Ugh. Working at a Deli is worse than I thought.
So, I am going into my 4th year of a degree in mechanical engineering. I have been applying for summer jobs since last Christmas, starting with engineering jobs and moving "down" the ladder, but I figured it's no big deal. The economy sucks, I'll be happy to get anything.
Three weeks ago I finally found work at a grocery store. I've worked on cash before so I expected to be a cashier or something.
Thye needed someone in the Deli / hot foods department. It was nearly July, and I'd been looking for literally 6 months, putting out more than 100 personalized applications and resumes that I had gone over with career counsellors, with no luck. I took the job.
It is much worse than I thought. My primary responsibility is scrubbing endless wire racks that are tangled up with soggy chicken skin, and washing other dishes in sinks full of dirty water that is probably 20% chicken grease, and 10% old noodles and chunks of mayo, though yesterday when I emptied the sink after cleaning the dishes, I also found a chicken head that someone had just tossed in there with the trays instead of putting it in the proper bin.
I really need the money for school so I am not going to quit, but this is so much worse than I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful to have a job at all, but really; even if I ate meat, and even if I didn't care that is smells like grease and chickens ALL THE TIME, I am sure I would find this absolutely repulsive.
I have to go to work soon but I am really dreading it. Any ideas on how to make this more fun? Anyone in an equally ridiculous situation?
Bleargh, time to go get ready for my shift. YUM.
If anyone out there has been forced by circumstances to work someplace even less appealing, sorry for complaining. I feel for you.
I'd quit at once.
Sorry, but no amount of money is worth compromising my principles, contributing to the consumption of tortured animals, not to mention torturing my gag reflex.
You'll find something else that'll fit more of your ethical needs. Trust me. Quit and keep looking. You deserve better, and so do the chickens.
Find another job BEFORE you quit is my advice.
I would guess that you can probably find something in retail? Go to a mall/shopping center, and apply everywhere there. It probably still won't be fun, but you won't have to deal with dead animal heads, and such.
I can sympathise. I graduated this week and was hoping to find a summer job before I go back to uni for my MA in September. I've got years of retail experience but after enquiring everywhere I could find and sending out a couple of dozen CVs and application forms, I didn't even get one interview. It's all very well to say "quit and find something else" but at least in the UK the job market sucks so badly that you do what you're offered.
Can't think of any way to make it more fun other than indulge yourself in torrid fantasies about diabolically sexy vegans coming to sweep you off your feet. Or do what I do when I run and "buy" and "furnish" your dream cafe/bookshop/house.
Jesus Christ, Hanashi.
Lighten up.
I hope upon rereading my comments you will see that I no where stated she should quit, but instead stated what I'd see happen if she did quit and why. It was meant to be a counter argument to those who were saying she should, also as a caution/(rude) awakening that if she had taken the proper action(s) this job wouldn't have been as much of a shock/different as the OP has come across it being. In other words, I believe she got herself into this mess and should suck it up because she does in fact have a job, while others don't. As my sub-nick says, I'm taking the kid gloves off and am calling them as I see them.
Hanashi,
It sounded like you were insulting her intelligence, calling her irresponsible, not courageous, and saying she is not dependable (flippant with jobs), among other things....without really knowing much about her at all.
I think Edevber was just trying to vent in a light-hearted post and wasn't looking for our sympathy (or criticism for that matter).
Edeveber I know you are new-and I hope this doesn't turn you off to seeking advice or friendship in the future!
I had to work in a non-vegan restaurant a while back. It was really hard to deal with at first, but I did get used to it. I did not have to touch disgusting things like you do, but smelling and serving meat was bad enough for me!
I also liked being the only veg person there, and educating people with little comments (nothing too pushy or in their faces). One girl actually ended up going vegan because of me!
I did end up finding something better, and I encourage you to do the same, but hold on to what you have for now, if you can!
"Taking off the kid gloves" sounds like "looking for an excuse to be aggressive."
I would hope that you're not using the boards as a way to vent your anger. There are more productive ways to do that.
Sometimes even checking the job description isn't foolproof. In my second year of university I applied for a job in a camera shop as a photolab technician (which I was trained to do). Two weeks in they started telling me to cover shop floor and sell cameras, which I was not trained to do. The new manager made it pretty clear that I was expected to be a "team player" and "cover gaps". If I'd quit, what kind of reference could I have got from that manager?
While sometimes you can do research and have it pay off, for part-time work as a student you do often get shoved into whatever area is needed because less reputable companies or unpleasant managers know damn well you need the money and will take what you can get.
Edeveber...that sucks. I don't even like walking through the deli section so I can't imagine working in it.
Maybe try rubbing some peppermint oil under your nose before work so you smell peppermint instead of meat.
Honestly, I didnt think Hanashi was being too harsh. Sometimes you have to pull yourself up and just do the job. I know, I worked there once myself. Its hard, disgusting and can really be no fun but do your best and change what you can.
If things are disgusting talk to your manager or coworkers about making it better. If sinks are vile, clean them regularly. If people throw garbage in said sink, talk to them about aiming for the trash instead.
Be polite, cheerful and helpful. Yes its a gross job. But you could be scrubbing toilets in hotel rooms that people have been partying in or had barely potty trained kids run rampant in.
Keep looking hard for a job that is more in line with your personal values...meanwhile - if you need the money to live on, just do the job the best you can and try to think that it is only TEMPORARY and you won't be stuck doing this kind of work forever. I like the idea of using some essential oils to mask the smell a little bit, it might help.
Honestly, I didnt think Hanashi was being too harsh. Sometimes you have to pull yourself up and just do the job. I know, I worked there once myself. Its hard, disgusting and can really be no fun but do your best and change what you can.
If things are disgusting talk to your manager or coworkers about making it better. If sinks are vile, clean them regularly. If people throw garbage in said sink, talk to them about aiming for the trash instead.
Be polite, cheerful and helpful. Yes its a gross job. But you could be scrubbing toilets in hotel rooms that people have been partying in or had barely potty trained kids run rampant in.
It's not what you say, it's how you say it. Cali, you are always quite tactful!
Also, try not to let it get you down. A job does not define the person. Sometimes you have to do things you don't agree with to get through life. But know there is an end in sight!
;)b
Maybe you could volunteer at an animal shelter to sort of even things out mentally/spiritually. Does that make sense?
Also, try not to let it get you down. A job does not define the person. Sometimes you have to do things you don't agree with to get through life. But know there is an end in sight!
;)b
Maybe you could volunteer at an animal shelter to sort of even things out mentally/spiritually. Does that make sense?
I totally agree! A lot of jobs aren’t very veg-friendly, unfortunately – even if they’re not as blatantly in-your-face NOT veg-friendly as working in a deli is… (How horrid. I feel for you, edeveber. What a bummer that would be!)
Anyway, I agree with L2A in that maybe getting more involved in vegan stuff will help you feel better. It won’t make your job suck less, but maybe it will satisfy that part of you that wants to make a positive difference & hates looking at dead chicken heads… It would be a great way to connect with living animals, at any rate, and would brighten your mood!
When I first went veg, I was working as a prep cook in a wing& sub joint. Fortunately, there were vegan items on the menu, but there were also decidedly un-veg things as well. I used to entertain myself by wondering how in the world people/society got to the point that they'd eat the sorts of things I was preparing.
Example:
I'd be opening a plastic wrapped package of corned beef, trying desperately not to get "juice" on my arms (or anywhere else) and ask the dishwasher "How, exactly does one 'corn' a beef?" or While ladling ranch dressing in to 1/2 c serving sizes (!!), I'd do the math on how many calories/fat/cholesterol/etc... was in each. It gave me something to think about other than the sheer grossness of it all, but also, I had a pretty good education as to the appalling nutrition content of most everything by the time I quit.
And no shame in your job. I bartended for 9 months after I earned my masters degree, because I graduated the winter after Sept 11, 2001 and nobody wanted to hire my over-educated ass ;) At the end of it all, you'll have some great, descriptive stories for your friends/family who ask you "Why don't eat meat?"
Seven years ago I was working as a cleaning woman in a supermarket. My job was to clean that section where the meat, fish and grilled chicken was sold. The most discusting thing was that I had to handle hot, stinking animal grease. BUT, if I didn't had that job I wouldn't ever met my boyfriend: he was shopping in that supermarket almost every day and he noticed me when I was working there. One day he saw me in another place and came to talk to me. Today we are still together.
So, true love can follow gross jobs ;)
Look at it this way: you're in a perfect position to help the people around you learn about veg'anism. I work in a factory that produces pork sausage. I never liked sausage even when I did eat meat, but it's a good job that pays the bills, and like other have said, I won't be here forever! It also gives me the opportunity to explain to someone why I'm scrunching up my nose at the awful smell of roasted pig fat.
If I looked for a job for six months I'd take anything I could get short of animal slaughter. Are you able to listen to an mp3 while washing dishes? Load it with vegan podcasts.