The 5: Help Wanted and Needed

This Week on the 5:  Jobs that Every American Should Have to Do

No matter how much you’ve probably hated most of the jobs you’ve held, you’ve learned something from each and every one of them.  You’ve obviously learned to do some very specific tasks, but you’ve also learned things that are universally valuable.  It also might be why second and third generation millionaires grow up to be assholes– they are not forced to take the kinds of jobs that teach important social values and skills.  These are five jobs, that every American should have to do, at least once in their lives.

• Manual Labor.  Work with your back, your hands and your legs to get a good idea about the way this country was built. If you’ve had a job as a custodian you will treat your surroundings better. If you’ve worked in sanitation it will certainly change the way you think about waste. You will work hard but eat better and you will sleep like a baby at night.  There’s also an odd meditative feeling that  comes along with doing work that is primarily physical.  
• Lower Management .  Many kids come out of college wanting the fast track and but with zero idea how to motivate people on the ground.  There is an old saying that Sergeants run the Army and that’s just as true in any corporation . It’s also true that any job is just as good as your immediate superior. You will want want to have the qualities that make a good shift manager before you get a job hiring shift managers, and you’re not going to learn those in school.  
• Food Service.  Food service work provides a great experience observing people.  And your customers will give you a first class education on how not to treat people. In no time you will learn skills in customer service,  being quick on your feet, working under pressure, clock management and dealing with the public.   And like manual labor, you will also head home exhausted, and sleep like a baby.   
• Caretaker For Elderly/ Kids.   It’s amazing how many people become parents without taking a good look at childhood through an adults eyes. Working with kids gives you the chance to see the challenges children go through and will better prepare you for being a parent. Working with the elderly will give you a better idea how to plan for your own future.   Patience, compassion, problem solving and quick decision making skills are all necessary for this gig, and if you don’t have them when you start you will learn them fast.
• Sales.  We’re talking about face to face selling here.  On the floor, in person, up close and personal.  And if you get the chance to go door to door jump on it. Learn the humility of being told no again and again before you get the sweet taste of being told yes. Many young people want to jump into management without learning what it really takes to face success and failure on a daily basis.  Learn to sell yourself, your company and your product.  Learn to read people.  Learn to find the benefits in whatever your selling, and learn to answer questions and complaints at a moments notice .