Here’s the thing about writing weekly blogs about various topics—It could be a while until my sequel of a particular blog post continues. 

Back in August, I wrote about the absolutely crazy jobs I’ve held since the age of 12. I was only able to get up to college before the post was getting too long. Now, I’m back to continue the tales.

Why do you need to know about my job history? It’s not because I think my stories are the best thing ever. If you enjoy them, cool. But I’m detailing everything so that you can stay encouraged.

There’s struggle in the hustle, and some positions are quite humbling; but if you stay focused on your end goal, you’ll reach success. 💪🏾

So back to my college gigs…

Fitness Club Receptionist (College Years)

This is the moment that my grind went up several notches. I was working the campus security driver job during the weeknights, but I worked at 24 Hour Fitness on the weekends. 

The staff members loved me because no one wants to work weekends. There were plenty of hours for me to grab; and like Scrooge McDuck, I swam in those extra hours as if they were piles of gold coins. 💰

They encouraged me to pursue a degree in kinesiology, but this job was for money-making purposes only. 

No real drama happened at this job. Besides, I was only there on the weekends. I would hear the tales of who was dating whom and who hates whom now, but that was none of my business. ☕️

Every once in a while, I’d get the narcissistic meathead who would try to show off as I’m checking him in or handing him a towel. It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle, though.

That job was actually fun. Plus, I scored a free membership out of it, so my weight game was on point. 💯

As if I needed anything else to do, I decided to squeeze in yet another part-time job because who needs weekend mornings?

For those who are trying to keep up, my weekday schedule consisted of going to school during the day and working the security golf carts at night. ⏰

On the weekends, I slept in, ran errands and chilled until I had to be at 24 Hour Fitness by 4 p.m. Thanks to a coworker at the security job, I was about to add valet driver to my resume and lose my Saturday mornings.

Six Flags Valet Parker (College Years)

I know. I didn’t know Six Flags had valet parking either. I worked for a contracted company that did valet for the amusement park. 🚘

Here’s how you know I only got in because of my hook up: I wasn’t great at backing in (which was a must for all the cars), and I still have no idea how to drive a manual vehicle (also a requirement).

I would literally hope and pray that the next car assigned to me was easy to drive with an automatic transmission. But I wouldn’t be Hope if that actually happened all the time.

I remember being assigned a manual truck (that’s a thing?) on my first day on the job. I had to play it cool when the driver got out, but I stalled that thing about three times before the man even entered the amusement park.

I had to flag down one of my new coworkers to handle it for me. I’m sure they had nothing but respect for me from that day on.

A lot of professional athletes would make their way through as well. I didn’t know them, though. So as people were asking for pictures, I’d be asking for their keys without a care in the world. It sure didn’t help my tips any.

This was the most short-lived job I had. I lasted for maybe a month or two, and there’s only one thing to blame—the sun.

On my third or fourth weekend, I realized the summer heat is no joke. The sun was taunting me and beating me down as the hours went by.

I was equipped with sunblock, water, a light long-sleeved shirt, a hat and khakis pants. That was no match for the sun. When my shift was over, my energy was drained, my skin felt like it was on fire, and I had a headache.

I drove home from work looking like a roasted s’mores. I was literally a burgundy color. It was a pretty neat hue, actually, but my body couldn’t take another weekend in the heat.

I don’t know what the heck I told the boss, but I didn’t come into work again. I didn’t even come for my final check. And you KNOW it’s serious if I leave money on the table.

Lesson learned. No outside jobs. I still had two other jobs anyways.

Home Showing Scheduler (Summer of College Year)

My goodness. I’m still in college? LOL!

During summer time, my security job was on hiatus, so I (of course) took a job that would take up my whole summer.

My brother put my sister Grace and I onto a job in which we’d basically be scheduling home showings for real estate agents.

It was the first time since babysitting that my sister and I worked together. 

Talk about cutting up…

We worked hard and played even harder. We became so good at what we did that it was barely work. And the manager on duty started to notice. She hated our dynamic duo vibes, but she loved her some Grace (…the story of my life).

The manager ended up splitting up our schedules. Grace worked the morning shift, and I came in after her to close. I maybe worked one hour of overlap with her under the scheduling change. How lame.

What the manager didn’t know is that Grace was the reason why I wasn’t acting a complete fool every work day.

Game. Set. Match.

“Hope, are you on the phones?”

“I am.”

“I don’t see your line showing as busy.”

“Did you say the phone or the phones? Because I’m on the phone. MY phone.”

She tried to report me to the CEO many times, but the CEO loved me. LOL! She couldn’t stand me, but I loved getting under her skin.

The antics expanded to the clients. Depending on how the real estate agents acted on the other side of the phone determined whether they’d get access from me to see a house.

“Hello? ‘Bout time you guys picked up! I’m trying to see a house right now. I know the seller said they need at least two hours notice, and it’s dinner time, but I have a buyer right now.”

“So, they don’t know you’re coming? This is their first notice?”

“Yes, Sherlock! That’s the only reason I’d be calling you.”

“Alright, sir. Please hold while I ask the homeowner.”

*I clicked over to the other line.*

*I clicked back over to the real estate agent 10 seconds later.*

“Unfortunately, the homeowner declined, sir.”

“What? You didn’t ask! Did you even place me on hold?”

“Yes, I absolutely clicked over, and your offer was declined. Try again tomorrow.”

“I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT…”

“TRY AGAIN TOMORROW, SIR!”

Can you believe that he tried calling back just to get me again? LOL. He was big mad. But that just lets you know that you have to treat everyone with kindness.

There are SO many stories that came from this three-month job. The horrible code switchers, the creepy married couple, the callers with attitude problems, the company buyout… a mess! But alas, the summer was over, and I had to head back to college.

Certified Flood Researcher (College Years)

When I started my junior year, I wanted things to be more stable.

I saw a newspaper ad (it was still old-fashioned at the time) and applied for a Monday through Friday job that would work around my school schedule.

By the grace of God, I won a president’s scholarship, which gave me $5,000 per semester, so I finally kissed my other part-time positions goodbye.

Being a certified flood researcher is not glamorous. You’re basically staring at a screen, looking at FEMA maps, trying to determine if a house is in a flood zone or not.

The pay was decent for a college student, and I even got my friend-turned-boyfriend-turned-husband hired on as well.

This is the job that I stayed at the longest. I worked there while I interned at a local news station, and then the station took me on part-time.

Production Assistant (College Years)

Being a TV news production assistant was by far the most fun job there was. It’s probably because I was finally working in my field of study.

I was absolutely the bottom of the totem pole, but the atmosphere was cool. Life in the newsroom was fast-paced, and the people were cool to be around. There were some “diva” on-air personalities, but no one really liked them anyways.

At this point in my life, I knew I was on the right track. All the job frogs I kissed in the past were preparing me for this prince of an opportunity.

I made great contacts and built relationships with people who I still speak with today. 

I later received my first full-time job as a news producer at another station, and my career pretty much took off from there. (Also read “Why I Left the TV News Industry.”) 🤣

My journey was all over the place. There was no straight line to get where I needed to be. Due to my circumstances, I had to focus first on finances and then future goals; but I always kept my goal in view—even at Chuck E. Cheese’s.

I’m still not at my final destination, but I thank God for every lesson and stepping stone that I had along the way. 🙏🏾

And wherever you are in your journey, you’re not there by accident. Whether you’re recovering from a bad decision or putting in the groundwork for your career goals, stay consistent. Your time will come. Be patient, stay humble and never lose sight of your end goal. 

I’ll be going into detail about these jobs in this week’s podcast. I’ll also explain the lessons learned or skills obtained from every job that made me a better person today. See you on Friday!