you don't have to describe them in detail with dates, not trying to get you to doxx yourself
but it's kind of A Thing with neurodivergent folks to have tried a lot of different jobs, and I'm curious about everybody's count
I think I'm up to 21 that I've filed taxes for, which doesn't seem that extreme for 42, except when you consider that I've been unemployed most of my son's 17 years of life because I couldn't handle parenting and that level of outside obligations, so most of those happened before I was 25 – so 20ish jobs between 15-25
how bout you, how many things have you tried?
1 and tbh I love it and they give me raises, I kinda lucked out hard. Its not a ton of pay but I'm fine with that. I have a side gig I guess helping at an lgbt center off and on too
Not gonna say what it is its hyper specific
I'm 36, I'll try to list them:
- CVS employee
- Circuit city (geek squad equivalent)
- Interior painter
- Data entry
- Autozone, front of house
- Guy who sits in a basement to bill the government hours (temp job)
- Light construction (moving stuff around usually)
- Pizza delivery driver
- Dumpster diver (made good money actually)
- Network installer
- Computer Technician
- Software engineer, Ad tech
- Software engineer, big data databases
- CTO, founder, big data databases
If I had to guess, CVS was your worst job?
You're a bit older than me but that place went downhill staffing-wise every year
We called it Come Visit Satan by the time I left lol
I remember Circuit City! 🧓😂
what was the most surprising dumpster diving find or sale? like something you were shocked was worth whatever someone was willing to pay for it?
Pulled out a bunch of software from Office Depot and some of it went for full retail price on ebay. The local sports equipment stores would throw out ALL of the ski and snowboard equipment at the end of the season, I also couldn't sell any of it out of season and couldn't hold it. There was a satellite mapping company and they would throw out tapes and hard drives full of what I assume were high resolution maps (hard drives were clean and I didn't have a tape drive). Your local chip distributor will probably have a full dumpster at all times of almost-expired food.
How do you make money dumpster diving? I've done it for groceries but can't imagine another way.
Resale and maybe refurbishing. If you know the right places by upscale apartment complexes, you can typically find a lot of good stuff in those.
Residential dumpster diving is very different from commercial dumpster diving.
I had a routine that I would do every other day that would hit big box stores and light industrial areas, then ebay it. Not sure it's really feasible now, stores don't throw out as much as they did.
Forestry (2), car wash, office, education (3), fast food (3), bike taxi, shelter steward, seasonal jobs (4). 16 jobs and I am in my mid-twenties. Plus several periods doing odd jobs off Craigslist and whatnot...
I got my ADHD diagnosis a few years ago but in common ADHD fashion I didn't do nothing after that.
This is all over a span of 25 years and a lot of gaps in between. I've worked in 3 different states. So unless I forgot some, 24 jobs in 25 years. I'm very autistic.
- pizza cook
- fragrance blending facility (3 different jobs)
- Modular home industry - Appliances
- Modular home industry - ship lose set up kits
- random job sanding messed up metal doors down to fix
- random job in interior door manufacturing - stacked doors for orders
- random job tearing down these hydrolic things that were made wrong
- Modular home industry - FEMA trailers for Katrina relief
- Modular home industry, cabinet doors and drawers installation
- kitchen cook/barhop
- distribution center - order packing
- cabinet assembly kit routing - ran boards through big routers to make grooves
- gas station cashier
- asst manager at Taco Bell
- Computer repair
- Computer repair - self employed
- Web dev intern
- USDA intern working on a Python based project
- retirement funds claim processing
- diliver driver for Door Dash
- diliver driver for Walmart
- IT tech for a school
- Software developer
- failed freelance web dev - current
this is a really interesting group of industries! dying to know more about the fragrance job, that sounds like it could be heaven or absolute hell
I did 3 different jobs the time I was there. The first was doing picking and packing, then I learned how to make blends. Blending is basically taking all kinds of different smelly oils and powders and mixing like a recipe to make something that smells like apple pie or flowers or musk or whatever. The other thing I did there was "pouring" which involved putting large batches of blends or oils into smaller containers for shipping.
The oils and blends are used for making candles or potpourri, and I even used to make knockoff perfumes and colognes with sum.
that sounds like absolutely fascinating work!! how did you end up doing that?
It was through a friend. He worked there and his mom was management.
i'm 34. worked most of the time since i was 18. i've worked at 6 proper jobs, and a handful of odd gigs between real jobs. 4 of those were food service/grocery store work, and 2 were in construction.
edit: odd jobs have included hand sanitizer bottling during the pandemic, music librarian, and house mover.
A lot, and I didn't realize it was a neurodivergent thing. I've worked in construction, logistics, nonprofits, landscaping, R&D, finance... My wife calls me a jack of all trades but the truth is I just get bored with a career after about a decade.
14 that lasted more than 3 months. Closer to like 30 otherwise. As a 32 year old I try to hide that on resumes. Then there's also the bit I was flipping retro games and also I sold drugs for a while.
oh fuck, I forgot about growing and selling weed 😂🤦
I think you're winning the thread
Wait, I think I contributed this emoji as a suggestion a long time ago. I completely forgot about it. I can't stop laughing seeing it again.
- made up bullshit techbro job
- made up bullshit techbro job 2
- made up bullshit techbro job 3
- made up bullshit techbro job 4
10 years and I've produced nothing of notable value. Usually i barely scrape past a year at any job but the one i have now is alright cos my team is very ND so I don't feel like I'm decaying every day. Also technically I've moved position inside this company multiple times so dnow if that counts
At least 20 if I'm counting all the odd jobs and side hustles, but I know there's a bunch I've forgotten. But since starting my career job I've gone through 4 in 6 years, but I'm pretty happily settled in. It's realy common to jump around in my field though.
Going over it in my head, I've had a fuck ton of different experiences... My life is actually pretty interesting now that I think of it.
before I made the list, I would have said I have lived a very boring life, but making the list also made me realize that I have had some fun adventures and done weird shit nobody would believe now
I bet if I told my neighbors that I used to sell Kirby vacuums door-to-door and read tarot for Miss Cleo they would Lose Their Shit 😂
genres of things I've done:
- childcare
- secretarial/administrative, including a library, which was The Best – I peaked way too early
- medical office/transcription
- indirect sex work (modeling, stripping, chat, cam, etc)
- sales
- canvassing/"community organizer"
- food service
- delivery driver
- copywriting
- video production & editing
every time I try to make a list, I feel like I'm leaving something out, and inevitably, days later, I remember the thing(s) I left out, but it's always more every time. I started a Note on my phone for them, and the list keeps growing.
i'd have more but the application and interview process is society trying to kill me and i'm fortunate enough to have family keeping me off the street
I'm going to say around 10, though most of the time it takes me a couple of years at least to get a job, so there hasn't been that much time spent actually in employment
Within 11 years, depending on how you want to define it 6 (unique companies), 8 (work experiences), or 10 (including promotions with clear shifts in responsibilities). Very happy where I am now, took me a while to find a place where, I feel like I matter (both internally and externally,) compensates me fairly, and has a good work/life balance. I still have felt the strain of burnout, but this place actually has real ladders to climb, not just a step stool, and I am climbing it, plus I get to truly help people, some of whom are in a panic or in medical distress.
helping people who need it is one of the most satisfying things ❤️ really happy for you, this is awesome!!
I started working at 15 and I've had 7 jobs
- Grocery store cart boy (15-17)
- Chipotle-style job (17-19)
- Golf course maintenance (19-22)
- Pizza delivery (19-22)
- Entry level job in my field (22-23)
- Internship in my field (23-26)
- My field (26-30)
I had one fast food and two retail jobs. Then I had two warehouse jobs. I also had three janitorial jobs. One of the nicest ones was just being left alone in this place I had to clean for the night by myself. There also a few more im forgetting, but another one was where I worked on an assembling stuff, mainly sewing things.
that's hilarious!!
