My First Job in the US

When I first got here in the US, I did not work right away. The reason is that, I still need to apply for my Work Authorization permit and/ or my Green card. I was so interested in working for tech companies. As soon as I got here, I checked the vacancies with Amazon online. At that time, they had no vacancies yet. After Gary and I’s wedding reception on August 30^th, 2015,  Dave Johnson gifted us an Amazon gift card.  So, I thought of checking out the Amazon vacancies again in Baltimore. I was so ecstatic to see that they were hiring for Fulfillment Associates. I applied online. There were no interviews, just questionnaires to answer. I started working on October 2015.

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I just stayed there for about 2.5 months. Working as a fulfillment associate, I did not like it. It is physically demanding. It is like working in a factory, even more difficult than working in the grocery or a department store because you have to move so fast. Yes, there’s a target. There’s a number of items that should be sorted or scanned. I was on my feet for 10 to 11 hours for 4 days, minus the 1.5 hours break time. The lunch break which is an hour is really not one hour. When you go to the pantry area and go back to the work area, you can already consume 10 minutes of walking. As a packer, you will scan the items from the wall, make a box, get the items, put items inside the box, close the box, scan, then put in the moving thing, then repeat. You have to do this very quickly! LOL. Being a sorter is even more difficult. Because you have to run and carry these items to the wall. Because of doing this for over 2 months, I got an injury called tennis elbow. I started to hate my job. My $13 per hour wage with benefits according to the locals are not bad. The minimum wage here is around $8 an hour. But I remember, I have a college degree and I can do more than packing/ or sorting items.

An employee seals a box at the Amazon.com Inc. fulfillment center in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. on Monday, Dec. 2, 2013. More than 131 million consumers are expected to shop Cyber Monday events, up from 129 million last year, according to the National Retail Federation. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

An employee stacks items to be shipped at the Amazon.com Inc. fulfillment center in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. on, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013. More than 131 million consumers are expected to shop Cyber Monday events, up from 129 million last year, according to the National Retail Federation. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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While I was meditating, I realized there is no easy or difficult job for the  Baltimore people. I have seen old people, some kids too and some with difficulty walking.  People here really need jobs to survive through the high prices of commodity and they are not picky. In my case, the job is not for me. Plus, I have a college degree. Though I know, some degree holders here have no decent jobs, for me it’s not working. (Choosy Torres, LOL)

Amazon is in a list of 10 Places Everyone Wants to Work, According to LinkedIn.