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BannerBrat

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[SIZE=12pt]Hi guys!
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I'll be getting out of high school in two years, & I'm turning 16 in September.
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As soon as I can I'm going to be working as many small jobs as I can under the law, and without my grades slipping.
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I would love to hear what you do for a living, and also what kind of jobs you did while you were in school/just getting out of school.

I'd like to know any benefits that you like with your current/past job as well.

Some things I'd like to do just in general are, working as a groom/ exercise rider at a throughbred racetrack. & also a Standardbred racetrack. some of these are more for the experience then the money. For a long term Job I was thinking either a Vet, Farrier, or I'd really love to work on the huge Alaskan Crab fishing boats for a few years. I was also considering working for ENCON. or something to do with the water/river/lakes/stuff like that.

Would love any suggestions &/or advice as well guys!

Thanks!
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When I was in high school, I worked at Roy Rogers
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Now I'm a financial coach / asset manager. I work with clients to help them do what they want to do financially. Currently, I manage about $200M. I've been doing this for 14 years and own a practice I started with my father. As part of my job, I do a lot of large group meetings at local Country Clubs to bring in new clients and further educate my existing clients -- it's one of my favorite parts of the job (love public speaking).

The benefits of my current job are pretty nice. I have a lot of flexibility with my schedule. I typically am not in the office more than 4 days a week. I have assistants who do 99% of the paperwork (which I don't like to do). I am very happy with the income level, too, which makes everything else in life easier. Plus, I work with such nice people. I truly enjoy my clients and feel good about helping them. I'm my own boss and accountable really just to my clients, the regulatory authorities, and myself. I also do not have to work with people that I don't want to work with or have as clients, which is a good thing to have a say over.

You can see more about my company here: www.smart-money.net -- we have lots of financial articles and calculators available and it's always up to date and current.

Prior to what I do now, (inbetween now and my High School / Roy Rogers days!) I was a mortgage loan officer... I like this much better and it keeps me in ponies
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I am an English teacher now.

In high school, I worked in the hay fields, and for different farmers doing field work. I also baby sat, and broke three horses by the time I was fourteen. I worked in nursing homes for over six years as laundry, janitor, activities, and a CNA.

I have also been a waitress, that is a job I love.
 
While in high school, I worked at a hotel as a desk clerk. Right after high school I continued to work at the hotel but as a night auditor. I did that for about a year and then went to college. I continued to work as a night auditor since it was nights, I could go to school during the day. I went to college for Air Traffic Control - associates degree. It is a govt job and at the time I graduated there was a hiring freeze so I did some secretary/administrative/accounting jobs until I got hired.

Benefits of my job - make over $100,000/yr, full health benefits, 26 vacation days a year (you can take them however you like - days here, hour here, as long as there are enough people to cover for you) , 12 sick days a year, Tsp (like 401k), matched up to 5%, retirement by the age of 50 or 25 years of service any age, so if you got in right after high school you could retire at 42. You must retire by 56. You can not get into my job if you are older than 29 to start. My retirement will be around $60,000/yr (I can retire in 10 years at the age of 51) that does not include my social security. You can never work more than 10 hrs aday since it's a transportation job or never more than 6 days straight. I love the job, it is exciting, but does have it's stressful moments.

You do have to do shift work, but it's actually nice...on my monday I don't start until 4pm and on my friday I'm out at 1pm so it's almost like always having a three day weekend. Weekends are hard to get off unless you have lots of seniority so if you have to have sat/sun off, the chances are slim to none. I actually like weekdays off...we love to boat and the water is always all ours since everyone else is at work. You will get somewhat of a choice of where you work, but more than likely must move out of state. They are always looking for controllers to go to Alaska. We just might do that here in a few years.

There is an extreme shortage of Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) right now and it's only going to get worse. You do not have to go to college anymore like I did, the govt is acutally recruiting in high schools right now as they know they are going to be hurting real bad in a couple years. You will have to attend some schooling in Oklahoma (about 4 months - you will be paid to attend but not much) prior to getting stationed at your tower/tracon/center. The pay is not near as good as it used to be, the way things are right now, you will never reach over $100,000 like I have but you will still make very good $. It is a govt job, so you must have a security clearance (so if you've had any bad things, even as a juvenile, forget it, only traffic tickets allowed), you also have to pass a second class medical clearance every two years, you are only allowed to take very few prescription drugs...anything mind altering...say a anti-depressent you can not take and will be fired if caught taking even benadryl while working. All meds you take must go through the flight surgeon.

Right now, management is terrible, but lets face it, it is the govt. It's never been good but we have had a contract shoved down our throats a couple years ago and things are pretty bad right now, but I still would encourage someone to do this job. It is very exciting and rewarding.

Good luck!
 
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I am secretary / dispatch for our familys trucking company Hackworth Trucking, we actually have one of the largest personally owned trucking companys in northwest ohio. I work one day a week in the office where i do paperwork / payroll. It leaves plenty of time at home for the horses
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. In the office i just take the bills from the previous week that each driver turns in, i think we have 14 right now, and put all of the information from each load into the computer and add in expidite charges, fuel surcharges, toll charges ext ext ..all of that extra stuff and print off an invoice and mail out to whirlpool and penske (our two clients we run pulls for) and then i do each drivers payroll ..its very fun but its allot of time in the office by myself and it has allot of down time if the drivers do not turn in their paperwork each morning as i end up sitting there playing card games for an hour or so if im done and waiting for someone to drop off paperwork.

Then i also do dispatch ...i have penske and my brother has whirlpool. Penske calls me and says they need so and so there by so and so time, i call each driver and get someone on it. My cell phone never stops ringing, normally sunday and mondays they do not have any loads unless its an emergency, but its fun and leaves me with plenty and plenty of time for the horses and im sure no one else i went to school with is making what i make straight out of high school for one day of work
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.

www.HackworthTrucking.com (website is down for the time being i think, it might be back up by now though or early this week).
 
I wanted to work with children so I worked for a while in a Kinderfoto store and took pictures and then worked in a day care center. Loved it so much I became a mom and have worked outside the home only sporatically since. But, I am doing exactly what I wanted to do so, I am happy girl!
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Now wiht my children older I run a shooting supply company and love that too.
 
I'd really love to work on the huge Alaskan Crab fishing boats for a few years.
I had to come back to this and mention...yes, that would be adventurous, but I hope you don't get your heart set on it. Being a woman it is almost impossible, woman just do not have the strength to handle working on a deck, perhaps as a cook or a very experienced engineer, but even then you would need to know someone who is already on a boat. Even if woman are capable of deck work or engineering (I'm sure there are many who are) 99% of captians do not want women on their boat (unless you have a very very personal relationship with the captian *wink, wink* and can provide extra services if you know what I mean) , they go by very old superstitions and a woman onboard is considered bad luck. Plus now with the new quoto system there are under 100 boats in the fleet, it is hard for seasoned veterans to get a job on a boat. However, you could work for a processing plant or even on a processing boat....very nasty work though for very little pay. Didn't want to burst your bubble, just didn't want you to get your heart set on it. I too would love to be involved in something like that, I love the water/boats/fishing. We currently have two boats. I grew up on Lake Erie on my Dad's Salmon boat, the F/V Viking. However, I know it impossible because of my age (38) and gender to ever be involved in anything with a crab boat. Not fair, but fact of life, so I've decided to just buy my own boat, not a crab boat though..a 43ft trawler on Lake Huron. Well I'm looking at it, but haven't made any decisions yet.

Screen name "Nootka" on LB owns a F/V (not sure if it's crab ) and is very familiar with the whole process of F/V in Alaska...you could contact her probably for more info.

What about a DNR officer? You could be involved with fisheries, water, outdoors, etc...

Or if you really wanted to make a commitment...The Coast Guard.

I wish you the best of luck, it's good that you are thinking about all of this now, time will come for you to make major decisions sooner than you think.

P.S. - The F/V Saga is for sale in Alaska F/V Saga , only 1.3 mill...you could have your own boat...then I'd come work for you!
 
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When I was in high school I went to work for a family owned company that sold factory overruns, closeout merchandise, and insurance loss merchandise. I worked for them all through high school then went to work for a similar company. I then went to work for a large corporation and worked my way up from retail manager of 2 stores to loss prevention manager for several hundred stores with several people that I supervised.

In 1992 I bought a small bakery and in 1997 I bought a small fast food restaurant. I did this until 2004 when I just couldn't handle it anymore. I closed both the bakery and the restaurant.

I quickly found that being self employed for all of those years made it impossible for me to find a job as I didn't have any work references. For some reason employers don't seem to realize that if you have been in business for yourself for 10 years, you have worked a whole lot harder than any job they could pay you for.

I went back to the company that I had worked for in high school and was hired as a part time stocker. I worked my way from stocker to assistant manager and now am the marketing merchandiser for the company. I am on the road 5 days a week and I love my job now. I can do my job, come home, and forget it.

I travel to 30 stores in 3 states and do store re-sets, special merchandising, new store sets, etc. it is an easy job with no stress at all. The only drawback is that sometimes I have a 3 or 4 hour drive to work and a long drive home after a long day. I also am sometimes out of town M-F. But, I am off every weekend and can request and get Friday off occasionally without having to use a vacation day. I make as much money on my expense check as I do on my paycheck and sometimes more. They pay me very well to drive my own car and allow me a meal allowance that I just pocket 90% of.

Mary
 
Hey Ashley--I mentioned to your mom a few weeks back that I thought you might enjoy something like this:
http://www.sfr.cas.psu.edu/Wildlife/WildlifeFisheries.html

I'm not pushing this college--don't know anything about it--but the major sure looks like your cup of tea.
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[SIZE=12pt]Wow Karla, Thank you, that looks really nice,
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I'll have to look at it more throughly when I get some time.
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I'd really love to work on the huge Alaskan Crab fishing boats for a few years.

P.S. - The F/V Saga is for sale in Alaska F/V Saga , only 1.3 mill...you could have your own boat...then I'd come work for you!
[SIZE=12pt]Wow.
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but hey...
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there's an idea...
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haha, & yes I do realize the chance of me actually working on one of those boats is extremely slim, it's just one of the things I can't give up on yet.

oh & just to add right now I mow two lawns, which is nice, brings in something, but I can't wait to be able to do more.... come on september...
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& Thanks this sure is fun to read all of this stuff!
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My first job was when I graduated college in 1999 working at a dental floss factory. I worked there for 5 years before the company moved to Montreal. I worked at a few horse farms as well as a duck farm but now currently work two jobs. I work monday to friday at a dog kennal as their groomer from 8a.m until 2:30p.m, then at a ski/golf resort monday to friday from 4p.m until 10p.m. Though at both jobs sometimes I finish earlier.
 
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Before graduating from high school, I worked for a catering company, assisting with the (menial) food preparation.....and then on weekends I was one of the servers at parties and functions.

Before and just after graduating from college I was a receptionist, briefly worked in day care, did some resume writing for a career consultant's office, and then finally got my foot in the door with a small newspaper as a proof reader. I was then offered a job with a bigger newspaper as a proof reader.......which led to advertising.......which led to reporting.......and when I left the paper I was an assistant editor. (I LOVED that job.)

That was the end of working for other people.
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Okay--just for fun, and to show you how varied just one employment history is--here's what I've done:

High school:

1. hoed cabbage and weeded strawberries for local farmers

2. Burger King--I was very good on the broiler steamer
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College

3. Life guard at my apartment complex on weekends--at the college pool weekdays

4. Grounds maintenance at college during the summer

5. Wegmans--floral department

Degree: Outdoor Recreation with a minor in Bio--really wanted to be a Park Manager. I longed to work with trees/plants, NOT people--esp. children.
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After college

6. manager of a greenhouse in Rochester

7. cashier in my father's grocery store--very humbling experience, BUT it gave me a chance to

8. substitute teach in the elementary school I went to--I LOVED it!

So--if I got called to teach--I worked in the store after till closing--didn't get called to teach--I was at the store.

Had to get my Masters to be a teacher, so while I attended part time I was a

9. waitress at Perkins--boy I was really good at that! I won all the contests.
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After Masters

10. Probation Officer--I wrote investigations--criminal and custody

Welcome motherhood!!

after the first was 6 months--part time--14 hours a week

11. GED instructor

12. Kindergarten teacher!!!!! Happiness!! Half day--then full time for half a year because

Motherhood times 2!!
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part time--14 hours a week

13. External Diploma Program Assessment Specialist

14 Human Services Instructor for 11th and 12th graders

15. 6th grade teacher--to 5th grade teacher--same district.

Don't forget the hobbies you love for extra income! I've paid for Christmases by making pressed flower pictures and selling them, starting a photography business, growing plants and selling them in my dad's grocery store, selling quilts.....

So--the moral of this is you never know where you'll end up--OR what you'll end up loving. Keep your eyes wide open and embrace the possibilities!! You're at a very exciting time in your life! Ashley--think of it: YOU CAN BE WHATEVER YOU WANT TO BE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's amazing when you really think about it.
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[SIZE=12pt]Wow, interesting guys
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I really appreiciate you guys posting what you did & do for a living
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& wow thank you Karla!
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i loved reading what you do/did!

boy, that's a lot of changes.

& I really have no idea where I'll end up.

It'll be exciting to look back & see.
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Thanks Guys!
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ahhhhhh. This is Banner Brat (Ashley)

man I gotta pay more attention to who's logged in... :stupid
 
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Hey Ashley, I know how you feel. Im beginning my junior year at university and I currently work 3 jobs over this summer.

First I work with a private physical therapist as she does the theraputic riding. Im in charge of taking care of the horses that we use and to make sure we have everything set for our session. I absolutely love it! Im going next summer to work on getting my physical therapist assistant license.

Secondly I work at an "family fun center." There I work in the arcade/snack bar as sort of a waitress/ice cream girl. I can also run some of the grill but I dont normally. I just make ice cream for the customers. Its a fun laid back job, and not as bad as working in a "true" fast food resturante (Mc Donald's, Wendy's, ect.) There are also go-karts and mini golf at the place I work. But I stay in the air conditioning board out of my mind since its mostly dead. But a job is a job.

And third, I own and manage my own art studio, Ghost Horse Studio. I do all sorts of art work but I mostly work on large scale murals of just about everything (I prefer horses of course!
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) And it works since my major at university is Fine Arts and Education.

I have also worked at an upper end resturant as a busser, and I did the grounds keeping as well but I got rather nasty allergic reactions from the grass.

I wish you the best of luck on which ever path you chose. Expecially if its a field you really enjoy! Take care!

~Megan Young
 

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