What is one profession that everyone should have tried at least once?

You probably would not expect the answer to that question to be a minimum wage job at a Retail store, but for me there is no more obvious choice. For most Americans a job like that seems so incredibly mediocre. Retail? That's the kind of job that high school kids who are fresh at working have or people who are just screw ups and have nowhere else to go. What could anyone possibly gain from working such a remedial job?

Well to put it simply, working in retail teaches some valuable skills that seem to be becoming rarer and rarer in the world, and not among teens or "screw-ups", but among older people. Contrary to how it is often portrayed, the majority of retail stores are not easy rinky-dink places where people can spend half their time just talking and goofing off. They are messy and extremely unorganized due to the fact that they are constantly losing employees and gaining new ones. It should come as no surprise that these jobs that usually pay as little as possible to those working them have people leaving them so frequently, with fresh 16-year-olds or recently laid off adults taking the places of those who wise up just as quick as when they leave themselves. Many times the staff of retail places is an odd hodgepodge of veteran employees who have been there for years and then a mass of freshies who have literally no idea how to do anything. This added on top of the fact that most retail stores are seasonal based and fluctuate between having next to no business and being slam packed creates an environment where any second can go from a sunny day to a monsoon. Those who want to last in the Retail business have to become critical thinkers, and fast. They are constantly being pushed into situations they have not been prepared for and have to come up with answers on the spot. Many times Retail jobs will force employees to work together, usually with all parties involved being clueless. There is no place where I have seen more leaders be magically made than at large retail stores. Retail also instills a sense of patience. Cashiers and Advisers are constantly taking abuse from angry customers due to corporate policies that they have no involvement in but must follow. It never ceased to amaze me how mean people can become over something they want not being in stock in the store, or a short wait since the store is understaffed or some other petty "offense" that they throw in your face with a sassy "The customer is always right" mentality. After working in retail and experiencing this first hand it is almost guaranteed that one will have a newfound appreciation for those souls behind the registers.

Everyone should work in Retail at least once, just long enough for them to learn that those bag boys and service desk girls they snicker at and scream at when a receipt is out of date aren't the immature ones. They are hardworking, enigmatic and many times in rough situations that don't need fussy customers to go against them.