Assistant custom T-shirt manufacturer
Description:
Assistant custom T-shirt manufacturer
How I got the idea / found the employment:
I had a friend who wanted some extra cash for his car, gas, dates, and any other thing that a teenager would need to spend money on. He received a t-shirt press from his father in which he got the idea of making custom t-shirts. He would advertize at school and by word of mouth is how he would gain customers. Orders would always be a few shirts at a time and he would be able to keep up.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
The challenge he faced and how I got a job was that he became popular enough that school student government hired him to make t-shirts for different activities that the school would be putting on. Being his friend and also a member of the school student government, I received a job to help fill these orders of 60+ shirts that would need to be done in a week or so. The only problem seen is that he had only one press and only one person can man it at a time and doing so many shirts in so short of a time was time consuming and hard to keep up the demand with the school , our regular customers, and our own school work and social lives. My parents needed me at home with my younger siblings and his grades were slipping in the worst kind of way. We also didn’t have the space for all the different shirt sizes and colors. Ordering them in bulk one can only hold so much space in a garage.
What I learned:
It is hard when a business cannot expand. He might have been able to have a business to do awesome if he went into debt and bought another press. I also learned that if you are going to start a business and want to keep it successful, you need to put a lot of time into it. It was only to be a part time thing and it got too big too fast for the two of us.
Packaging machine operator/ packaging tech
Description:
I worked and continue to work for the Malt-o-Meal cereal company. It was a production line job. I controlled different machines that helped in packaging the cereal. I continue to work for them but now I work in the distribution of the cereal. There are many responsibilities in helping continue production of quality cereal, but the rewards are great. The big reward is the company pays for full tuition, books, and fees as you work for them! This has been a huge blessing to me. The pay really well, but the help with school has helped me progress and reach many of my goals in life. If it wasn’t for Malt-o-Meal, I know I wouldn’t be where I am today. It has opened many doors for me.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
: I found the job through a relative. The absolute best way to get a job at Malt-o-Meal is through connections. I strongly suggest looking into it and seeing if you can find connections to help open the door wider if you will, to be able to be employed there. Another credited way would be working through a temporary service for them. As they witness your work ethics and desire to do your best, they will be almost obligated to employ you.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
I main challenge I faced was time. Time was hard and is hard to distribute between work and college. Planning became a big part of my life. Planning out every hour of my schedule so that I could be extremely efficient with my time. Diligence is another aspect to my success. Being diligent with school and work was a must.
What I learned:
All in all, it has been a great experience and continues to be one. It has been rough at times, but so worth is and rewarding. I would suggest doing everything that you can to try to be employed at Malt-o-Meal. Get the job, be diligent, plan well, and reap your rewards. You can’t imagine how much this employment opportunity will help you short term and long term. Good luck and don’t forget that persistence will get you there.
Pallet rebuilding
Description:
My responsibilities were to take apart the old pallets to use the boards that were still good. I would cut down the boards to the correct size and would nail them on pallets that only needed a few boards replaced. I worked whenever I had free time to do so. I was paid by how much I finished. It was very physical work. I had to lift and stack pallets that can weigh eighty or more pounds.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
It was easy for me to find this sort of employment because my father owned a pallet rebuilding business. I went to him for the job.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
One of the challenges I faced was finding time to work. I played sports and was very busy. I usually found time on weekends to work. When I was younger I wasn’t strong enough to do the work. I found ways to use what strength I had to get the job done.
What I learned:
I learned physical labor jobs aren’t the most fun but they can provide an income without much education. I can work physically and efficiently.
Pfizer Inspector
Description:
This was a fairly straightforward and simple job that involved inspecting individual tubes for defects to make sure that they were able to be used by consumers. It took a lot of meticulous and detail-oriented work that also provided for the opportunity for a future working for the Pfizer company. While at this job, after showing efficiency, hard work, and dependability, I was given further responsibilities at other places in the Pfizer plant. I was given the opportunity to see and work with the full-time salary employees and gain experience with them. Had this been more than a temporary summer job I would have had the opportunity to hire on with them on a permanent basis. I made 10 dollars per hour with the option of working up to 50 hours per week making 10 hours of overtime. It was a much better way to make money quickly, especially compared to the 6.50 dollars an hour I was making at the local grocery store. If I could have drawn up the perfect employment idea for me, that even included a possible future if I desired, this would have been it.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
As with most job opportunities like this one it all started with a connection. I had a neighbor and someone from church who both were full-time salary employees for Pfizer. I was looking for summer work and they led me to a temp agency who was hiring positions for Pfizer. I of course had to go through the interview process and was given a 6 month contract to work for Pfizer as an inspector. I was pretty lucky, but in the future I was able to go to the same temp agency and find a job (in addition to others I had) where I worked 4-6 hours a week making 15 dollars an hour (which was a nice little bonus). So not only did it provide that short-term employment for a summer before college, but since I was effective and worked hard it provided a future opportunity for me.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
I didn’t really face many challenges. One of the challenges I did face was only being available for 3 months of the 6 month contract. I overcame that by being very upfront with the company and they were understanding of my time constraints. Another challenge I faced was waking up very early while maintaining a busy life outside of work. I was involved in 3 different athletic teams at the time and it required me to be very efficient in my planning so that I could also get enough sleep to function properly. The last challenge I can think of that I faced was having many different personalities to get along with in the work place. There were coworkers who weren’t as motivated and sometimes made it difficult to get work done, especially when sometimes I had to take on their workload in addition to mine. I overcame this by trying hard to be understanding of their circumstances and focus on what I was doing and not what others were doing.
What I learned:
I learned that there are more effective ways to make money than just working in fast food or at a grocery store. Most of my teenage life was spent working in those types of places. I learned how to deal with different personalities and how to focus on my work and, while trying to help others do their job, not look down on them for not always working as hard as I tried to regularly. I learned that I was able to stretch myself and be very productive; I really learned a lot about my potential for growth. I think the biggest thing I learned was that in order to be truly successful, and not just financially, it requires a lot of hard work.