Jobs are a means to an end for many people.
After all, landing the ultimate dream job is a rarity.
And while most jobs make workers feel like office drones, or worse, not made to feel appreciated and are taken advantage of, there are plenty of work situations that rewarding.
Curious to hear from those who call themselves lucky to have landed meaningful work, Redditor surferguy411y411 asked:
"What’s the best job you’ve ever had?"
It didn't take much skill to accomplish these shifts.
The Hangout
"Pizza Hut 2000-2005 in high school. I got all my friends jobs there, then i became an assistant general manager at 19. the General manager had 2 stores, i pretty much ran the store, put my friends on my shifts, played whatever music i wanted, made my own schedule, got any days off i wanted, traded pizzas for movie passes, food, gym membership."
"it was awesome at the time, even looking back now, it was sweet."
– MagazineEmergency999
The Night Shift
"Night watchman in a huge office building during summer."
"Clock in at 6 pm when the office 'closes'. Be on guard till 8 pm when the last guy leaves, grab my laptop, play world of warcraft will 2 am, sleep, clock out at 7 am, go home, sleep 2-3 hours. Do things. Back to work."
"13 hours 'paid' 1 hour worked. Nothing ever happened. Got paid 30 bucks an hour (always 200% pay, because it was night). On weekend nights 40 bucks an hour."
"I worked 12 weeks, 7 days a week."
"Best."
"Summer."
"Ever"
– LovelyPrincess201
Leisurely Job
"I had a similar job as the night watchman for a quiet, gated community in Los Angeles. From 9:30 pm to 11:00 pm, I had to be 'on guard', greeting residents and guests as they returned for the evening. After 11:00 pm I could do whatever I wanted as long as I was awake and paying attention."
"I'd watch movies on a portable DVD player (this was from 2012 to 2015), play games on my laptop, read books, or just chill out until 5:00 am when the next guard came in. I watched the entire 30-hour version of the WW2 documentary series 'The World at War' and read so many books."
– SgtSharki
Cleaning Up The Place
"Custodial work for a textbook distributor. My one and only job was to empty waste baskets in the offices. It was an 8 hour shift, and I had gotten my routine down so well I could finish my work in 3 hours. I would sit in the CFO'S office and read, I would take naps in conference rooms, just generally f around for 5 hours."
"My supervisor resented my position, as she also supervised production, so as long as she never heard complaints, I was completely out of sight out of mind."
"Occasionally I would be seen sweeping a floor in a warehouse or emptying a card board bin, which made it seem like I was getting all of this extra work done. That would last maybe 30 minutes, longer if I was really bored."
"When I left I was told I was the best person to ever work that position."
– BoardOld8124
These paid positions were far from boring.
Swimming With Penguins
"I put on a wet suit, got into armpit deep freezing water, and fed penguins 3x a day at the New England Aquarium."
– Yummy_Honey204
Great Outdoors
"I used to work for the US National Parks Service out in the Rocky Mountains. I worked on the trail crew, clearing, maintaining, and building new trail and assorted structures. Maintaining a system of trails that had originally been built by the Civilian Conservation Corps back in the depression."
"Since I had some experience as a mason, most of my time was spent moving rocks. I was Sisyphus, but the view was spectacular."
– AdorableSunshine02x
Good While It Lasted
"Pasta Maker at Olive Garden. 30+ years ago, Olive Garden made all their past in house from scratch. My machine was in the lobby so customers could watch. I wore a chef coat and poofy hat."
"I loved working weekends and interacting with people asking how it was made and why I was hanging it on the wall (to dry it before cooking). It was loads of fun and I really enjoyed it."
"Then they switched to dry premade commercial pasta and it wasn’t as good. Tried other positions but restaurants suck to work at."
– dragon-rae
Fun Snaps
"Camera operator for live sports in the USA. Stressful but fun. Nice getting paid $500 a day to be on the sidelines or courtside."
– Wenger2112
It's all about good interactions.
Happy Vending
"Beer cart at a golf course. Tips, everyone was happy to see you, nice weather. Easiest, most fun job I've ever had."
– WIPackerGuy
"I made $18k in 2001 in 3 months as a caddy cart girl. I... was able to pay my junior year of college tuition in cash."
"I would park under a tree, smoke a doobie, and read a magazine. Cash only and I did my own inventory. That job was the best."
– emmy_lou_harrisburg
Covid Summer
"Mine was bartender at a small country club. Easy job, decent tips. Same people over and over and they were still impressed when I remembered their drink order. Plus old women just love me. It was a chill couple of summers during Covid."
– ronniemustang
Mastering Communication Skills
"12 years old. Worked at a Hawaiian shaved ice place in a summer town. Learned to talk to people (girls), be chill, learned a lot about reggae music. Mostly wish I could do that now as a job."
– Silky__Smooth
The Perfect Team
"Had a 5 year run in a high end residential construction company where our 4 person crew was basically 4 best friends. Worked together, gamed together, hit the bar or dinner after work together, went riding on off days, etc."
"Honestly one of the best parts was just having a super motivated group that we never had to discuss dumb stuff like setting up in the morning or cleaning up at the end of the day. Everyone knew that is what we always did so we just talked sh*t and went about our business."
"Once we all went our own ways work wise it was terrible having to work with normal idiots again."
– Misterstaberinde
Family Love
"Working at the reception desk of a small childcare company. I loved getting to talk with the children and their parents and see all the different families that would come in every day."
"My favorite moment was watching this very small little boy with huge glasses wait eagerly by the doorway."
"A large, heavily tattooed and imposing man walked in the door, and the little guy's face absolutely lit up. The man picked up his son and twirled him around, beaming like he had just won the lottery."
"I think their family dynamic and custody arrangement was a bit complicated, but that is a man who truly loves his son."
– Few_Butterscotch_969
Healing With Food
"The one I have now. I'm a chef. I've spent years in soul-sucking restaurants run by greedy owners who only cared about the next quarter's finances. The food was an afterthought and the employees were a disposable line item in the budget."
"I now work for a non profit, our job is to help re-integrate people who have recently been released from jail/prison. We are a fine dining restaurant with a focus on elevated comfort food. The food is important to the management above me and the organization I work for, as are the employees. Our entire business is dedicated to improving the lives of its employees."
"I never expected, as a chef, to work for a non profit, and I couldn't be happier. The food is amazing. I have the ability to be as creative as I want. And the people we employ are some of the best employees I've ever had. They all want to learn, work hard, and make better lives for themselves."
– PearsonKnifeWorx
These were unforgettable shifts Redditors wished they could repeat on a regular basis.
Solo Tasks
"Tesco in store bakery. 4am-12pm shift. Baking (and tasting) doughnuts and pastries, radio on full blast, not a single customer or manager to interrupt you and the smell of fresh bread."
– ExPristina
So Much Positive Energy
"I used to do bottle service at a nightclub lounge off the strip in Vegas. This was right as things were opening up after COVID. The amount of pent up people with money ready to have fun was amazing."
"I made so much f'king money and people were just so excited and happy to be out and having a good time, literally throwing cash around and getting hammered. Great music, great money, great vibes."
– Beginning_Way9666
Gamer's Dream
"GameStop around 2006."
"There were way too many in the area and ours was the most inconvenient to get to meaning we were never that busy and the majority of our customers were dope regulars who'd come in and shoot the sh*t."
"As a broke highschool kid, being able to just borrow any used game, play it, and bring it back was nearly more in monetary value as my minimum wage paycheck."
"On particularly slow nights, we'd open the displays and swap out the demo discs for regular games and just play Guitar Hero or Madden or whatever."
"Easily the most fun I ever had at a job."
– Neomav
As a former performer, the best job I ever had was as a singer/dancer on a luxury cruise liner.
Our production team had officer status, which was a departure from most ship contracts for a non-featured performer at the time.
I got to do world cruises, which really inspired me to learn about different cultures and form friendships with guests and fellow cruise staff members from all around the world.
I keep in touch with many of them today.