What A Crap Job Is To Me

Normal people probably think of a crap job as one of those jobs where you're working with raw sewage, or at McDonald's, or digging through garbage, or even taking off your clothes for money. In my world, those don't even count as jobs. Those are my own versions of Dante's hell.

So what, then, do I mean when I say I want a crap job?

Simple. I want something that pays (just enough) to cover the bills, but not so much that I won't be able to afford to leave. Something that's interesting to do for a year (or even two, if I need/ want to) but that doesn't really have great opportunities for the rest of my life.

Mostly, these are going to be entry level jobs. Think parking lot attendant, or receptionist in a (non-boring) office. Personal assistant would be either too interesting (with a cool boss), or too hellish (with a bad boss) to make the cut. Entry level kitchen work would be a good fit, if I could stand to work with meat all day.

Really, I guess when I say "crap" job I mean "day job"- even if it's at night. Something you do while you build something else. Interesting enough to not make you head-desk all day long, but not so comfortable that you can never leave. I want something that's interesting with enough space to learn new stuff that I'm not totally bored, but not so good that when I'm ready- when my "business" is ready -I don't want to leave.

Wow, it's weird talking about this internet stuff as a business. That's what it is, though, I guess. Much like an actor's or writer's career is a business, even when they aren't making anything from it.

Maybe I shouldn't call them crap jobs. I'm sure some people out there desire nothing more than to be a parking lot attendant for the rest of their life. To me, though, they're just an intermediate step. A stop along my path that is only intended to be temporary, so shouldn't be *too* comfortable. I don't enjoy being an employee, so that shouldn't be a problem, right? I don't know, and I don't want to test it.

So crap jobs they are.