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SBU | Career > Work

All my jobs (Ranked!)

Katie McKee Student Contributor, St. Bonaventure University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Ever since my 14th birthday, I have wanted to work. 

I would like to say I have a good work ethic, and even at times when I am so tired of working, I am still trying my best. Every time I have ever gotten paid for any of my jobs, I put it into the bank the moment I got it. My grandpa always said to save 10% of every check, and I think that I have done a pretty good job. 

Since I have been able to work, I have had four different jobs, which feels like a lot but they all have their stories.

Every job has a special place in my heart, for the better or worse.

The Foggy Goggle at Toggenburg Mountain 

When I was 14, I got my first job working in a restaurant as a table busser and expeditor at the local skiing mountain. I was fortunate enough to work there for two winters, and honestly, it was so nice having a seasonal job. I was making money during the least busy time of the year! 

After school on many days, and during the weekends, I was at the restaurant working with people my parents’ age and only a couple of kids my age, but it was so nice.

Looking back it was very very chaotic, but also this place has my entire heart. Yes, there were days that I hated it. But also the people at that restaurant were there for me no matter how hectic it got. (I could talk about this for a very long time.)

If I could be working here still, I would, but sadly the entire ski mountain closed, leaving me without the Foggy Goggle.

Subbing 

This is my newest job.

Though I’ve only subbed for three days so far, I can already tell how much I love it. Especially as someone who wants to become a teacher, this is helping me clarify goals. Subbing can be very chaotic, but getting to spend time around young kids is a joy, and it makes me so excited for my future. Also, the stories I have already accrued from just three days are insane. 

Swim instructor 

My third job. 

During the summer between junior and senior year of high school, for one summer only, I taught the kids who lived in the same town as me how to swim in the local pool. Every single day of the ENTIRE summer, I was at the pool from 7:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., spending the entire time in the pool. 

As someone who is not really qualified to be in this position or a swimmer, this was torture. Being half in the pool half out of the pool and having to get in the water and out makes you so cold. 

However much I complained about this job, it was still really fun because I was working with people my age, and again, the little kids. 

But by the end of the summer, I was ready to be done. If I could, I probably would still be working at the pool as a lifeguard, however, like Toggenburg, the facility that we used for the pool closed down, and so did the lessons. So I wasn’t coming back next summer.

Tops 

The job I have had for the longest is being a cashier at Tops.

I always thought growing up that being a cashier would be so much fun. The Strong Museum of Play had a grocery store section, and I ate it up. However, once reality hit, this job that I got after Toggenburg closed and am still employed at over breaks, was not as fun as the games.

In the beginning, it was fun, I love learning. Learning about this new stuff was fun, and a lot of my coworkers were my age, so even if we didn’t go to the same school, we were still friends. 

But as time has gone on, most of the people I was working with when I was hired have quit, and now I am one of two or three other people who still work there. Going back for breaks makes this place a little more dreadful than it might have been at the beginning. 

Also, working at Tops and working at swim lessons overlapped. This became so draining. I was working until noon at swim lessons, and had to change in a tight bathroom stall and go straight to Tops by 12:30 and then work 6 more hours – that was a rough summer. 

Even still I have kept working at this place, and I could go on and on about this job, in both the worst and the best ways. 

—

This summer I am starting my fifth job as a summer camp counselor! 

This is something similar to swim lessons, and a little similar to subbing at the school, but it is also completely different. 

I know it’s not going to be super easy all of the time because it is 100% outdoors, rain or shine, and camp has never been canceled in the last 90 years of the camp being open. So it’s safe to say it will be a busy summer, but I am so excited to be spending my entire day with young humans, and I can’t wait to add more stories to my collection. 

Katie McKee

SBU '27

Katie McKee is a sophomore member of Her Campus in the St. Bonaventure chapter. In her first semester in Her Campus she plans on writing about her experiences, movies, books, college, and anything else that makes her happy.

Katie is an Inclusive, Early Childhood and Childhood Education major, with a concentration in math. She is a member of both Bona Buddies and Club Soccer at SBU. She has always enjoyed journaling, and is excited to see what Her Campus has to offer.

In her free time, Katie likes to spend time with her friends on campus, and values her time at home with family. She loves reading a good romance or historical fiction, like “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid, listening to her favorite artists, like Noah Kahan and the Lumineers, or playing a good board game.