The Lessons I Learned at the Best Job I Ever Had

When it came to getting a job I started with babysitting first. Sure, this doesn't sound like much of a career choice, nor does it sound like I would learn anything earth shattering on the job. I was lucky enough to not only learn more in that job than expected, I learned something about working that will stay with me throughout the rest of my employed life. The best job I ever had was the best job because of the bumps I stumbled across during that job, not because it was easy or even fun. Some of the important lessons from that job that helped me were:

The first lesson I learned was responsibility. At first I looked at this job as a time to play with two cute little kids. I was excited about getting to watch them. I had all sorts of ideas for games we could play and things we could do during our time together. The first day on the job I was stuck with these two for 12 hours while their mom decided to take some 'extra time' after work for herself. Her kids were demanding and didn't listen well. I had to feed, diaper, and entertain an infant as well as his nearly five-year-old sister. His sister refused to follow directions and would hide without warning putting me in a panic that she may have been lost or stolen. I learned that a job isn't fun and games, it is work.

The next lesson I learned was get things in writing and make sure you read the fine print. I made an agreement on fees that gave me a wage much lower than the going rate because this mom was low income just starting to get back on her feet. I wanted to help her out. Quickly she started to try to change the details and make my wages even lower. I had a contract written up and signed by all parties. This gave me an appreciation of the contracts that other businesses use. I realized that these protect both parties interests.