I started working when I was 16 and I have had three actual jobs since then and two unpaid internships on top of that. My first job was at a local ice cream stand in high school and then I chose to work in retail while in college. I also interned as a Medical Assistant and a Medical Coder. Then I worked full time for a while as a Medical Assistant...and landed myself back in retail. Obviously, I've done numerous different jobs over the last five years. I did a lot of very different things and each job was an experience like no other, but I came to notice that all of these jobs I have done have taught me two very important things about having a job and choosing a career that you love.

People can be jerks

People can be jerks anywhere and everywhere about absolutely anything, and you are always going to have to deal with people. When I worked in Healthcare, I didn't normally have the same patients as I had customers in retail, but I still had issues with some of them. Basically, I'm saying that no matter where you go you are going to have to deal with people who have issues with something you or your establishment is doing and trust me, you will hear about it and have to deal with it. You can't base whether you like your job or not off of the people you encounter. You have to base it off of the job itself. Do you enjoy what you are doing? Do you get paid well? Do you like your job despite the angry/uncooperative customers/patients/clients you deal with?

The people make the place

When I say "the people make the place," I am not talking about the angry customers you may have to encounter. I'm talking about the people you work with every day. How you feel about the people you work with can make or break how you feel about the job itself. Being friends with the people you work with is a good thing. It can make your day go faster if you are working with someone who you enjoy talking to, and studies have shown that working with a friend makes you work more efficiently.

I have had jobs where I did not like some of my co-workers and I have had one job where I liked all of my co-workers. The job with the co-workers that I like is the one that I have stayed with for years, the one I went back to when I thought my world was crumbling to the ground, and the one that I don't mind getting up to go to every day. Yes, I still have to deal with angry customers and little things that I don't necessarily love doing...but in the end, I like the people that I work with and I do like my job. That's what's important.