What's the worst job you've ever had?

Question

Following on from last week's discussion on our members' engineering origin stories, this week we'd like to hear about some of the more regrettable chapters of your careers. Whether it was a bad experience with an employer, a project that went badly off the rails or something your heart wasn't really in, use the comments section below to tell us about the worst working experiences of your career.

How did you find yourself in the role in the first place?
What made it stick out as a particularly negative or unfulfilling experience?
Were you able to resolve the issues, or did you simply have to walk away?
Were you able to take any positives from the experience?
What would you do differently if you found yourself in a similar situation today?

Now, we don't want to be responsible for any lawsuits, so be mindful to avoid "naming and shaming" if discussing a specific employer. We'll be looking for the best, funniest and most interesting answers for a future feature.

rscasny · Answer

Shabaz, I read your comment about the bad interview. The interviewer was dreadful and foolish. I always tell people that the potential employer may be interviewing you, the job applicant, but YOU are interviewing the potential employer. It was a lousy company. I'm glad you turned it down. Perhaps things are different here in the U.S. than where you are, but salary negotiations often are taken up later in the hiring process. Also, what an employer says is the salary (or range) is not necessarily the "real" salary. Everything depends on their need and your competition -- supply and demand. By the way, did you ask for a sign on bonus? I once helped a young man right out of college who was on his first job search. He didn't know how to play "the game." I taught him a few of the basic tips in salary negotiations. In the end, he was handsomely paid a 6-figure salary in his first job out of college plus a sign on bonus. Two years later, he started looking again. He came back to me for help. I told him stop fooling around and ask for much more money and to play tough and ask for a bonus. Result: he got a 40% increase in salary plus a $40,000 (US) sign on bonus. Needless to say, he was very happy for my help:)

What's the worst job you've ever had?

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