Drawing on Your Nonacademic Training

Two nonacademic jobs in my background have greatly influenced my career in academe.

One was the few years I spent volunteering at a crisis hotline in New Orleans. The training I received and the experience of handling those calls helped to prepare me for the many occasions when my office is visited by a freaked-out student, a restless parent, or a frustrated faculty member.

The other job was the minimum-wage year I spent scrubbing the drive-through concrete and filtering French-fry oil while wearing an asbestos apron at a down-at-the-heels Jack in the Box restaurant. That influenced my attitude about being a professor: You’ll rarely catch me complaining about my job.

Which nonacademic job experiences helped prepare you to work in academe?