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Comment by giantg2 | Hacker News Reader

I got a weekend job at Lowes. It was good because it's basically the opposite of software dev. You stand, walk, move things, help people get the right stuff for their project, and talk to people.

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I wish I could push this post higher - I have worked a few customer service positions (tutor while in university, cashier at a little natural foods store) and I found both of those positions really flexed my social skills and have made my life much easier in myriad ways (job interviews, to pick a big one.)

I actually got the job at Lowes because I went to it as a sort of practice interview. I was looking for a job as a security guard (armed guards make double what I made at Lowes), but the positions I was offered were all about the same pay (unarmed guards don't get paid much). I think part of the reason I did well in the interview is because I was relaxed from thinking of it as a practice interview. This definitely helped me in interviews that I've had since.

Even though the pay was only $10 an hour and I was working 40+ hours at my main job plus 16-20 hours at Lowes, I really enjoyed my job at Lowes. It was much nicer than my software dev job - lower stress, less politics, no pressure to move up or meet some unobtainable metric, and the managers actually understood the work. It's almost like managers who have MBAs focus more on the metrics (output) and less on outcomes and the people.

My preferred job for social interaction would be a bartender or server. But, I think it'd require some training before starting especially the former one.

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