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I decided to start a job site to benefit those, like myself, who didn’t go to college. It’s a place where we can share our careers and job experiences with others. It’s a place where we can network with others about the many opportunities that are available. I will be sharing with my readers, some of the many jobs that I have had over the years. I will also be posting some relevent information about other jobs available today that do not require a college education.
I invite all of you to post about about the job that you now hold or have held in the past. Let us know the name or title of the job, how you got the job and what it entails. Let us know what the job would pay someone if they were to get that job today. If you’ve been at the job for awhile and are currently looking to make a change, that’s okay. It may be the perfect job for someone else.
I’ve been keeping daily diaries, appointment books, calendars and journals since I was 16 years old. Below is a list of some of the jobs that I have worked over the years. There are more than 225 jobs listed here. I have documentation such as W-2’s, 1099’s, tax returns, pay stubs, pictures, letters and notes to back up over 95% of the jobs listed. I am missing about two years of daily diaries due to theft. (Someone stole a box of memorabilia from my grandmother’s house while I was living in London) I am sure, given my track record, that with those diaries, the list would be somewhat longer.
So what does this say about me? I’m a flake who can’t hold a job? There are many acting and modeling jobs in the list that only lasted for one day, so the choice wasn’t really mine. Since I have never been fired, I’d have to say that I could have held the jobs longer if I really wanted to.
Do I have regrets about moving from job to job? Not at all. I loved every job that I ever had, at the beginning. I would stick around until I started to get bored or restless, then move on.
By the way, when they say that you can’t get a job without a college education….don’t believe it.
Continue reading I’ve had more than 225 jobs!!!
It was May of 1977. I had moved to Los Angeles in hopes of pursuing my acting career. I wanted to keep my days open for auditions and acting jobs, so I no longer looked for secretarial work. I concentrated my efforts on finding jobs at night. I had worked three different cocktail waitress jobs since arriving in Los Angeles the previous year, but none of these jobs lasted long.
I was once again scouring the newspaper for a cocktail waitress job when an ad jumped out at me. “Dance Hostesses” Earn $200+tips weekly – must be at least 18 years old. I wasn’t really sure what a dance hostess was but I was over 18 and decided to check it out. I called the club and made an appointment to meet with the manager.
Continue reading I was a Taxi Dancer!
It was towards the end of 1992 and Cullen and I had quit our jobs at the Bicycle Club. We were playing a little poker to supplement our income. He was doing really well but I was struggling. I felt like I wanted to do something else but I wasn’t quite sure what it was.
Sometimes on Sundays we would drive around and look at open houses. We even talked about buying something in the area but we never pursued it strongly. Since this was usually a fun thing to do, I decided that maybe we should become real estate agents. I thought that holding open houses on weekends would be a lot of fun and we would be working for ourselves, not someone else. Cullen was not crazy about the idea but he wanted me to be happy, so he agreed.
We both took the required tests and got our real estate licenses. We joined up with a company called “My Real Estate Co., Inc.” in Downey, California. We were Century 21 Agents, gold jackets and all. We did cold calls and knocked on doors, trying to get prospective sellers to list with us. This was nowhere near the glamour that I had imagined. Once we did get the listings, the open houses were not quite as much fun as I had imagined either.
Cullen and I were probably the most attentive Realtors that ever worked in the real estate field. If someone wanted a particular kind of house, we would spend weeks looking at every possible house to find the perfect one for our clients. After that we would spend weeks taking them to all of the possible options that we had found for them. Often, after weeks of work, they decided not to buy.
We did sell some houses during the year. Unfortunately, we got into the real estate business when the values on houses were going down and sellers were not happy. At the end of the year we decided that this wasn’t the career for us and we gave it up.
 Keep America Beautiful Commercial My first real acting experience was in 1966, when I played the part of Ela Delahey in my Jr. Class play, “Charlie’s Aunt.” A part of me loved the acting but another part of me was scared to death. Stage fright, they call it.
I never really thought about being an actress again until 1973. I was living in New York City at the time and was getting some modeling jobs. Nothing really impressive. I was too short for any of the big time things. I did some catalogue work, some shoe modeling, some convention work, things along those lines.
On one of my modeling jobs, I met a man named Ron Marshall. He owned a talent management company called Marshall Management. He asked me to stop by his office and meet with his management team. When I met with them, they asked me if I had any interest in being an actress. “Sure” I said, “It sounds like fun.” I didn’t know what it entailed, but it seemed exciting, so I was in.
Continue reading I was an Actress!
It was 1972 and I was still working at Atlantic Records. As much as I loved it there, I wanted my days to be free to go on auditions. I had done a few modeling jobs and had just signed a contract with Marshall Management to handle me as an actress. I had to find a way to make those auditions.
While I was working at Atlantic Records, I became close friends with a couple members of the J. Geils Band. Every time that they came into town we would head over to the garment district. They would buy lame fabrics, rhinestones and sequins to put on their clothing. At that time, these things weren’t being manufactured for the masses. Yes, the Queen of England had hers and Liberace had his, but they weren’t all over the street.
I was fascinated and started buying the rhinestones, sequins and studs to put on my own clothing. I had them on everything that I owned. My t-shirts had them. My jackets had them. My hot pants had them. My jeans had them. Even my boots had them. Everything sparkled!
Continue reading I was a Clothing Designer!
Prior to moving to Las Vegas in 1981, I had played poker in some of the card clubs in Gardenia, California and in some home games. Even though I always lost when I played, I still had a love of the game so it was only natural that I would find myself spending more and more time in the card rooms of Las Vegas.
I became friendly with Johnny, one of the poker dealers at “The Treasury” Casino. He suggested that since I liked playing poker so much that I go to Poker Dealing School and learn how to become a poker dealer. It sounded like a great idea to me so I checked out the poker schools and found the Denny Walker’s Academy of Dealing. I enrolled at the school and started taking classes. Since I had been playing poker for white awhile my learning curve was small. I felt ready to start dealing in just two weeks. Johnny suggested that I talk with Russ Bennett at the Maxim to see if he had any dealer openings. Russ told me at the time that there was a freeze on hiring but he would be willing to give me a call if they got busy if I was willing to come in and deal for tokes (tips) only. I was thrilled. The calls started coming and I started dealing. I loved it. I was so happy to be dealing poker that I would have done it for free. It was like I got to play every hand because when you deal you actually play out every hand in your head. I would guess what the players had and the more I dealt the more I got it right. When the hiring freeze was over I was hired as a full time poker dealer.
Continue reading I was a Poker Dealer!
In 1966, I was sixteen years old. At school we were all asked to fill out a form stating what we thought we might like to do after we graduated from high school. While most of the men said they would like to be doctors or accountants, most of the women said they wanted to be nurses or teachers. I think I fell into a category of my own. I am the only one who responded with “I want to be a Playboy Bunny.”
I grew up in foster homes and a Children’s home. During my childhood and even into my teens, I never really felt loved. I had the impression that if I were a Playboy Bunny that I would be seen as beautiful and glamorous. I thought if I were a Playboy Bunny, then I would surely be loved.
In 1973, I was a single twenty-two year old living in New York City. At the time I was working as a secretary for a major record company, Atlantic Records. As much as I loved the job, I was starting to get bored and felt that it was time for a change. I was getting some small jobs as a model and even had a few auditions as an actress. Since I was working a nine to five job, it made it very difficult to be available to go on auditions. When I mentioned this to a few of my friends, one suggested that I try to get a job as a Bunny at the Playboy Club. I could work nights and be available for auditions during the day. This comment was really meant as a joke since I am small breasted and the likelihood of me getting hired was minimal.
Continue reading I was a Playboy Bunny!
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My name is Billie. I feel qualified to write about this topic because I did not go to college and have had more than 20 different careers and over 225 different jobs. I get bored easily and prefer to move on rather than stay in a dead-end job that I hate. If you have an adventurous spirit, then there are many, many careers or jobs out there that are available for the taking. On this site I am going to tell you about some of my experiences and also inform you about some of the opportunities that are available for you to consider. You’ll be amazed at the many opportunities awaiting you, even if you don’t have a college education.
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