At my last teaching job, I was also the coach of the varsity girls’ basketball team. I hated every minute of it. I hated the time it took away from my teaching and from Husband. I hated the unreasonable expectations placed on me and my players by their parents. But most of all I hated the fact that I was really bad at it.
Coaching basketball at that level was the only thing I have ever done professionally that I was really, truly bad at. And, because of that experience, I have vowed never to do another job that I am not qualified for – no matter who asks me to, no matter if refusing to do so makes me look like something other than a team player.
Have you ever had to do a job that you were bad at?
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I've worked jobs that I hated, that I was ok at. I wasn't truly bad at it, but I wasn't good at the politics, and thus, I was miserable all the time, and I never felt like I was good at the job. I was adequate.Adequate has never felt good.But I'd take adequate over unemployment.
Business. Not my cup of tea. That and the fact I had to work for some lying, cheating, racist idiots.
I sucked at waiting tables…mainly because I had a hard time being nice to people who were assholes.
I was not good at selling shoes. I tried for one summer… :)
I taught English 101 at a community college for one semester after getting my master's and that was enough for me. I think – maybe – I'd be good at teaching Literature or Writing but teaching Compare/Contrast, the Argumentative essay, etc., and trying to teach grammar to kids who really didn't know it, that wasn't a good fit for me. I wanted to change their lives through writing and literature; they just wanted their English requirement and to get the heck out of school. It was disheartening.
I was really bad selling roses in nightclubs because I hate bar skanks. Those are the kind of girls who bitchily implore their dates to buy $8 half-dead roses and I would usually make fun of them. Got more than a few drinks tossed my way!
{ 1 trackback }