Welcome to Jon’s Audio Resume, the Jon of All Trades solo exploration of all the weird ass jobs I’ve had in my life. This series runs in chronological order and here is my ninth job.

Job: Public Speaking Teacher at Colorado State University
Duration: 2004-2006
Pay: Full graduate school tuition, ~$1,100 per month stipend
Did I get along with my boss? Technically, it’s the taxpayers, but in terms of my department, yes, I liked our teaching mentor.

This job set me up for my entire career. And, as one might expect of a 22 year-old graduate student who liked his major and was good at school, but also liked the college experience and wished to continue it for two more years, I had no idea this would be the case.

But teaching public speaking not only set me up in an extremely direct way in that watching more than 1,000 speeches over the course of two years trained me to be a skilled media and presentation trainer for clients of all stripes, but in other ways, too. Balancing teaching, grading, coaching students and holding office hours with the metric crapton of reading and writing graduate studies mandates teaches time management, project management, prioritization, and efficiency in ways few things can at that point in your life.

I loved my experience with this job, and this episode is a fun one. I cut loose in it, and I think you’ll get both insight and amusement as I tell some stories from some of the best years of my life.

Check it out on iTunes, stream it on Stitcher, or listen at the Jon of All Trades homepage.

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