2/29-3/6: Is Work Killing You? Did It Already?

What's the worst job or job experience you've ever had? And what did you do about it?

inzie - Animal Technician at S______* C_____ * in San Diego. Well, there is not much you can do with a very old biology degree and no recent experience! But it was worse than anyone can dream.... cleaning mouse and hamster feces out of cages, and putting up with MD egos. As a special treat, I got to kill animals by bashing their brains out because we had run out of lethal gas.

goldfish: I took a co-op course in high school. Not knowing where else to get a co-op placement, I ended up at a printing business. I would spend whole afternoons folding booklets, or stapling papers together, or something like that. It would be the same booklet, or same papers, over and over and over. It was quite boring and tedious. I hated working there, especially when not getting paid for it, and they hated having me work there. Generally, the co-op program is a good idea, but once in a while, things turn out as they did for me.

Walker: My worst experience is also my best: working for myself. You're your own worst boss, believe me. I never gave me a break, wouldn't let me relax for a minute, ragged on me when I did bad and didn't give me enough credit when I did good. After a long long while, I had to fire me.

KathyK: I was struck by lightning in April '95 and missed almost two months from work. I went back to work for three weeks and was informed at 1 p.m. that effective that afternoon at 4:30 my position had been eliminated. As I feel that this action was directly connected to my injury and disability, I have filed a complaint with the State Human Relations board.

Emma: Two summers ago, I had my first "real" summer job (ie at a consulting firm rather than a cocktail bar) and I was really nervous, so I didn't eat breakfast. 30 minutes after I arrived on my first day, I passed out and hit my head on the Reuters machine as I fell, so they had to call an ambulance for me. It was a long time before I could prove to anyone at that company that I was capable of hard work. I returned there the following summer, and even people I had never met knew me as the "fainting girl." So, my advice: never start a new job on an empty stomach!

Adante: I was a cub reporter on my first major assignment. To try and meet a deadline, I had forgotten to use the spell check and handed in my work to the editor who promptly shouted across the room that he needed to send me to elementary school since I had put only one "m" in "accommodated". You bet I remember to spell that word correctly now. Lesson to be learnt from this: Never let anyone get to your Achilles heel. Cover your back all the time. It's a jungle out there.

kimmy: The worst job would have to be when I worked in a delicatessen in London, England. My boss and other male coworkers constantly sexually harassed me, and assaulted me on numerous occasions. Unfortunately, I was only 18 years old and for some reason didn't know enough to get out of there! or even how to say no. There were some good things about the job, most of my female coworkers were extremely supportive (they took the abuse too) and a lot of fun. The days that the boss wasn't in, we had a great time.