8 Jobs That Were Super Cool To Have In The '90s

Much like the way homework seems so freakin' cool when you first get to elementary school, a job seems so freakin' cool when you get to high school. I remember being super stoked leaving kindergarten when I first got word that the first graders were assigned homework — that was so adult and cool. Finally, I had something to complain about besides not getting the brand name snacks I wanted and my forced afternoon naps that were never up for discussion. And when you're five, complaining is the most adult thing there is to do. Mindless crying is for babies.

So when I entered high school, I was stoked for the prospect of finding a job, because second to homework, having a job was the most adult thing you could do. My older brother got to work at Starbucks, which was the ultimate cool kid thing to do in the '90s. My brother had one friend who worked at the movie theater and he had another super cool adult friend who worked at a record store. Labor never looked so cool. I couldn't wait to get my license so that I could drive to work and come home and complain about it on the phone with my friends. That was my dream ... to not have a career, but a job. Oh, those were the days. If you had a bizarre obsession with scoring a part time job after school in the '90s, you probably remember these stores are major targets for employment awesomeness.



You were all about that barista life. Working at Starbucks meant you got to listen to music all day and have heady conversations inspired by too much caffeine.

Sam Goody


To work at a record store was perhaps the closest existence you could have to being a cast member in Empire Records.

Hot Topic


Remember those few years in the middle of high school where things got weird and you rapidly graduated from Claire's Boutique to Hot Topic?



Everybody knew that a hundred percent of your paycheck went right back into buying all of their clothes.

Ben & Jerry's


Duh, coolest job ever. Ice cream all day, every day. PLUS a sweet tie dye shirt.



Working at Blockbuster meant you got to take home movies and video games whenever you wanted. #SWAG.

Victoria's Secret


Fancy bras and panties are expensive. If you worked at VS you got a great discount on your first pink push-up bra and got to smell like vanilla body lotion all the time.

Movie Theater


Ultimate indie movie hero job. When you worked at the movie theater you got to watch parts of all the movies and eat as much popcorn as you wanted. You'd also smell like popcorn 24/7.

Betcha wish you could get this excited over your job now!

Images: Giphy (8), Pixabay