I Hate My Job, Episode 2: Take This Job And Shove It

It’s Day 3 at Big Pine Mountain in California and the Final Four — Jim the Comic Wannabe, Art the Custom Motorbikes Wannabe, Josh the Club Promoter Wannabe, and Frank the Male Model Wannabe — are reintroduced to us through clips of their old jobs. We’re also shown a bit of their personalities in the process.

They all meet up with the show’s host, Reverend Al Sharpton, and Life Coach Stephanie Raye. The good Reverend tells the contestants about their next set of challenges. The first challenge is to pass a physical challenge course. Stephanie says she wants to see their “mental determination.” The Guys strap into their safety gear and are good to go. Why do they need safety gear? Well, they’ll be on a platform 50 feet off the ground and will have to jump to catch a ring 10 feet in front of them. The ring, of course, represents each guy’s dream job. It’s the Circle of Life, you see. Hakuna Matata. Like any once-in-a-lifetime experience, each guy has only one attempt to grab the ring and hold on. According to Stephanie, the barriers in this challenge course symbolize the obstacles each guy will face in pursuit of their dream job. Sure, grasshopper.

Art is up first and says his biggest fear is his fear of failure. It turns out his fear was justified. He managed to grab on to the ring, but just couldn’t hold on and lets go. Jim is up next and has trouble just standing up on the narrow platform. He jumps… and misses, much like Art. Frank is spouting some diatribe about how his life and future depend on catching this ring. Good thing you’re exaggerating, Frank. He jumps and is the first one to successfully hold on. Then again when you imagine “grabbing your wife’s a**,” as Frank put it, no wonder he was successful!

Josh is the last one up. With all the determination he can muster he states, “I want that ring!” Unfortunately, the ring doesn’t want him and Josh fails to hang on.

The next challenge is “The Bridge,” which is basically a hire wire stunt with a wooden log instead of a wire. Contestants are paired off into two teams and each has to cross to the other side. Inevitably they are going to cross paths somewhere along the way, and they have to try and get around the other person on their way to the other side.

Stephanie says this symbolizes the people on the road to their dream job who will get in their way. She also says “your biggest obstacle will probably be other people.” I guess she’s not an optimist. Josh and Jim do a round of Rock, Paper, Scissors — how mature of them — and Jim loses, meaning he and his partner his partner Frank, have to go first, much to Jim’s chagrin. So Frank, looking as white as a ghost, with a look of intense concentration in his eyes — or is that fear? — starts walking across. They get to the middle. Frank grabs on to Jim; Jim reciprocates. Frank goes around Jim’s left. Jim goes around Frank’s right and they move on, and finally reach their goals on the opposite side. Once back on the ground, they hug… aaah!

Art and Josh are up next. They get to the middle and “just stop and breathe,” as Art says. They hold on to each other and work together as a team to pass each other. They too eventually make it to their respective other sides.

Next up is a meeting next to a bonfire at night. Rev. Sharpton tells the guys that tomorrow they will have to quit their jobs, but tonight he’s brought a special guest for each of them. One by one a friend or family member appears next to each contestant, and gives him one last chance to back out or to commit fully to his attempts at reaching their dream jobs. Jim’s sister, Marie is up first. She reminds him that he makes a lot of money as an attorney, but Jim replies that the job isn’t fulfilling. Jim asks Marie if she supports him. She takes a few seconds to think about it, and then agrees to support him. Rev. Sharpton asks him for his “final answer,” and he decides to commit to the search.

And so it goes with every contestant. Art’s friend Tim makes sure Art isn’t just having some not-so-midlife crisis; Josh’s roommate Greg asks him to “really think about this,” and Frank’s wife Kira reminds Frank about the kids and the finances, and the fact that his job provides a steady paycheck, but each conversation ends the same way: each special guest says they will offer their full support and each guy commits to following his dream.

With everyone fully committed, the Reverend asks each contestant to get rid of the objects that symbolize their old jobs. Stephanie hands out these objects to each respective contestant. Josh has clothes, a manual of training materials, and an apple he used to look at every day in his previous job as a teacher. Frank has the shovel he used in his previous job as a cow manure processor, his work boots, and his coveralls. Jim has a briefcase, a shirt and tie, and a book about contracts. Art, whose previous job was in sales, has a laptop and a cell phone. Rev. Sharpton then tells them they need to burn these items.

Frank is amazed at the request. Jim is reluctant to burn his clothes and briefcase, but does so. Josh has no problem with this plan, and Art burns his laptop. Upon receiving the laptop, the fire leaps sky high. What a waste of a good laptop! I would have gladly taken it off his hands. Apparently Art likes the feeling because he says it feels good and he wishes he had more laptops to burn!

Each contestant is shown at his last day at work. Then one by one each goes to confront his boss. Josh is up first and tells his boss, Marilyn, that he’s quitting without giving her any notice. She questions his choice of being a club promoter because he’s “so good with the kids.” She doesn’t like having no notice, but accepts it with a laugh. Josh is psyched.

Art says he rarely sees his boss, Scott, so he has to quit over the phone. The two of them waste no time getting down to business, and Art tells him he’s quitting. Scott is disappointed, but wishes him luck. Art is relieved.

Jim walks into his boss McKee’s office and hands in his resignation. His boss is surprised and disappointed and suggests Jim take a leave of absence so he still has a “Plan B” on which to fall back. Jim says he doesn’t want to have a backup plan because he might use it as a crutch and not give this opportunity his all if he knew he could go back. A relieved Jim packs his office, starting with that impressive-looking Harvard law degree certificate hanging on the wall.

Last, but not least is Frank. He’s having doubts about whether he’s doing the right thing and hesitates before getting out of the car on the way to his boss’ office. Frank tells J.G., his boss, that he wants to quit and hands over keys to a truck. J.G. is pretty taken aback with Frank’s new choice of work, calling it a “drastic change,” but wishes him luck all the same.

Frank is really feeling the pressure now that he has no income. He goes home and tells his wife that he quit his job. She’s shocked that Frank didn’t give her a heads up first. Was she not listening when Rev. Sharpton said that they were going to quit their jobs tomorrow?

The four newly unemployed guys meet up with Stephanie and Rev. Sharpton on the beach, where the good Reverend congratulates the guys and tells them that there will be no unemployment checks or free rides. He continues by saying that they need to “face fear, massage it, and conquer it.” The Reverend then gives each one piece of advice and says later in an interview that he sees a little of Al Sharpton in each of the guys.

Rev. Sharpton tells the guys that they will be living together in a house and that he’ll provide them with mentors and the opportunity for each guy’s dream job. The next step is up to them.

The episode ends with each guy saying goodbye to his loved ones and friends and moving out of his place into a new house with the other contestants.

Until the next episode, as Rev. Sharpton would say, “I’ll catch you on the rebound.”

Gil Sery, who loves his job as founder and President of My NetClips.com, a journalism job search website, can be reached at movieman26@hotmail.com. If you’d like to continue to read recaps of this series, please email him and let him know.

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