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Comedian John Hodgman Has Some Career Advice for Children
John Hodgman on what he’s learned from jobs including English muffin pizza salesperson and video rental clerk
Hello. My name is John Hodgman. I have been in my life a professional writer, actor, comedian, food columnist, literary agent, receptionist, cheesemonger, telemarketer, dishwasher, popcorn seller, video store clerk (that’s something you only see at the Renaissance faire anymore), soup ladler, traffic counter, stockroom attendant, English muffin pizza salesperson, and now, the author of this career guide for you, the precocious child.
I started working when I was a little older than you. I didn’t have to go to work. Both my parents had good jobs and only one young mouth to feed (mine). But it never occurred to me not to work. To me, work meant meeting other humans and learning about them. Sometimes it meant getting paid, but not always. The important thing was that I got to pretend that I was a grown-up, which is the dream of every only child.
(I am still pretending to be a grown-up, by the way. That’s a job that never ends.)
I have learned a lot from all my jobs. I would like to share these lessons with my own children, but they are not interested at all. That’s okay. That’s their job. So…
