I have worked an incredible number of jobs over the years including car washing, watch repair, retail work, waitressing, delivery driving, daycare… the list goes on.

However, I never got a job at the Minnesota State Fair.

Every year, the stories about the Sweet Martha’s Cookies stand making $20 bajillion (fun fact: as I write this, there is no red line under “bajillion,” which I guess means it’s a real word), combined with multiple posts about the prices of everything, including some idiot complaining about parking.

Someone recently asked people on Reddit what it’s like to actually have a job at the Minnesota State Fair. Here are some of the responses:

(These are just people’s comments and have not been verified in any way.)

SWEET MARTHA’S COOKIES

About u/ErisAdonis

I have worked 5 shows at Sweet Martha’s, it is busy and time flies because there is almost always a customer there. Most customers are nice and will work with you, some are BITCHES and will try to rip you off or worse, cheat you with counterfeit bills (happens 1 or 2 times a day per store).

After my second year, I started working in the back making cookies and eventually worked my way up to learning the recipe and cookie cutting during my entire 6- to 8-hour shift.

There is actually a secret trade going on at the fair. The owners don’t like it, but if you work at popular stalls, you can trade food for food.

There is usually a trash bin for employees to “take home” about once an hour. I threw a pack of zip lock bags in my bag and traded gallon bags of cookies for chips, burgers, sandwiches, and the occasional pizza.

Another user commented that the wage at Sweet Martha’s is (again allegedly) $15.50 per hour.

DNR BUILDING

about U/Capnshiner

I interned with the DNR in 2005 and spent a shift in the DNR building sitting next to an oil drum covered in zebra mussels and talking about invasive species. It was hot, crowded, and claustrophobic, but it was fun to talk to so many people (albeit repeatedly) and get a behind-the-scenes look at the fish tanks and staff areas of the DNR building.

UNSPECIFIED FRIED CUCUMBER STAND

via U/Majorscheiskopf

I made fried pickles. Being an owner sucks, working next to the fryers sucks, the hours suck, the pay sucks, and you get tired of the free food quickly. It’s worth it if you’re in high school and just want to make a few hundred bucks before school starts, but not for anyone else.

Haunted House

via U/bthnywhthd

Many years ago I worked at the haunted house. It was the absolute worst job I ever had. Back then (and maybe even now?) all the male employees could be the monsters and all the female employees had to stand in the corners to help people who were too scared to get out the back entrances.

As a woman, I was beaten basically all shift because people in the dark assumed that the figure lurking in the corner was a monster ready to scare them, so they punched, kicked, threw things, and thrashed around wildly. And then all the monsters were constantly groping me because they couldn’t get in trouble for sexual harassment since we couldn’t identify anyone.

We had to buy all our tickets ourselves, and if we worked all 12 days of the fair, the owners would pay us back all the tickets, but if we left before the 12 days were up, we got nothing. I was too poor not to work all 12 days.

After that year, I sold tickets, which was much more dignified and bearable.

MINI DONUTS

via U/thankyourob

I worked at a mini donut shop and performed at small fairs around the state during the summer of 1996 when I was 17 – that was fun. The summer ended with the State Fair, which was not fun… like someone else said, it was long days/very hot/monotonous.

Some people just can’t keep up and I was one of them. I quit after one day at the fair. Never again, it wasn’t for me.

Since then, I’ve only been back a few times…but most importantly, I still love mini donuts, so it didn’t spoil the experience for me.

Here is the program of the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand Concert Series 2023