

We all said that we have had entry-level – even menial – jobs during our working careers, but that we still learned something from each of them, and that there was satisfaction in a job well done, no matter how menial.  Why is it that some individuals don’t know the meaning of the words “work ethic”?
I got to thinking this morning that it would be fun for us to share some of the entry-level/funniest/most mundane/first/strangest jobs that we have had.
My very first summer job was as a “swatcher.”  What is a swatcher, you might wonder.  I’ll explain.
The company I worked for, Beeline Fashions, sold clothing through home parties (think Tupperware).  The actual clothing was exhibited at these parties, but many styles were available in a variety of colors, so a catalog was also provided to the sales associates.  On these catalog pages were small samples – or swatches – of the fabric used for the clothing items.

A “swatcher” (there were many of us) was the person who glued the pieces of fabric on the catalog pages.  We sat at long tables, and each person had a pile of catalog pages, and a pile of fabric swatches, a glue pot and a sponge held in a Boston BullDog clip.

Most of the day was spent gluing the fabric swatches on the catalog pages.  Eight hours a day, five days a week.  All summer.  Occasionally, we had a change of task – collating the catalog pages into books.  Pages were stacked in order on a table, and we walked around the table, picking the pages, then depositing the completed page bundles at the end of the line.
Fortunately, this job did not require silence, so we spent much of our time singing as we swatched (like “whistle while you work”?)  Singing prevented insanity.  And the money was okay for a high school girl – $1.25 an hour.  I cleared $40.00 a week, and half of it went into savings.
Beeline was a good local employer; they hired housewives with children during the school year, adjusting their hours to accommodate school hours.  In the summer, they hired high school students, who were happy to earn spending money and save a little for school.  The jobs, however, were boring and repetitious.
Now it’s your turn.  What job – first or otherwise – stands out in your mind?  What is the worst/funniest/dirtiest/most boring job you have ever had?