Job Titles

In keeping with this week's 'title' theme (See: Title Contest and Goofy Title Contest), I got to thinking about some of the job titles I've held over the years. True, I don't have a title any more (since I don't have a paying job any more), but between the ages of 11 and 34, I worked a lot of jobs.

Not every job has an official title. During my stints on different farms - I guess I was a farm worker - I did all sorts of stuff without a title to go with it. I could've been called a stall mucker, a fruit and/or vegetable picker, a tractor driver, a foal gentler (fun job, btw - I was the person who got the foals used to human contact), and if I stretched it, a equine exercise specialist - which is to say, I took a lead and the horses in a little circle with me at the center (better known as lunging, if I remember correctly). When I worked at a dog kennel, I was both a kennel cleaner and a dog washer/walker.

Sometimes, we have fun with job titles. For instance, when my sisters worked as housekeepers at a hospital, they referred to themselves as Environmental Engineers. Or when I worked for a company where I was basically the catch-all for anything that needed to be done in the office, I could've called myself Chief Cook and Bottle-washer.

Of all the real titles I've had, the longest was Executive Administrative Assistant to the Vice President of Operations. Try fitting that on a business card. Heh. And the shortest, I think, was Auditor. (One letter shorter than my short stint as 'Waitress'.) I think the one I liked the best was Executive Secretary to the President. Made me feel sort of "Hail to the Chief, he's your buddy and neighbor". The hardest title to explain to folks - even now - was Manufacturers' Representative. Try telling people you rep manufacturers of electronic components, and they start asking you about equalizers and speakers. (I lived with a guy for two years who never did quite get what I did for a living.)

And now, I am a writer. Not really a job title. More like a lifestyle. What I'd really like to see next to my name, maybe on a business card of the future: "Bestselling Novelist". ;o)

What's your current job title? What would you like it to be? And tell me what are some job titles you've had?

PS. Don't forget to enter the two contests this week. Enter early, enter often - win great prizes.

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