[rbhjr01462]

Worked at a small paper mill during college. In general it was a dirty and dangerous place to work, working swing shifts and getting called in at 4am if the felt or wire on the paper machine needed to be replaced. Little training and safety equipment was for wimps.
The worst job was during shut-down (depending on timing either the weekend just after 4th of July or Christmas). The mill burned wood chips for process steam and generate electricity. Once a year they would shut down the boiler and the 'college kids' had the enviable task of cleaning out the burn chamber. Even though the boiler hadn't burned for over 24 hours by the time we went in it was still radiating quite a bit of heat. There was a small porthole we would have to crawl into after putting on one-piece coveralls, respirator and goggles. As we chipped the hardened ash off the walls the dust was so thick you could barely see 2 ft in front of you. Between the sweating and dust we would do 15min-20min shifts.
On the plus side, there was one week in 1985 that I grossed over $2000 - that's decent money now, was a LOT of money in 1985. It did take a lot of 16hr days to get that but I paid for 100% of my private college tuition.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by rbhjr01462

Worked at a small paper mill during college. In general it was a dirty and dangerous place to work, working swing shifts and getting called in at 4am if the felt or wire on the paper machine needed to be replaced. Little training and safety equipment was for wimps.
The worst job was during shut-down (depending on timing either the weekend just after 4th of July or Christmas). The mill burned wood chips for process steam and generate electricity. Once a year they would shut down the boiler and the 'college kids' had the enviable task of cleaning out the burn chamber. Even though the boiler hadn't burned for over 24 hours by the time we went in it was still radiating quite a bit of heat. There was a small porthole we would have to crawl into after putting on one-piece coveralls, respirator and goggles. As we chipped the hardened ash off the walls the dust was so thick you could barely see 2 ft in front of you. Between the sweating and dust we would do 15min-20min shifts.
On the plus side, there was one week in 1985 that I grossed over $2000 - that's decent money now, was a LOT of money in 1985. It did take a lot of 16hr days to get that but I paid for 100% of my private college tuition.

I did an asbestos removal job that was similar. We had to go into the burn chamber under a huge pot where gypsum was turned into material for sheetrock. That furnace had also been off for 24 hrs, but it was still damn hot in there. We had to vacuum out tons of asbestos-contaminated gypsum using a huge 12" diameter hose attached to a truck-mounted vacuum. This thing had some serious suck. It took two guys to hold the hose. And the gypsum flying up the hose created static buildup. When the buildup overcame the resistance in the air between the guys holding the hose and the huge iron mixing pot above us, there would be a flash and we got zapped. It hurt like a bastard.

[Littlebear]

One summer during high school I worked for a landscape architect who specialized in natural rock patios & walkways.
Vito would walk in the woods (see pic) with us & say, "Junie (Junior)! Get that rock". When we weren't hauling rocks we were hauling big bags of sand. It did make us strong!
But my worst days were spent in dark computer centers, working for stifling corporations who couldn't decide if we were employees or contractors, etc....

Murf

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by TommyG-inFlaNow

I have to do this in a list otherwise it will be too long:
-Collision center manager, I was recruited out of NJ and paid all expenses to move to FL
-Given a task to recruit 10 technicians to open 2nd facility, I hired 22
-Given a goal to hit $750k in sales per month, we did $892k my best month
-Made a shit ton of money but stressed out like a mo fo.
-Pressure cooker job, thankless position, someone always upset (customers/employees)
-Terminated b/c our goals were not aligned (BS excuse to not get sued) really let go b/c I wasnt a yes man to the supervisor of 38yrs still stuck in the 80's way of business
-Got a great position down the road and my old employees all wanted to come work for me
-Got sued for breach of "non-solicitiation" by old employer b/c employees sought me out and they were going to teach me a lesson

All in all, never been happier in my 25 yr career. Things happen for a reason but it was a stressful 2 years of legal battles and BS. Thankfully my new company believed in me and stood behind me. I hope to last 20 years here until I retire or whatever

Situations like this are so sad... you put in a ton of work, meet goals and yet there is some douchebag that doesn't agree or dislikes something and you get let go with a senseless excuse.

Imo this is exactly a reason why stronger employment laws need to exist in this country. There is virtually nothing protecting the employee.

[Tommy-G]

Originally Posted by ASAP

Situations like this are so sad... you put in a ton of work, meet goals and yet there is some douchebag that doesn't agree or dislikes something and you get let go with a senseless excuse.

Imo this is exactly a reason why stronger employment laws need to exist in this country. There is virtually nothing protecting the employee.

Luckily my experience and resume speak enough to get me in most doors. I have been very fortunate in my lifetime but I didnt get anything for nothing. I worked my ass off when I was younger and built a name for myself.

Thanks for the kind words too