Hillary Clinton’s First Job Wasn’t Exactly Fun (And Her Second Was Worse)

President of the United States of America is arguably be the worst job in the world. After all, there’s a reason people joke—with a little too much truth in their voices—that you’d have to be crazy to want the role. But in an essay on Glassdoor, Hillary Clinton reveals she’s used to tough jobs, beginning with her very first job printing draperies—and a second job sliming salmon. (Yep, you read that right.)

Though Clinton is proud of her experience as first lady, U.S. senator, and secretary of state, she contends that some of the most important lessons in her career were learned in less than glamorous roles. “The jobs I had when I was just starting out might not have taught me the finer points of foreign policy,” she writes, “but they did a lot to shape the person I am today.”

That process started when Clinton was just a child, when she worked in her father’s business printing draperies. “I would stand over silk screens on big, long tables, and pour in the paint, then we’d move the squeegee from left to right, then move on to the next table and start all over again,” she recalls. “It required patience. My dad was adamant that we couldn’t cut corners, and we took pride in every step of the process.”

But several years later, Clinton found herself working an even more difficult job. After college, she spent a summer in Alaska and took a position sliming salmon—that is, processing fish. “When I showed up on my first day, I was given boots, an apron, and a spoon to clean out the insides of the fish,” she writes. “If I didn’t slime fast enough, the supervisors would yell at me to speed up.”

The awfulness of that job doesn’t stop there. As she spooned out fish guts, Clinton noticed some of the fish weren’t fit to be sold. “They were purple and black, and sort of gooey,” Clinton describes. “When I pointed this out to my manager, he fired me and told me to come back the next afternoon to pick up my last check. But when I showed up, the entire operation was gone. I learned to trust my gut—and that sometimes, doing what’s right means standing up to people in powerful positions.”

After graduating college with her law degree, she went to work at the Children’s Defense Fund, which she describes as one of the best decisions of her life.

“While I don’t think I’ll be screen printing or sliming fish again any time soon, I know I wouldn’t be the person I am today without these experiences,” Clinton concludes in the essay. “These three jobs and these three lessons—to work hard, to stand up for what’s right, and to strive to make a difference for others—have guided my life. And they will guide me in the future.”