The Worst Summer Jobs

Most people think of relaxing vacations, swimming, and backyard barbecues when they think of summer. Sometimes, though, it means work. For some MyTotalMoneyMakeover.com members, they had the kind of summer jobs that you'd like to forget. Unfortunately for them, they haven't forgotten.

Some jobs are just mundane and boring as all-get-out.

I worked at an insurance company as my summer job one time. It consisted of looking up a 10-digit number, cross referencing it to an account with another 10-digit number, and verifying that the second number matched. My walkman was the only thing keeping me sane! – Rpatty

The summer after my sophomore year, I stayed on campus and worked in our school's research center. The days wore on as we sat in our windowless computer room, coding survey responses, prepping surveys for mail, and doing other menial tasks. I couldn't wait until the summer was over! – MommaChef

I did security for a summer job. It was 12 hours straight of sitting in my car watching truck drivers. It was horrible! – dolphinlover8121

Other summer jobs just plain stink ... in more ways than one!

Working in a sardine factory! The first day I fainted dead away from the smell. The little fish came by on the conveyor belt, and we had to grab them and snip the tail and head off and put them in the can. I smelled so bad that when I got home, my mom made me strip in the hall. – icanttypp

I cleaned the stalls of a hog house. The rats were enormous! I thought it was a cat the first time I saw one. I never did get used to that stench blowing up toward the house. – Shygal

Others had to get down and dirty—really dirty.

I had a summer job a few years ago as an install helper for an air conditioning company. I was the one to crawl under the houses or trailers in all the mud and water to run the tubing and stuff. It was by far the messiest job I've ever done. – Soehnlin

Some friends of mine had a summer job at a chicken hatchery. They stood at a conveyor belt, and on the belt traveled little baby chicks. Their job was to pick up the little chicks as they went by, cut their little toenails, and put them back on the conveyor belt. – sharpies2

In between my freshmen and sophomore college years, I picked tobacco from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Fairmont, North Carolina, and worked at a fish market from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Hot, smelly, and infested with four-legged, many-legged and no-legged critters. No amount of soap worked. I hate fish! – Wileyd

Extra jobs may be necessary, but some of them aren't fun. Visit My Total Money Makeover and get on a budget so you can pay off debt and quit that job as soon as possible!