At the end of my senior year and the start of my freshman year in college, I worked at a movie theater. I had to stop working because it was a little too far away, but it genuinely was the best job that I could've asked for.
I miss it more than I can say.
Most people ask me what it is like to work at the movies. Most of my job was to do things behind the scenes, so it’s a bit of a mystery.
For the most part, interactions with customers last a few minutes at most, and I don’t see them again until hours later.
There are three lower level positions at the movies.
Upper levels were management, which I have to say, did not look like a good job. They had to do too much of everything and it seemed like a headache. Their names of the positions are really hazy in my mind, but there’s the “janitor” position, the “ticket taker”, and “concessions”.
Almost everyone liked the “janitor” position because there was freedom. Their only real job was to clean up the theaters after the movies were over.
They had to keep an eye on the lobby and the bathrooms, but most of my shift was spent drinking complimentary Slurpees in the breakroom. There was too much freedom and it drove me crazy.
Concessions was always a good shift. You make food and sell it, and by the time you get home, you smell like popcorn. Unlike the other two positions, you are never alone during the shift and it leads to some illegal snacking and great conversation.
The “ticket taker” was my favorite because it was unfathomably easy. You rip and sell tickets, tell kids that they can’t get into rated “R” films, and hand out 3D glasses. Other than the random annoyed customer, it was a dream.
One of the better parts of the jobs was the peaks and valleys of the shift. All of the movies were scheduled at the same time so there were a few little rushes followed by a movie-sized break.
My managers were pretty lenient, so I could do anything, as long as I didn’t eat the popcorn in front of the customers. Usually, my coworkers and I would crowd around the concession stand and we’d talk about customers that annoyed us or about college. When a customer would come, we would scatter knowing that we’d talk again by the end of the night.
Like I said, I miss my job a lot.
But I’m sure that some time during graduate school or even during undergrad, I’ll find myself working at a theater again.
