First Seven Jobs

Well, more like six-ish. If even.

When I first saw #firstsevenjobs my first thought was "oh, I haven’t had that many jobs, I guess this isn’t for me". I suppose I took it a bit too literally.

Some of the jobs I have had were more short internships that I wouldn’t really count as a "job". They were more like a baby-sitting exercise for someone else.

That being said, I figured I’d talk a bit about the experience I’ve had that led me to where I am at the moment.

Paper route

I must have been about 12, or 13. I would cover for a friend of mine during the summer for a few years. I’d receive a couple of hundred bundled papers, divvy them up, and load them into my shoulder bag.

It was great pocket-money, and I got offered cigarettes in exchange for a paper from those not on my route. I’d politely decline as I wasn’t cool enough to smoke.

Any remaining papers would be dropped off at a local nursing home, and I’d receive my pay in a brown envelope. I think it was about 16 pounds. I was swimming in penny jellies and copies of Top Gear magazines.

Newspaper intern

In secondary school, we had two rounds of internships to do in 4th year. I applied to the Limerick Post, which was the paper I used to deliver.

I must have looked really important running around town in an oversized shirt with envelopes tucked under my arm. I remember one occasion I was bringing something to a hairdressers, and the owner greeted me with a great big smile, waving a scissors around. He thanked me for the envelope, and told me to get out.

Design intern

For the second part of my work experience, I was working on a really old Mac, using Quartz and Photoshop. This was my first real taste of digital design, and I loved every moment of it.

My supervisor was explaining something to me once, and I had to stop and get a glass of water because I had lost vision in one of my eyes. Keep hydrated folks.

Graphic Designer/Web Developer

In college, we had 6 months work placement. At this point, I was undecided as to whether I would become a designer, or a developer. In my 6 months I got to experience both sides, and concluded that I loved developing. Even if I was fixing IE6 bugs, it was exciting to solve these kinds of problems.

Front-end Developer - Lead Developer

Straight out of college I managed to land a job as a front-end developer. It began as an internship, but over the course of 2 years I had graduated to Lead Developer. This was a formative experience, and it really fuelled my passion for web development.

Web Developer (present)

I finished my previous job on a Friday, and moved from Limerick to Waterford for my partner and a new job. I began work on the Monday. It’s been 2 years now, and it’s going great. Easily the best life/work decision I’ve ever made.