So, I'm away camping and no I'm not blogging whilst I'm away, I wrote this post prior to going away. I thought that I'd share with you some of what I've done career wise as I've done a fair few different things.
My first paying job was delivering pamphlets, that was a complete rip-off. I was a teenager and would spend a heap of time sorting and packing a bag to only make something like $14 for a weekends work. I reckon the person who was paying me was ripping me off. I never really counted that as a job, but I guess it was. When I was 17 I started working as a checkout chick at a Coles supermarket. I'd work a couple of days a week for 3 to 4 hours after school and another 3 or 4 hours on Saturday and Sunday. I worked for five years at Coles and ended up doing shift work, three to four graveyard shifts per week.
Around the time I finished school and whilst still working at Coles, I borrowed some money off my Dad and bought a mobile DJ business. I would DJ weddings, birthdays and school socials. It was good fun and I managed to start building the business. I think the DJ businesses time was limited as online music and iPods were becoming all the rage and people could download music and make their own play-lists without the need for a DJ.
I left Coles and started working in a pub, whilst still doing the DJ thing when I could. I ended up managing the pub, it was only a small place but I organised live music 5 nights a week, Wednesday was darts night and Sunday the pub was closed. At one stage, my Dad looked at buying the pub as he was worried that I would never find a "real" job. Together we decided that it wouldn't be a good idea and it's a good thing we made that decision. The owner of the building jacked up the rent and the pub closed. The old publican and myself started working on a business plan to open a new pub but that never eventuated, instead we started a live music booking agency and started running blues and roots musicians up and down the east coast of Australia as well as looking after the cover bands that played in the local pubs, at one stage we had something like 15 different venues in Canberra that we organised bands for. That business was ok but neither of us were any good at managing our money and some of our artists weren't very good at paying us what they owed us. I was still working in pubs at night and at times I'd open my wallet to pay our staff member out of money I earned the night before pulling beers. That was enough for me, I closed the business and almost went bankrupt from all the unpaid bills.
My first paying job was delivering pamphlets, that was a complete rip-off. I was a teenager and would spend a heap of time sorting and packing a bag to only make something like $14 for a weekends work. I reckon the person who was paying me was ripping me off. I never really counted that as a job, but I guess it was. When I was 17 I started working as a checkout chick at a Coles supermarket. I'd work a couple of days a week for 3 to 4 hours after school and another 3 or 4 hours on Saturday and Sunday. I worked for five years at Coles and ended up doing shift work, three to four graveyard shifts per week.
Around the time I finished school and whilst still working at Coles, I borrowed some money off my Dad and bought a mobile DJ business. I would DJ weddings, birthdays and school socials. It was good fun and I managed to start building the business. I think the DJ businesses time was limited as online music and iPods were becoming all the rage and people could download music and make their own play-lists without the need for a DJ.
I left Coles and started working in a pub, whilst still doing the DJ thing when I could. I ended up managing the pub, it was only a small place but I organised live music 5 nights a week, Wednesday was darts night and Sunday the pub was closed. At one stage, my Dad looked at buying the pub as he was worried that I would never find a "real" job. Together we decided that it wouldn't be a good idea and it's a good thing we made that decision. The owner of the building jacked up the rent and the pub closed. The old publican and myself started working on a business plan to open a new pub but that never eventuated, instead we started a live music booking agency and started running blues and roots musicians up and down the east coast of Australia as well as looking after the cover bands that played in the local pubs, at one stage we had something like 15 different venues in Canberra that we organised bands for. That business was ok but neither of us were any good at managing our money and some of our artists weren't very good at paying us what they owed us. I was still working in pubs at night and at times I'd open my wallet to pay our staff member out of money I earned the night before pulling beers. That was enough for me, I closed the business and almost went bankrupt from all the unpaid bills.
It was around this time I met my future wife. I started doing more shifts in pubs again and also spent some time in a computer repair shop. I was kind of odd as the computer repair shop was in the old shop that we started the booking agency in, just a few doors up from where the pub I used to manage was. Canberra is really a country town pretending to be a city.
I started looking for work again after a few months and got a job full-time in retail. I guess it was my first proper job since Coles that paid properly including super, annual leave and sick leave. After being there three years, I'd worked my way up to being assistant store manager and was being sent around the country to help out at other stores. I got married and I wanted to earn more money so I left retail and started working in information technology. I worked for one company for around three years and then changed to my current company where I've been doing the same job for the last seven years.
Now I'm essentially starting another small business, but this one is more of a hobby and unless it can exceed my current salary then I'll keep my full-time job. I guess if I start making more than half my current salary, I could look at going part time, but that would be a big decision to make.
I started looking for work again after a few months and got a job full-time in retail. I guess it was my first proper job since Coles that paid properly including super, annual leave and sick leave. After being there three years, I'd worked my way up to being assistant store manager and was being sent around the country to help out at other stores. I got married and I wanted to earn more money so I left retail and started working in information technology. I worked for one company for around three years and then changed to my current company where I've been doing the same job for the last seven years.
Now I'm essentially starting another small business, but this one is more of a hobby and unless it can exceed my current salary then I'll keep my full-time job. I guess if I start making more than half my current salary, I could look at going part time, but that would be a big decision to make.
Bomber
hopefully having fun at the coast
hopefully having fun at the coast
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