11 CEOs who had weird jobs before they became successful (+Photos)

6. Michael Dell

Via japantimes.co.jp

Current Position: Founder and CEO of Dell Inc.

Weird Job: Dishwasher

At only 12 years old, Michael Dell got a job washing dishes at a Chinese restaurant. They later promoted him to become a bus boy but he soon got a better offer at a nearby Mexican restaurant.

Here’s a weird fact…Dell once owned an Apple computer. Yes, that’s right. He owned an Apple II when he was 15 years old. He disassembled it just to see how it works. And when he was in high school, he once made $18,000…earning more than his history and economics teacher did.

He made that cash while selling subscriptions of the Houston Post in the summer. While making cold calls to potential customers, he noticed a pattern. All prospects who bought subscriptions were either in the process of establishing a social presence or a geographical presence. So he decided to make these people his target demographic by collecting their names from mortgage and marriage applications.