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The summer job is a rite of passage for many kids, who are encouraged by their parents to get out of their hair and go and learn valuable lessons about responsibility, the value of money and hard work.
Whether you were saving for a bike, your first car, a prom dress or whatever, we all went in with high expectations of independence and feeling like a proper adult. However those expectations are not always met!
Jimmy Fallon did us all a service by asking people to share their worst summer job experiences in one of his legendary hashtag challenges. Needless to say, there are some absolute classics in there! Scroll down to check out a list of Bored Panda's favorites below, and feel free to share your own in the comments!
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#1
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#2
#6
Little Menace 6 years ago
Yeah, this one is just sad. I worked a lot in care and the woman probably had dementia. I could list about 100 more [and far worse] of these 'funny' stories but to me they are just sad and it isn't anything special either.
#15
Elina Kuusisto 6 years ago
I can't imagine it paid well, but I don't see how this would be a bad job. Heck, sign me up
#16
John Ashley 6 years ago
"Commitment to the community"? What kind of geniuses come up with notions like this? What a load of horse pucky. Starting a business isn't a commitment to a community. If anything it's a commitment to ones self. There's no commitment unless he was paid in advance. Highly unlikely in a service business like lawn mowing.
#19
Carol Emory 6 years ago
I worked for a service drive of a dealership when I was 19. Every man that came to the window would ask to see a manager for an explanation of their bill instead of asking me...even after I told them that I was the one that processed and coded their bill (meaning I had to know how to diagnose and fix any mechanical issues with the cars.) The revenge came one day when I told the guy that I needed to explain some thing about his new engine. He said "I'll talk to the service drive manager, honey." The manager didn't know what had been done. So the customer never got the note that he shouldn't take the car over 55 for the first 500 miles to give the seals time to set. He called less than an hour later to say his engine had blown out from under the hood and all over the freeway. Guess that sexist stereotyping finally jumped up and bit you in the a*s, didn't it honey!
#24
weatherwitch 6 years ago
What the world will return to if we don't sort out the bees crisis 🐝🌸
Dan Carter 6 years ago
That's OK, my ex did that a lot, too. Except she use the whole cob. Sometimes two.
Illini1825 6 years ago
Honestly pollinating is far better than detasseling. You get to sleep in, don't freeze in the morning, and if it's too wet you don't go out. Welcome to the midwest
#31
redheadwahine 6 years ago
Why would a 14 year old need a babysitter? Unless he was special needs which would be a more legit explanation for the adult diapers I suppose
#41
Carol Emory 6 years ago
I actually worked at a French Bakery one summer in Pike Place Market in Seattle. Every week I'd have the same customer, Antonio, come in and tell me I was beautiful, he'd sweep me away to Italy some day and that doing this would make him the happiest man on Earth. The problem was..he said this to every young girl at the shop.
#45
just a thought! 6 years ago
Why the f**k weren't you allowed to use the owner's toilet. This is just cruel.
#46
#48
Vilem Marak 6 years ago
yes we are, but you need to hold up this 9 iron for 15 minutes before i let you in...
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What do you think ?
diane a 6 years ago
My first summer job - chambermaid at a local hotel age 14 on 35p per hour (that would buy you 10 cigarettes back then) The owner would "inspect" rooms before we cleaned them and pocket any tips left for us
diane a 6 years ago
Miss Cris - leave it somewhere unobvious that the person cleaning will finf
Load More Replies...
Jeanneke van Berkel 6 years ago
When I was about twelve, an older boy said to me he could blow cigarette smoke out of his ears. He took a cigarette, inhaled, and asked me to push on his tummy with both my hands. I did, and he pushed the burning tip of the cigarette on my hand. I still have the scar to prove it.
Jeanneke van Berkel 6 years ago
I forgot to say it was during my summer job in his parents restaurant. They shouldn't have hired someone that young. I never got payed. It's 50 years ago.
Load More Replies...
estimaate 5 years ago
My first summer job was taking care of my neighbors cats, and her fish. One cat slept all the time, the other would violently attack anyone who came within 4 feet of her. I got a lot of scratches on my legs during that job. One of the cats threw up a hairball on the carpet and I had to clean it best I could. Keep in mind I was 12. I also was new to the concept of feeding fish, and, not having been instructed how to feed them, I overfed the fish and 4 of them died. Not fun, but I was paid 20 dollars and got a gift card to a fancy pizza place so i guess it worked out ok
Stina Kolling 6 years ago
You know, a lot of these aren't bad jobs, they're bad OPs, or bad OP's friends, or bad "yeah that was a bad thing to happen to you but that's just life, sometimes you drop something on your foot & dislocate your toe, it doesn't mean that the job is bad".
diane a 6 years ago
A previous job - I came in with over 40 clips in my arm from a shattered elbow and operation - to get the disciplinary for having time off sick
diane a 6 years ago
ld see the to care for my terminally ill motherarm -- but because they had allowed me time off to - they lost the plot somewhere
Load More Replies... Kelsey Comins 6 years ago
I worked at Panda Express for a few months in high school, and someone from the morning shift turned the temperature of the teriyaki sauce way higher than it should have been and no one noticed. At one point during my shift it got super busy and it was just me and my manager working behind the counter, so in my hurry to fill a container of the (220 degree F) sauce I accidentally poured it all over my arm and hand. I stupidly wiped it on my apron and tried to tough it out and finish ringing up the customer before rinsing it off... I finished the rest of my shift trying to hold back tears with bright red, blistering second degree burns.
Rachael Marrast 6 years ago
My first summer job I was 15 and worked with my then step dad framing houses. I got paid under the table which was good money, BUT, since I was the only girl on the job site and the youngest, they decided to mess with me. I was told to go around the to the other houses and ask to borrow their board stretcher. I did, they laughed, I got humiliated. Also, my step brother shot a frog in the leg on the ground with a nail gun and I cried.
Cassie 6 years ago
When I was 16, I worked for a park and the cub scouts would camp there once per year. I was responsible for cleaning the toilets, which usually wasn't that bad, but the boys bathroom the following morning was covered from floor to ceiling in feces. There were even shoe prints on stall walls and on toilet seats in poop.
Magdalina777 6 years ago
My "summer job"(close enough) was tutoring some kids(still do sometimes but only have one left and that's because he my teaching, have a perma-job but don't have the heart to dump him on some other boring tutor lol)...had a girl once who was really sweet but really really REALLY bad at Maths. She wasn't stupid per se but the things people'd normally grasp within a minute took her hours of doing it over and over again til she finally got it down. As our scheduled time is running out I realize we're making progress but will need more time to finish this so I call her mum and we talk it over and she's all like "yes absolutely, if you need more time so be it I'll pay for it ofc" and this eventually ends with each of our lessons being ~1.5 hours instead of 1 we'd originally arranged(the girl is all for it and we have talked this with her mother multiple times and she'd always agree if it's necessary, it's necessary).
Magdalina777 6 years ago
We're slowly but steadily making progress til one day her mum calls me and is suddenly all like:"LOOK IT SHOULD'VE BEEN 1 HOUR NOT 1.5 YOUR PROBLEM IF YOU CAN'T FIT IT WITHIN 1 I DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH MONEY DON'T COME IN AGAIN I'LL TEACH HER MYSELF". Yeeeaaah...2 things: 1)poor kid 2)g'luck with that
Load More Replies... diane a 6 years ago
My first summer job - chambermaid at a local hotel age 14 on 35p per hour (that would buy you 10 cigarettes back then) The owner would "inspect" rooms before we cleaned them and pocket any tips left for us
diane a 6 years ago
Miss Cris - leave it somewhere unobvious that the person cleaning will finf
Load More Replies... Jeanneke van Berkel 6 years ago
When I was about twelve, an older boy said to me he could blow cigarette smoke out of his ears. He took a cigarette, inhaled, and asked me to push on his tummy with both my hands. I did, and he pushed the burning tip of the cigarette on my hand. I still have the scar to prove it.
Jeanneke van Berkel 6 years ago
I forgot to say it was during my summer job in his parents restaurant. They shouldn't have hired someone that young. I never got payed. It's 50 years ago.
Load More Replies... estimaate 5 years ago
My first summer job was taking care of my neighbors cats, and her fish. One cat slept all the time, the other would violently attack anyone who came within 4 feet of her. I got a lot of scratches on my legs during that job. One of the cats threw up a hairball on the carpet and I had to clean it best I could. Keep in mind I was 12. I also was new to the concept of feeding fish, and, not having been instructed how to feed them, I overfed the fish and 4 of them died. Not fun, but I was paid 20 dollars and got a gift card to a fancy pizza place so i guess it worked out ok
Stina Kolling 6 years ago
You know, a lot of these aren't bad jobs, they're bad OPs, or bad OP's friends, or bad "yeah that was a bad thing to happen to you but that's just life, sometimes you drop something on your foot & dislocate your toe, it doesn't mean that the job is bad".
diane a 6 years ago
A previous job - I came in with over 40 clips in my arm from a shattered elbow and operation - to get the disciplinary for having time off sick
diane a 6 years ago
ld see the to care for my terminally ill motherarm -- but because they had allowed me time off to - they lost the plot somewhere
Load More Replies... Kelsey Comins 6 years ago
I worked at Panda Express for a few months in high school, and someone from the morning shift turned the temperature of the teriyaki sauce way higher than it should have been and no one noticed. At one point during my shift it got super busy and it was just me and my manager working behind the counter, so in my hurry to fill a container of the (220 degree F) sauce I accidentally poured it all over my arm and hand. I stupidly wiped it on my apron and tried to tough it out and finish ringing up the customer before rinsing it off... I finished the rest of my shift trying to hold back tears with bright red, blistering second degree burns.
Rachael Marrast 6 years ago
My first summer job I was 15 and worked with my then step dad framing houses. I got paid under the table which was good money, BUT, since I was the only girl on the job site and the youngest, they decided to mess with me. I was told to go around the to the other houses and ask to borrow their board stretcher. I did, they laughed, I got humiliated. Also, my step brother shot a frog in the leg on the ground with a nail gun and I cried.
Cassie 6 years ago
When I was 16, I worked for a park and the cub scouts would camp there once per year. I was responsible for cleaning the toilets, which usually wasn't that bad, but the boys bathroom the following morning was covered from floor to ceiling in feces. There were even shoe prints on stall walls and on toilet seats in poop.
Magdalina777 6 years ago
My "summer job"(close enough) was tutoring some kids(still do sometimes but only have one left and that's because he my teaching, have a perma-job but don't have the heart to dump him on some other boring tutor lol)...had a girl once who was really sweet but really really REALLY bad at Maths. She wasn't stupid per se but the things people'd normally grasp within a minute took her hours of doing it over and over again til she finally got it down. As our scheduled time is running out I realize we're making progress but will need more time to finish this so I call her mum and we talk it over and she's all like "yes absolutely, if you need more time so be it I'll pay for it ofc" and this eventually ends with each of our lessons being ~1.5 hours instead of 1 we'd originally arranged(the girl is all for it and we have talked this with her mother multiple times and she'd always agree if it's necessary, it's necessary).
Magdalina777 6 years ago
We're slowly but steadily making progress til one day her mum calls me and is suddenly all like:"LOOK IT SHOULD'VE BEEN 1 HOUR NOT 1.5 YOUR PROBLEM IF YOU CAN'T FIT IT WITHIN 1 I DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH MONEY DON'T COME IN AGAIN I'LL TEACH HER MYSELF". Yeeeaaah...2 things: 1)poor kid 2)g'luck with that
Load More Replies...
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