Most Unusual Jobs Before ShareASale

Sometimes our earliest job experiences provide the foundation for a successful and long lasting career. Other times, they humble and strengthen us or, at the very least, give us something to look back on and laugh. We asked around the ShareASale office to find out what jobs in the past ranked as the most unusual. From Captain of the ferry boats at Cedar Point Theme Park to a one-day stint as Robin William’s bodyguard, collectively, we have a lot of interesting stories to tell. Here are some additional highlights:

If you’re a true baseball fan, chances are you know your way around a ballpark. Our Director of Client Services, Sarah, took fandom to another level when she worked as a stadium vendor for the Lansing Lugnuts. She got to experience a new side of the stadium experience and built a lot of upper body strength in the process by hauling goods up and down the aisles.

“I started off with peanuts, which is where everyone starts out. From my humble roots of peanuts and licorice, I quickly worked my way up to pizza and then to beer (which was king of all vending at the ballpark). I had to fight for this coveted spot because two of the more senior vendors didn’t think I could handle the job – plus, that position got the most tips so the concern was self-serving. I had something to prove after that. It turned out to be the best job ever. I only had to walk the stands with 30-40 pounds of beer shouting ‘Last call for alcohol!’ for a few weeks before I was promoted to the indoor beer cart station.”  – Sarah B. 

It was shocking to find out that we had not one, but TWO former Corn Detasslers on staff. It is a true you-know-you-live-in-the-Midwest-when moment.  BJ, our Sales Specialist, and Steve, one of our Developers, will have to face off to see who should be crowned as the Corn Detassling King. 

From BJ’s story, it sounds like it may have been his most unusual and shortest job: 

“My sister and I signed up a day before at some random office catering to high school and college students on summer break. They said we’d make $9 an hour (big money in 2001) to pull the silk strings off corn husks- easy enough, right? They put each group in an individual lane on corn and set us free. My sister and I were doing so well that we got a .25 cent raise within an hour. But as the sun started beating down and huge spiders began to surface we lost momentum. We ended up telling our boss that we quit mid-day. Unfortunately for us, there was only one bus that took us back to the city so we had to sit and wait for the whole rest of the day.”  – BJ R. 

Going to the DMV, the dentist, and being called for Jury Duty, are typically high-ranking in terms of what people try to avoid in life. But here’s a tribute to those, like Derek our Affiliate Development Specialist, who experienced these instances from the other side… every single day. 

“I worked the front desk on the titling and license plate side. So when people came in they generally knew what they were doing. Although it didn’t save me from being cursed out occasionally. The worst was the busy season, June. That was when all the mac trucks were due to renew and things got crazy. But it wasn’t that bad. It paid pretty well so I stuck around for all four summers during college. #YOLO.”   – Derek F. 

Factory work sometimes gets a bad wrap. But for those who like precision, order and working with their hands, it can be a pretty nice gig.  Before he became one of our rockstar developers, Luke had the chance to get up close and personal with some women’s haircare and beauty products… 

“You get into a groove on the lines. For 6 or 8 hours straight I would do my part-  tightening caps, or topping off little bottles of liquids, etc. After a particularly long day of filling bottles with this one product, I woke up the next day and my hands had turned a weird shade of brownish-black. I found out after the fact that I was working with self-tanning lotion.”  

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