I worked in PR for 10 years and we wrote a kid's college entrance essays. I also billed at $150 an hour as a 21 yr old right out of college. The clients thought I was a seasoned professional.

If you go to a fancy restaurant and get a younger waiter, there's a solid chance they're high on cocaine!

I win (or lose) this game.

I worked for an "at risk youth travel abroad / exchange" program.

Turned out to be a front for pedophiles who would meet these at risk youths in countries where the age of consent differed, or the laws were such that prosecution would be hard. Truth be told the warning signs were there before I even started, but i was a bit niave.

Reported to the FBI. Sadly, the organization still exists today.

Anonymous wrote:I worked for a security alarm company in the VA area.

They would deluge the review sites (angies list, yelp, toptenreviews, etc.) with positive reviews...like hundreds and hundreds of fake ones to make their service and product look great compared to the other ones.

Meanwhile it was a turn and burn environment inside.

As a customer, I am sure this is Frontpoint.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is probably not a secret BUT I worked in a retail store and we all pretty much had sex all over the place in there.

+1 in restaurants. Also, lots of drinking & drugs.

Journalism--probably 50% of the stories you read are advertisements in disguise.

Child care--oh, Lord. Let's just say parents only see a TINY sliver of what goes on.

I know someone that worked at a Montessori and I kid you not she's the dumbest person I know. Very sweet and means well but I mean DIM. We are talking lacking both intelligence and common sense. Cannot spell common words. Scary that she was an assistant teacher. She worked for a long time at a school out-of-state and could not keep a job at the schools here so at least she was weeded out. Bless her heart.

This is true of a lot of preschool and young elementary teachers, but as long as they are good with children, and teaching them the basics, does it really matter?

That's a crappy comment, and it's also untrue. But way to generalize.

Otherwise, this thread is fascinating-- keep the stories coming, please!

I'm a teacher at a K-12 independent, and I can assure you it IS true. Most elementary teachers are just not very bright. They are generally very warm, energetic, good people, though, in my experience.

Anonymous wrote:Give me a break with the daycare stories. The teachers at our center send their own kids there. Explain that?

sad fact but one that is as old as time, kids get treated differently even at the same place

Corporate attorney.

Most lawyers with billable hour quotas defraud their clients by billing for time not worked.

Sometimes it's minor "rounding" or "estimating", but it many cases it's intentional and deliberate.

1+. I used to get in trouble for billing less time than other attorneys for the same joint activities/work. Fairly certain I was not the inaccurate one. No longer in private practice.

Anonymous wrote:90% of your delivery drivers are getting stoned on the way to your house.

I know what I want to be when I grow up.

Anonymous wrote:I am also a former daycare worker (well, an infant-6 Montessori school) and did not experience any of the horrors PPs mention. The women I worked with were incredibly kind, caring providers.

I'm a former director who inherited a terrible staff. Most of what went on was kept on a need-to-know basis. If you ever got a "today was so-and-so's last day" note, you might not know the circumstances, but you can be pretty sure it wasn't good.

90% of your delivery drivers are getting stoned on the way to your house.

I am also a former daycare worker (well, an infant-6 Montessori school) and did not experience any of the horrors PPs mention. The women I worked with were incredibly kind, caring providers.

Corporate attorney.

Most lawyers with billable hour quotas defraud their clients by billing for time not worked.

Sometimes it's minor "rounding" or "estimating", but it many cases it's intentional and deliberate.

I worked at two daycare centers in college, one at a church, once at a YMCA. Both followed regulations to the letter. Turnover was somewhat high, but there was a dedicated core staff who'd been there for years. No issues. <shrug>

Anonymous wrote:I worked at a daycare for 6 years in HS and college and it sounds like the PPs were just at really bad centers.

I've worked at NAEYC-accredited federal / GSA and university programs and you would be surprised...

I worked at a daycare for 6 years in HS and college and it sounds like the PPs were just at really bad centers.