Becoming a Dr. is better than being...(re Worst 1st Job edition)

[SpoiledMilk]

A handyman's apprentice.

After HS graduation, didn't want to attend college. Uncle got me a job with his handyman as an apprentice. He picked me up the first time at 8AM, drove to a burned out 2 story house he bought to renovate in order to rent to college students close to the city college. Gave me one hammer, no mask, no gloves, some bottle water to drink, and told me to start pulling out the millions of exposed nails on the floorboards in every room. Then he left to do his other appointments. Picked me up for 30 minute lunch at this parents' home at 12PM and then left me at the site before picking me up at 6 PM to take me home. This was in the summer time in the South.

My snot was blackened with soot from blowing my nose all day and both hands were blistered. Returned for a 2nd day where he finally provided a pair of gloves and one paper mask that quickly became useless to do the same thing. Didn't return for a third day. Pay was $6.50/hr cash.

Afterwards tried work as a nighttime store inventory specialist. Lasted two weeks before deciding college looks darn good.

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[Type2Fiber]

relevant comparison might be handymans apprentice vs being a premed... pursue trade work with the diligence required to become a doctor and you'd have a nice life. being a student is sweet but my net worth is negative 200k

 

[TakotsuboOkazaki]

Not really a fair comparison, like @Type2Fiber said. You’re comparing an entry level position with a fully trained professional career.

An attending physician is more like the tradesman making >$100K/yr with 3-6 guys working under him who do all the grunt work while he bounces between job sites overseeing, giving advice & doing the most skilled work.

You can run the numbers on debt/salary/years to see what’s “better” by those standards. However, you should really do what interests you and what you feel you can be good at.

Your career doesn’t need to have a “help the poor/downtrodden/change the world” mission but being a productive professional adult who people respect and who adds value to their community and the lives they touch is something everyone should strive for. You can do that as a surgeon removing a colon or as a tradesman providing livelihoods to your employees and updating a kitchen to help that family live a better life.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Yeah. My fail. The intent of the post was to relay my bad experience at my first job prior to medschool, not to belittle becoming a tradesman or any other profession.

 

[ChymeofPassion]

Yeah. My fail. The intent of the post was to relay my bad experience at my first job prior to medschool, not to belittle becoming a tradesman or any other profession.

Shame on you for trying to create a casual thread topic lmao

 

[FluffyCat1212]

A camp counselor making less than minimum wage to entertain kids outside in ~100 degree weather.
OR
Being a sales associate at a large chain trying to sell people $40 scarves that (in all honesty) weren't even that cute. Oh, there was also this lady who had been there for like 20 years and definitely had a "holier than thou" type attitude about it. She stole my $800 sale 7 years ago and (tbh) I'm still bitter.

My latter work experiences were much better

I know medicine is going to come with its own hurdles, but I'm definitely not all that sad to see these go!

 

[Proudfather94]

Warehouse work for sure. Most of them have inhumane quotas and expect you to burn yourself out or get too injured to work. Repetitive use injuries are way too common and the lack of regulations to keep people safe is pathetic.

 

[Captain_Falcon]

Warehouse work for sure. Most of them have inhumane quotas and expect you to burn yourself out or get too injured to work. Repetitive use injuries are way too common and the lack of regulations to keep people safe is pathetic.

I've worked in a warehouse (graveyard shift at that) and it is ****ing awful

 

[DoctwoB]

Worked as a allergy tech mixing antigens in shots.

Pay was $10/hr (probably equivalent of $20 now), so not bad. But the mind numbing boredom was unbearable. Sitting in a chair, doing the same mindless (but also important, wrong dose or wrong antigen could give someone anaphylaxis) job for 8 hours.

Medicine involves mental and physical stimulation on a daily basis. Even if you've done a procedure 1000 times it is still technically demanding to do it to the highest standard. Even if you know the medicine in your specialty cold there are always non-textbook cases, integrating patient values into care pathways, dealing with new people, etc.

 

[Proudfather94]

I've worked in a warehouse (graveyard shift at that) and it is ****ing awful

I did 5PM to 3AM and it sucked so bad. They read our productivity percentages out loud and mine was higher than the other trainees so they sabotaged my work. It paid less than 12 an hour too. College is important lol.

 

[Captain_Falcon]

I did 5PM to 3AM and it sucked so bad. They read our productivity percentages out loud and mine was higher than the other trainees so they sabotaged my work. It paid less than 12 an hour too. College is important lol.

I never did hours like that, but I swear my rates were messed with. I realized i wasn't gonna be able to continue that job with undergrad so I stopped caring to make rate, so I took my time and all of a sudden THEN my rates increased. I got around $12.50 an hour

 

[Proudfather94]

I never did hours like that, but I swear my rates were messed with. I realized i wasn't gonna be able to continue that job with undergrad so I stopped caring to make rate, so I took my time and all of a sudden THEN my rates increased. I got around $12.50 an hour

I was starting college soon and management's response to others messing up my work was "someone's just screwing with you" so I quit. I'm just glad I finally got in and start in a few months

 

[xDNA]

Working at an Amusement Park doing Food Services (I did funnel cakes and those carts outside to refill drinks and popcorn)

Worked the Amusement Park Seasons during HS to help family (Apr-Oct). Doing funnel cakes SUCK. I couldn't cook so I was Cashier. so I was everyones' go to guy for complaints even if I didn't make they funnel cakes lol. Plus everyone wants a funnel cake before they leave the park, so even though the park closes at 10pm the line was out the door for ppl to get their last minute funnel cake, not uncommon to have to stay well past midnight cleaning those gross greasy kitchen areas. Alternatively I could've been put in the blazing summer heat at those carts to refill ppl drinks. Worst part about that was you were at the mercy of someone coming to relieve you. And dont forgot the bees! They love that soda syrup. I seriously DONT miss that job in the slightest lol.

Its always humbling to look back at how far I've come though.

 

[tulsajoe94]

An “andrology intern”.

Soooo many sperm samples handed to you with a “sorry it’s usually more” the smell as you heat them up? No. And at the incredible pay of $10/hr. I couldn’t pay rent.

 

[LunaOri]

I worked in a factory molding rubber into plugs for aircraft communications systems. Hot summer, hotter mold presses, no wimdows or A/C. Supervisor timed your bathroom breaks so they could dock you if you peed too long.

 

[ChymeofPassion]

Working as a stop and shop dairy associate for 9.25 an hour. I had to watch the milk and eggs and THE INSTANT a milk was taken, replace it.

I was also responsible for unloading the truck pallets at the end of the night. The pallets I moved with a forklift werent always short enough to fit through the doorways; well, I didnt know that until I knocked over a pallet that clipped a doorway containing 16 jars of pasta and 30 gallons of water