What was the best job you ever had?

[off road pat]

I once met a interesting guy in Sukhothai, that designed reciprocity computers for Ariane the French space agency...maybe the same man ?????

He explained me what reciprocity computers were and some of the difficulty's in the designing of them... we had a long interesting talk...

Edited April 5, 2016 by off road pat

[off road pat]

No job is a good job.

Oh you are so wrong in this....some jobs teach you great things, some jobs give you the impression you don't work but just have fun....

In my youth 18/20 i was a waiter, bartender in the biggest discotheque in my town (in Belgium)......it was great fun I can assure you...!

Slept with one or two different girls every night for a few years.....some of my good friends were drug dealers, Alcohol and Tobacco smugglers, pimps, professional gamblers and other criminals. I learned a unbelievable amount of things in that period...I became street-smart.. witch still keeps me out of trouble 30 years later...

And this was just the beginning of a adventurous life.....

Best regards.Off Road Pat.

[BarnicaleBob]

I worked part time as a self employed Posterior Prognosticator. I preformed this service mostly for women who had a need to know about their life and what their future may be. I would hold seminars, mostly for ladies groups and my fee was only $10.00, each reading only took about 15 to 20 minutes. They would line up for their turn and I did an average of three or four an hour for two to three hours at a time. The money was not all that great but it was the most fun job I ever had. As far as I know there were only two of us in America at the time that knew how to do this and do it well.

[NickJ]

While in College I was able to work for the three months of summer in a summer job hire program in my Dads company. He was one of the Big Suits that flew around in a heliocopter. I was in the trenches with jackhammers and doing the hard labor jobs. The guys I worked with really stuck it to me when they found out who my Dad was.....Many of them and senior engineers would go out of there way to come over and tell me how much they all loved my Dad and what he had done for them and how he helped them get ahead in the company. I really got to see a diffrent side of my Dad.He had hired thousands of people over the decades and most loved him dearly.

[zzo]

Packing pears in California, 1957. Cement floor, lifting the crates on to rollers, 120 degree weather, no fans, no water, no music.

One dollar an hour. I learned what a dollar was........never forgot it! Best life's lesson.

[Don Mega]

No job is a good job.

Oh you are so wrong in this....some jobs teach you great things, some jobs give you the impression you don't work but just have fun....

In my youth 18/20 i was a waiter, bartender in the biggest discotheque in my town (in Belgium)......it was great fun I can assure you...!

Slept with one or two different girls every night for a few years.....some of my good friends were drug dealers, Alcohol and Tobacco smugglers, pimps, professional gamblers and other criminals. I learned a unbelievable amount of things in that period...I became street-smart.. witch still keeps me out of trouble 30 years later...

And this was just the beginning of a adventurous life.....

Best regards.Off Road Pat.

Having criminals as friends does not appeal to me at all, each to their own though.

Edited April 5, 2016 by Don Mega

[rodcourt49]

It's absolutely true, I'm not yoking. The pay really was chickenfeed, nowt to cackle about.

..you crack me up!

[1BADDAT]

The one I have now. I am Engineering manager for an automotive supplier that is a MNC. I have been fortunate enough to be able to travel throughout Asia for work as well. I really love traveling to new places.

I came out here on a contract and on US wages. My original contract was for one year but it kept getting extended. I was so happy every time it got extended. Unfortunately I only have a few months left and then I have to go back.

[Johnpound46]

Best job I ever had was a summer job many years ago when I was still in college. Some government agency wanted to know how many boats went up and down a certain river in my home country, so they had people counting boats all along that river and I was one of them. Had to be on your designated spot at eight in the morning and sit there all day, until eight o'clock in the evening and write down the time when a boat came along, which direction it was going and what kind of boat it was. The weather was usually quite good, I had a cooler full of food and drinks, a radio to listen to some music, a nice deckchair to sit in, I got a hell of a nice tan, saw the most beautiful spots along that river and earned good money.

[smotherb]

Best job, or biggest paying job?

I've earned a lot of money in jobs I hated and destroyed my soul.

The jobs I didn't mind doing paid me peanuts.

Never had a job I really liked.

Mainly I did it for the money.

Got to agree with your BritMan--never liked any kind of work, but liked to live large, so I did it for the money. That may be one reason I get along so well with the ladies of negotiable virtue.

Of course the best job was Clean-up man in the circumcision ward--the pay was great; three skins an hour and a chance to get a head.

[firefox999uk]

My best job was a Professional Fire Fighter for over 30 years,

which, has given me a good pension to live in Thailand

for the rest of my life.

Have A Nice Day.

[stingray]

Sale and restore American Muscle Cars, back in Switzerland

[smotherb]

^{The best job I ever had was working as a contract programmer and being paid per program rather than an hourly rate. Each program was given a value, 3 days, 5 days etc. based on complexity and a day was valued at £125. A simple menu program was given a 3 day value and the first one probably took a day and a half to do. After that, I could knock out other simple menu programs, using the first as a template, at a rate of 2 a day. I could have worked faster but the client started wondering if he was paying me too much per program. I was earning over £1k a week and that was back in the early 80's. I had just returned from my first trip to Thailand and couldn't wait to get back once I'd made some money.}

Sounds like you too started early with computers. In 1979 as a contract software engineer in the US, I was making $36/hr for all the hours I wanted. I left that job to go back overseas.

For almost five years during the mid '80's I was on a personal services contract in Saudi as the technical director of an $800M C3I system for the Saudi Navy. The company to which I was contracted was new to global contracts and I was given carte blanche to write my own contract and set up all the operational facilities for our systems and life support amenities for our employees in KSA.

Needless to say, I wrote the requirements and chose the providers of all these services. I also wrote my contract so that I received cash for all salaries, bonuses, cost of living allowances, housing, transportation, airfare, hotels, per diem, and any associated costs for all contract-related expenses. Of course, my family and I traveled no less than business-class, had three weeks off every three months, drove a new Mercedes every year, and lived with my family in spacious accommodations in downtown Riyadh. My work took me all over in-kingdom, the Middle East, Europe and the US.

I left that job in 1988—I think all jobs have two buckets associated, one for money and one for shit; whenever either one gets full, it’s time to leave. I am still living off that money and haven’t had to work full-time since. However, as I said in a reply to BritMan, I never really liked any job I ever had. I would much rather do what I want, when I want, and how I want.

[tomross46]

1st Company Commander 101st Airborne, 2nd US Army Special Forces Vietnam.

[NoshowJones]

Best job, or biggest paying job?

I've earned a lot of money in jobs I hated and destroyed my soul.

The jobs I didn't mind doing paid me peanuts.

Never had a job I really liked.

Mainly I did it for the money.

I have never had a job I did not like, if I did not like it I would not do it.

Yes, we have to work to earn a living, everyone has different talents, mine was in music.

I have never had a job doing only manual work, the reason is I just would not have fancied it.

[gandalf12]

Must be Lead Commissioning Engineer in Papua New Guinea for Exxonmobil. Great pay, great place and great job

[elgordo38]

I had a few great jobs.

At 14-15 I had a summer job as a do-all at a hotel in the mountains. I was the only boy in that age group and there were lots of girls vacationing there. Memorable!

Then I worked at a small, newly opened airport. We only had 2 to 3 flights a day. The rest of the time I spent reading.

I worked as a cinema projectionist. Great job, lots of freedom and free movies.

Then coffee machine technician and coffee trainer. Again, lots of freedom travelling in and around London.

But the best job (not the easiest) is without doubt the one I have now: self employed doing something I'm passionate about. I definitely work more, but the sense of freedom I feel is priceless.

(Side note: The jobs I hated the most were postman and waiter.)

Quite to the contrary I was a postman all my life loved it. It was unique to have a good paying job with benefits that I really enjoyed and when the time came after 30 years it took a $50,000 carrot to get me to walk through the door. I was a bit of a boring job but I worked at my people skills became friends with most of the people and dogs on my route and never failed to stop for a coffee or a beer. I made a boring job interesting like being a diplomat. I also thank the 30 years of free excersize that is still paying dividends as my legs still look and feel good at 78. My exwife has new knees after sitting at a desk for 30 years and uses a walker and a cane and she is younger than me. This wonderful job is now long gone. More casual and part time workers automation does all the sorting and handling you now just come to work there is no comaraderie you just grab your bag and go. My timing in life was perfect.

[Naam]

the best job i ever had was a blow-job

[Khon Kaen Dave]

Bbbbesst jjob iii eveerr hhhad wwass hheelppinng pppeople to lllossee theireir ssttammmer,s.

[OmegaRacer]

I had a few great jobs.

At 14-15 I had a summer job as a do-all at a hotel in the mountains. I was the only boy in that age group and there were lots of girls vacationing there. Memorable!

Then I worked at a small, newly opened airport. We only had 2 to 3 flights a day. The rest of the time I spent reading.

I worked as a cinema projectionist. Great job, lots of freedom and free movies.

Then coffee machine technician and coffee trainer. Again, lots of freedom travelling in and around London.

But the best job (not the easiest) is without doubt the one I have now: self employed doing something I'm passionate about. I definitely work more, but the sense of freedom I feel is priceless.

(Side note: The jobs I hated the most were postman and waiter.)

Quite to the contrary I was a postman all my life loved it. It was unique to have a good paying job with benefits that I really enjoyed and when the time came after 30 years it took a $50,000 carrot to get me to walk through the door. I was a bit of a boring job but I worked at my people skills became friends with most of the people and dogs on my route and never failed to stop for a coffee or a beer. I made a boring job interesting like being a diplomat. I also thank the 30 years of free excersize that is still paying dividends as my legs still look and feel good at 78. My exwife has new knees after sitting at a desk for 30 years and uses a walker and a cane and she is younger than me. This wonderful job is now long gone. More casual and part time workers automation does all the sorting and handling you now just come to work there is no comaraderie you just grab your bag and go. My timing in life was perfect.

I agree with you elgordo. Postman isn't a bad job at all. I was just very unfortunate to get a difficult route with lots of high risers. While everybody was done by 2pm, I was out till at least 5. Sorting the letters and newspapers in the morning was a nightmare too. Thanks god I only did it for 3 months.

The best jobs for me were always those were I could be free and not have a boss looking over my shoulder all the time. I was never shy to take a job that was below my pay grade or for which I was over qualified, as long as I found it interesting and stimulating. Once the novelty wears off (usually after a few years), I never had problems quitting and moving on, even in different countries. Life is too short to get stuck in one place only and too interesting to do the same thing your whole life.

If I had listened to my family and keep the secure job, I would still work at the airport and be bored to death, hating every minute of it. Instead I now live in Thailand and I'm successful doing what I love to do.

[neverdie]

the best job i ever had was a blow-job

And I've been told you were very good at it too, apparently you never missed a drop.

[neverdie]

Kinder Author, sold 73 books and there's another 5 on

Layby.

[dick dasterdly]

I can honestly say that I've never had a job that I enjoyed - but I enjoyed being good at what I did and the social life with those I worked with.

I envy those who had a vocation, but not those whose work took over their life.

[dick dasterdly]

I can honestly say that I've never had a job that I enjoyed - but I enjoyed being good at what I did and the social life with those I worked with.

I envy those who had a vocation, but not those whose work took over their life.

I agee totally....Best job, are we talking about cash or are we talking about a daily smile, a bit of fun....?

My best job post about my best job was looking back to the fun l had, camaraderie for sure was there, meeting all types of folk, many rascals....Yeh, that was good fun..

How I hate my laptop (compared to my old PC) - it throws me out of messages at its own whim...

Anyway, I was basically saying yes, when it comes to best jobs, money is irrelevant. It has to be the time we enjoyed most surely? And I've little doubt that the vast majority of us enjoyed our jobs best when we were young, and with a group of friends.

[neverdie]

I enjoyed the side benefits of being on Thai TV but it wasnt really a job I guess. I met a guy who owned a trading company and sourced product in Thailand. He put me on retainer to entertain his buyers when he couldnt make the trip from New York. The Thai staff handled the daytime activities and I took over at night as the enabler of bad behavior. That was an interesting job if you can call it that.

I use to enjoy the benifits of having you on the telly too.....I actually use to get fairly good target practice.....with my darts

[neverdie]

Mini cab driver in 1970's London........Great fun...... ....BUT, that was waaaaaaaaaay back, very different today...

Most of your passengers from the 70ies are still in counselling.

[Rob8891]

Jeebus, Tramsam. I mini cabbed in the Smoke in the 70s too. That place must have been more dangerous than I realised! I never took anyone on a magic carpet ride, though.

[Rob8891]

Maybe we should write a book, trans? Kinda popular thing to do, I hear.

Edited April 5, 2016 by Rob8891

[smotherb]

the best job i ever had was a blow-job

How did it taste?

[kayo]

The most fun I've had have been among the worst paid, longest hours, kinda jobs.

Being "The Beach Dude" on Lonely Beach back in 2000-2002 was a highlight.

Wake up in my hammock, with the beach dogs all around... stumble to the sea to wake up, general host during the day and barkeeper in the evening.

Lovely stuff. Beautiful, relaxed girls from all over the world.

Another highlight was working a Cocktails ' n' Dreams style outdoor, live music bar in Guatemala.