Make no mistake, it is hard being a trainee. But it's no cakewalk on the other side of the office, either. Nurturing, managing, reviewing, loving, caring, feeding, chastising, spanking, beating, shearing. All must be applied to the trainee by the diligent supervisor, but only at the right times and in the right quantities.

And sometimes, you get lumbered with a disaster. It is those rare, crapulous trainees whom supervisors including 'Mr Hargeaves', 'Badman', 'Mitrovic', 'Hodge', 'Obediah Hakeswill', 'Buzz', 'I am Cyprian', 'Spodric', 'An Irishman without rules' and 'Gloopers' have been remembering on the discussion board, thanks to 'Jack Nance'. Jack asked, "Who was the worst trainee you ever had, and what did they do?" Rollover for the muppet.

1. The Chiller



2. The Gambler



3. The Cryptographer



4. The Admirer



5. The Archivist



6. The Pro



7. The Night Owl



8. The Chum



9. The Scholar



10. The Accountant



11. The Client Firster



12. The Majority



If you are a trainee, take heart. RollOnFriday posters also came up with nine trainee tips, and 11 more.

Here's another one for free. Watch out for this trick used by 'Buzz'.

"To: All Trainees
From: Buzz
Subject: Monaco

Have any of you got capacity to fly out to Monaco tomorrow morning, get a signature on a doc from a client during the afternoon, stay over and catch a mid-morning flight back?


To: Buzz
From: Gullible Trainee
Subject: Re: Monaco

I could probably just about manage this if needed.


To: Gullible Trainee
From: Buzz
Subject: Re: Re: Monaco

Excellent, thank you. Thing is I don't need anyone to go to Monaco but I do need someone to spend the next two days in a data room in Slough so thanks for confirming you have capacity."