My first REAL job was of all things....a car salesman. First ACTUAL job was a stock boy at Weigels. I had a few cash jobs before 20 years old(auto detail / shadetree audio installation, etc)
I was going to a Comm. College for Financial management, but it was just awful.....classes I HAD to take were stupid and not going towards anything other than bucket in my head labeled as USELESS KNOWLEDGE.
Worked as a Lot Attendant for the local Chevy dealership, and they flexed letting me goto school. I made VERY good friends with the HR and Payroll "ladies" and they somehow never questioned how I got a 40hr paycheck but left for 4hrs every Mon/Wed/Fri.
One of those ladies took moved / left the job open. I was tired of washing cars in the cold and sweating in the summer. Thought a A/C'd desk job would be nice. So I then got moved in to Title Clerk with the ladies.
FFWD 8 months.....lady that move away came BACK. She was of course a ho and while humpin' on my sweet young ass, she was also humpin the owner. Needless to say she got her job back and I was S.O.L. I was a liked guy, and they didn't wanna see me go so they moved me into car salesman role.
I told them...."I don't like people....I don't like stupid people". My car salesman mentor said, "That's great! All you hafta do is like MONEY!" I did OK....my confidence was low got built up month by month. Took home a 3,000 dollar month pay not long after and of course being young, my tunnel vision got the best of me and I quit the Comm. College gig. Not really the catalyst for not going anymore, I just hated it.
I started liking the idea of actually helping people. Don't get me wrong....shitbags with 40 cents to their name and a credit score of 450 got treated like they kicked my dog.
I found that I was having to hussle my ass to make that money. I was makin a few bucks on ALOT of cars. I wanted to make ALOTA bucks on a few cars.
Our family has been good friends with Acura dealer in Knoxville. I had a pimpy Acura Integra with a badass supercharger that I was taking in for service. Cam gears or some gay **** that would add like 3hp for 200$.....something retarded. I was wandering out the showroom / talking with the managers and owner and long story short.....they had the recipe for how I wanted to work. Sell few / make a lot.
Made the move there selling Acuras / Jags / Porsche / Infinity / Audi....
First month made 3 grand.....sold 6 cars. Chevy store I would sell 15 plus to make that.
Being young, havin' money, no bills, working a luxury job....LIVING AT HOME............I had it made.
FFWD a few bad months of 600-800 dollars, I start to get "questioned" on my abilities at work. I sold myself to them again but deep down I know I had gotten complacent and just didn't have any drive left. I stopped talking to customers....I actually turned away from some that eventually bought from another salesman. I just couldn't stand diapering these rich ****s that came in and demanded I kiss their ass. Lost focus on the money.....
FFWD a few more months and they tell me its best we part ways. I'm fired. Good guys, I couldn't disagree with anything they had to say.
So I'm ****ed...or so I think. It could be TONS worse I know(now). I have no bills. No kids. I just don't have a job. I suck off unemployment for 3 or so months. I think I rode Tellico on my dirtbike at least 3 times every week for 2 of those months. I'm thinking this is ****ing AWESOME!!!
After that....im bored. I'm broke. I want to buy stuff but I can't and I'm realizing I'm a deadbeat that lives at home getting fed by my parents and my mom lugging my dirty clothes around.
I take a job in Logistics at Honda in Loudon, TN. Not a car lot, just a warehouse of storage. I'm a grunt.....8$ an hour....driving this go kart looking thing around.....as menial as it can get. I begin to think it's kind of nice know you're going to get paid the same thing every week / month.
I don't like my job, but I show up, I do what I'm told. I contribute to other areas and generally make friends with the ones that have some work ethic, not the space taker uppers.
I move up to driving a forklift. I then move up to driving the BIG equipment. I then move in to the Tech Memo dept that deals with spreadsheets, drawings / general Q.C. . I'm starting to hafta use my brain power. I'm liking what I do. I'm getting paid more, it's easy work despite some typical warehouse heat / cold months.
A desk job opens up....Inventory Analyst. Here we go again, 'cept this time, no hot older cougar ladies to hump up on. I get the job. I REALLY like what I'm doing. Computer work, number crunching, problem resolution, directing people that were in my OLD jobs there....I come in clean and I leave clean and makin' more money.
I buy a house. Scariest $247 a month payment I've ever had. 850sq/ft shanti that I can see every room from my only piece of furniture....the couch.
I'm thinkin' this is it. This what I can do and make a decent living.
FFWD a couple years....they bring me in the office and tell that since I'm practically running the people on 3rd shift(while I was on a 3rd/1st shift overlap schedule), they're going to bump me up to a Supervisor. You don't make Supervisor in this company unless you were a Lead first. I never was, but I was friends with all the right people.
Huge jump in pay, but I'm on 3rd shift. Sucks at first, but I really don't like dealing with alota people so this is bitter sweet and I love it. I'm working less(physically) and making more money. Plan is working!
Ops Manager begins to coach me on Inventory Management. I'm given the spreadsheet / computer tools, sent to some classes on space utilization. It's geeky stuff but I like it.
I begin to be known as the "the fix it guy" at the warehouse. Cool being that guy, but can get shitty as everyone knows I know how to fix stuff / do it right / work smarter not harder. I'm beginning to be ASKED what/how we should do things instead of being told.
FFWD a year or so.....Honda buys an older warehouse just down the road. We're running out of storage at the first building and due to everything I've been doing previously, Honda can no longer point their finger and say we are not managing the space properly. All signs point to "WE'RE ****ING FULL".
Lots of buzz about who/what/when on this new building. I'm just thinking it's another place I can store ****,....GREAT! Mangers start bringing me over to new building regularly....moreso than other supervisors. Asking where racks should go, what size....drive aisles....power outlets....processes....work flow.....etc....
I suppose I was jus oblivious to this as I was the least Senior Supervisor there....short of maybe 2 that came on within the last few months.
We're walking through the new warehouse and the Op's Manager just flat out asked me if I wanted to run this building. In my most corporate professional tone I say HELL YEA!!!!
Damn....that's a ton of rambling! Felt good though! I find it kind of funny being in such a tight / rule bound corporate job that I NEVER put in a job application for ANY advancement I did until AFTER I was in the job for a few weeks.
Hindsight, I wish I would have pursued a Logistics career earlier. I like making stuff fit and being efficient. Many many lows through this job, but I'm beginning to see a lot of daylight and realizing it's not a loaded train coming at me.
Maybe go back and see what opportunities your local lowes has? Home Depot should be comparable as well.
