I never thought that I would work at Wendy’s. I always told people, “Oh no, I don’t do fast food.” To my surprise, however, I found that working at Wendy’s taught me skills I could use in any job.

I decided to apply because I wasn’t getting enough hours at my retail job to pay the rent. I didn’t have any experience working at a restaurant, so I was surprised when I got hired for a night shift: 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.

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I was first assigned to make sandwiches. I thought, “Oh, this is going to be so easy,” but it was more complicated than I’d imagined. There were so many details I’d never thought about. The first time I made a crispy chicken sandwich, I got it wrong. I put home-style chicken on a big bun with tomato, lettuce, and mayo, but the sandwich recipe called for a crispy chicken and no tomato. I lost a ton of confidence seeing the customer return the sandwich. And I didn’t want my manager to become impatient with me.

After that, when my coworkers taught me how to make sandwiches, I took notes as if I were in school. It took me almost three weeks to master sandwiches. When I did I felt happy and confident. But I still felt pressured when I saw crowds of people lining up at the counter. The general manager put more pressure on me, and that only made it worse. I would panic about making sure the sandwiches were right.

Details, Discipline, and Flexibility

I found working the register easier than making sandwiches since I’d already learned how to do it at my other job. I had to make sure that the cash register had $200 when I started and then pay attention to make sure I was giving correct change. I was never short in my register because I feared that if I was, I would get suspended for a week like I’d seen them do to other employees.

image by Percy Tejeda

I realized that working at Wendy’s wasn’t only about getting a paycheck. I also had to make sure that the customers were satisfied with their food. I knew good customer service was vital to the job, so I treated customers like they were guests in my home. That part was fun: I met great people and even learned new words in a few different languages from speaking with customers.

Another skill I learned at Wendy’s was flexibility. One minute my manager would ask me to clean the tables in the dining room, and the next I’d be on kitchen duty, making sandwiches and salads or washing dishes. All the employees had to be flexible like this. I learned that nobody was better than anyone else. We had to cooperate as a team for the store to be a success.

Wendy’s also taught me discipline: I had to get to work on time and multitask quickly and efficiently. I learned that having little systems for saving time really helped me do my best on the job. I owe that to Wendy’s because you have to work so fast to keep up.

Heading Toward My Goals

Still, I didn’t want to be working at Wendy’s in my 40s like some of my coworkers. I asked my coworkers what their goals were and found that some of them were in school, and others worked at Wendy’s as a second job just to make ends meet.

I asked one of my older coworkers why he wasn’t a manager. He said management would be too much pressure. I took that as a life lesson: Don’t procrastinate and don’t shy away from responsibility. I want my life to be full of possibilities. My short-term goal was to be able to pay rent, but my long-term goal was to go back to school and eventually become a broadcaster at a news station, where I’ll have lots of pressure.

That was two years ago, and now I’m back in college working toward my associate degree. My experience at Wendy’s showed me that you have to work hard to get where you want, no matter what the job. It also showed me that you can learn new skills from any job, even a job you thought you would never do.