Have You Had More Jobs Than Barbie?

This winter, Barbie will embark on her 126th career, this time as a computer engineer – an unbelievable number, considering she just turned 50. Over the years, Barbie’s résumé has included everything from rock star to astronaut. She’s climbed the corporate ladder from secretary to CEO. Whether it’s a race car driver or a presidential candidate, Barbie has worn a variety of hats in the workplace.

While 126 jobs in 50 years might be frowned upon in the real world, gone are the days where individuals worked at the same company for their entire career. So, we want to know, how close do you come to Barbie’s record?

Comments

  1. Angela

    My job positions were with contract agencies. My resume has the name of the company I worked for, as well as the name of the contract agency. Each job is a different for engineering, “Drafting” categories. I have successfully preformed and completed each category to complete the contract. All the jobs had one thing in common, Auto Cad, drafting in the engineering field. I used all the MS applications and have many office skills.
    Why do employers think narrow minded when it comes to Auto Cad drafter, Cad Tech, Draft person. There is always a learning curve, no matter what job you do! If you teach the in & out to a person wouldn’t it be more cost affective for a company. Many employers want spontaneous reaction from the employee, which is not reality. The company is again looking for another employee again. One Company had me on a three-month probation, for training. I was hired as permanently employee. I stayed with the company for 10 years. What Happen, no one does this anymore. Companies don’t even have Research & Development, which produces more jobs. Many people have told me my resume is very impressive. Why can’t I get a job? No collage, Well I have some collage & 14 + years of real life experience.

  2. Linda

    with ND’s Right to Work laws–coupled with employer’s no dedication to employees, having lots of jobs is common! I have learned never to take anything for granted and be prepared.

  3. Dave

    Is it 126 “careers” – or “jobs”? Over the past 30+ years, I’ve held roughly 40 jobs, spread over perhaps 10 career fields. About half of these were Contract positions. Began working in retail at age 19, back in 1973. In the late ’70s and into the 1980s I fell into a 5-year career in the Hollywood record industry – and like “Barbie”, got to experience life as a “rock Star” in California and the Southwest, recording and performing with several bands.
    At 28 years old, it was back to life in the Real World. Thus began a 7-year career in the banking industry. From there to home security dispatcher, then staff accountant at an art supplies store. A friend hired me for LA market radio for 5 years, where I was a jingle writer, produced radio commercials, and a really bad disk jockey.
    In the mid-1990s, With the popularity of the PC and Internet, I changed direction again, contracting in the Healthcare industry as a way to learn computers while on-the-job. Next came a brief stint as a CSR in book publishing which opened the door to an accounting position with a well-known non-profit organization.
    Then came an odd even odder twist of fate – as I was contracted for a position on the 787 Dreamliner program – with only 20 weeks of previous aerospace experienced. I worked hard, and it turned out great.
    In 2006, The housing market collapsed – and there were very few opportunitues, so I began racking up temp position after temp position. This week, I’m launching my own ecommerce business. Who knows what next week will hold?

  4. Michael

    You know how to make your career more stable? Start doing the same things more often, because when you spend money, you’re giving somebody a job. So go to the same restaurants, drive the same car, live in the same town, eat the same foods, and shop at the same stores. That way your life should be more stable, but if you keep changing what you do, then everybody who works with you will think that thier life is also unpredictable.

  5. Michael Warren

    Anybody had a friend who commited suicide, or have you ever tried to commit suicide because of your job? Actually more people do so because of too much work, than because of not enough work. It can go both ways, like the old saying when it rains it pours.

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