Did You Work Outside of Academia Before Becoming a FT or PT Faculty?

[magnemite]

I'm amused by all the dishwashers...

You know you're in good company, right?

George Orwell was a plongeur in Paris....

M.

Excellent!

I worked as a dishwasher in Denny's for three years before college, started in the dorm dish-washing realm at Giant State Flagship U, working up to line cook and student supervisor before graduating. Earned some good $, and learned to handle pressure, properly clean dishes and industrial food service gear (including grease traps), and also gained some good cooking skills along the way. During college, saved on food bills!.

During grad school, had a pretty serious argument with my PhD adviser over work. His view was that grad students should only be paid to do RA work for two summer months (in line with his being Dutch, and let's say "frugal" with support). So, as a first-gen college student who had had "you must work and not be a slacker" strongly imprinted by family, I decided to pick up a full time job during the month I was not paid- a "fun" job cleaning a high-rise apartment that was 99.9% rented to students- so was vacant most of the summer- lots of interesting things to scrub up in kitchens and bathrooms. I still did some work on my thesis. Adviser finds out I've taken that job, gets all upset, and essentially tells me that if I am serious about an academic career, I had better get used to working w/o pay, as that is totally normal. I still seethe a bit for that dude because of this, even after > two decades have passed.

Also, as a post-doc, worked part time (5AM-10-AM) as a mailroom gopher for a large insurance company- did that for three months to save up $ as a downpayment for a condo, which (when sold) allowed us to buy a house when we moved to Pokemon Town for my current TT position. An interesting job, but the end results was the best outcome.

[0susanna]

I had various summer jobs in college, then went straight into a Masters program that nearly destroyed me, though I did gain some valuable experience. For the next three years, I worked temp clerical jobs--data entry, receptionist, secretary--slowly realizing that I couldn't do that forever. Incredibly naive, I took the GRE without any prep,  applied to a single PhD program, and never looked back. Could I do something else now? Maybe, but it better not involve fast-food.

[Kron3007]

I'm amused by all the dishwashers...

You know you're in good company, right?

George Orwell was a plongeur in Paris....

M.

Excellent!

I worked as a dishwasher in Denny's for three years before college, started in the dorm dish-washing realm at Giant State Flagship U, working up to line cook and student supervisor before graduating. Earned some good $, and learned to handle pressure, properly clean dishes and industrial food service gear (including grease traps), and also gained some good cooking skills along the way. During college, saved on food bills!.

During grad school, had a pretty serious argument with my PhD adviser over work. His view was that grad students should only be paid to do RA work for two summer months (in line with his being Dutch, and let's say "frugal" with support). So, as a first-gen college student who had had "you must work and not be a slacker" strongly imprinted by family, I decided to pick up a full time job during the month I was not paid- a "fun" job cleaning a high-rise apartment that was 99.9% rented to students- so was vacant most of the summer- lots of interesting things to scrub up in kitchens and bathrooms. I still did some work on my thesis. Adviser finds out I've taken that job, gets all upset, and essentially tells me that if I am serious about an academic career, I had better get used to working w/o pay, as that is totally normal. I still seethe a bit for that dude because of this, even after > two decades have passed.

Also, as a post-doc, worked part time (5AM-10-AM) as a mailroom gopher for a large insurance company- did that for three months to save up $ as a downpayment for a condo, which (when sold) allowed us to buy a house when we moved to Pokemon Town for my current TT position. An interesting job, but the end results was the best outcome.

Good cooking skills?  I thought you said you worked at Denny's?

[mamselle]

Be nice.

M.

[Parasaurolophus]

Not really. I did some occasional odd-jobs in high school, but in university I helped take care of a grandparent who needed care 24/7. That's work (omg you have no idea!), but it's not work I did for money (nor do most people), so it doesn't usually get counted.

I took a year off between my Master's and my PhD, but unfortunately, it was during the Great Recession and at the time I lived pretty near an oil patch. I tried to get work all year, but there was nothing. It was a bad time for everyone in that city.

I did do some occasional freelance editorial/copy editing work. In fact, I still do (plus some translation).

[the_geneticist]

I'm amused by all the dishwashers...

You know you're in good company, right?

George Orwell was a plongeur in Paris....

M.

Excellent!

I worked as a dishwasher in Denny's for three years before college, started in the dorm dish-washing realm at Giant State Flagship U, working up to line cook and student supervisor before graduating. Earned some good $, and learned to handle pressure, properly clean dishes and industrial food service gear (including grease traps), and also gained some good cooking skills along the way. During college, saved on food bills!.

During grad school, had a pretty serious argument with my PhD adviser over work. His view was that grad students should only be paid to do RA work for two summer months (in line with his being Dutch, and let's say "frugal" with support). So, as a first-gen college student who had had "you must work and not be a slacker" strongly imprinted by family, I decided to pick up a full time job during the month I was not paid- a "fun" job cleaning a high-rise apartment that was 99.9% rented to students- so was vacant most of the summer- lots of interesting things to scrub up in kitchens and bathrooms. I still did some work on my thesis. Adviser finds out I've taken that job, gets all upset, and essentially tells me that if I am serious about an academic career, I had better get used to working w/o pay, as that is totally normal. I still seethe a bit for that dude because of this, even after > two decades have passed.

Also, as a post-doc, worked part time (5AM-10-AM) as a mailroom gopher for a large insurance company- did that for three months to save up $ as a downpayment for a condo, which (when sold) allowed us to buy a house when we moved to Pokemon Town for my current TT position. An interesting job, but the end results was the best outcome.

Good cooking skills?  I thought you said you worked at Denny's?

Hey, don't knock it unless you've done it.  Working at a diner you'll learn how to make a bunch of different food on different types of equipment (e.g. fries in a deep fryer, pancakes & eggs on a flat top griddle, omelettes in a frying pan, etc.). And how to multitask - when to drop the fries so they are cooked when the burger is done.
You'd be shocked at how many folks can't boil pasta or fry an egg or cook a pot of rice or know how to tell if a burger is cooked and not raw in the middle.