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Industrial cleaning. Enjoyed it much less than what I do now.
I love working in technology.
The only three non-tech jobs I've ever done were working as a dishwasher in a small Scottish hotel, driving taxis in my hometown, and selling cars in Houston Texas.
The kitchen porter job was my first job out of school, and was great money for university, maybe a few hundred dollars a week equivalent, and it turned out to be a great way of getting exposed to parties, booze and the attractive young women also working in the hotel, who were picked mainly for their looks. I did wait tables on weekends, but my main task was washing dishes and silverware, and cleaning the kitchen one the rest of the staff had gone home.
Driving taxis in my hometown was also a fun job, but with long hours and the risk of finding yourself many miles from home at 2am on any given morning. Since cell phones weren't that commonplace in 1989 or so, and the radios were quite short-range, there was scope for improvisation on fares and passengers, so you could be your own little company for short periods. The worst aspect of this job was fending off drunks and making people who knew the 'boss' actually hand over money.
Most recently, and probably the worst job was selling cars in the Texas heat. Still a lot of fun at times, with some interesting customers, with the worst aspect being the fact that dealerships use your honest face as a wedge for their lies about, well, everything. Wasn't too upset to see the back of that job.
Thanks again for all the responses. :)
Worst otherwise: cardboard box production line. Worked on the gloriously named ZOR-D machine. It had a speed dial that went up to 21 but anything over 8 resulted in instant jamming. Of course the floor boss would always run over and turn it right up to prevent slacking. Cue 40 minutes unclogging machinery. Worst part though was washing your hands at breaks/end of day. You'd have thousands of tiny paper cuts and applying water would cause what we knew as 'involuntary fisting' (ooh er!). Your hands would clamp shut as the acids reacted.
I enjoyed both these jobs considerably less than my current work.
I came to USA for my masters degree in Computer Engineering. Coming from a financially weak family, I had to work in my university's dining hall for my day to day expenses. There were variety of jobs in the Dining hall, one could be a Chef's assistant, a salad bar attendant, or cashier. The job I hated the most was that of dish washing, just because you don't have to use any brain, its a very mechanical job. Looking…
I came to USA for my masters degree in Computer Engineering. Coming from a financially weak family, I had to work in my university's dining hall for my day to day expenses. There were variety of jobs in the Dining hall, one could be a Chef's assistant, a salad bar attendant, or cashier. The job I hated the most was that of dish washing, just because you don't have to use any brain, its a very mechanical job. Looking…
huh. I worked in a dining hall for a while, but only as cashier. I think I might have liked dishwasher, though, because my favorite non-programming jobs have all involved manual labor. Top 3: moving sound equipment, moving students' stuff in and out of temporary storage, and moving furniture into and out of dorms.