What was your First Job?
03-21-2011, 10:58 PM
#51
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Salem Iowa
Posts: 15,666
Originally Posted by Rose_P
My first summer job was working in a Hallmark card factory. I thought it would be a lot more fun than it was. It certainly made me appreciate a chance to get an education. It was in a dusty wooden building with loud machinery, and a few of the experienced workers were less than friendly to the summer help because we tended to slow things down. They needed the bonuses that they could get for speedy production. I felt bad for them, but don't think they made things any better for themselves by making young people feel bad. I didn't see anyone who wasn't trying hard.
By the way, we were amazed while vacationing in Oregon a few years ago that they did not allow motorists to pump their own gas. Apparently it's against the law (or was at the time). Of course, they were not rushing around washing windows and checking tires and oil as they did when I was a kid, back when gas at the local Fina was 19 cents a gallon. (Does that ever make me feel old!)
By the way, we were amazed while vacationing in Oregon a few years ago that they did not allow motorists to pump their own gas. Apparently it's against the law (or was at the time). Of course, they were not rushing around washing windows and checking tires and oil as they did when I was a kid, back when gas at the local Fina was 19 cents a gallon. (Does that ever make me feel old!)
Dad had a hand crank cash register. and a hand operated calculator. We did take credit cards but you had to take a metal tray out to the car and have the customer sign the paper that scrolled across the paper tray. Then you gave them a copy and kept a copy to send to the company to get your money.
Oil cans were opened with a metal oil can opener that you stabbed into the can and then pushed the other end of the opener down onto the can creating a spout. NO plastic bottles with screw off lids.
03-22-2011, 04:53 AM
#53
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 1,157
Originally Posted by Rhonda
I never rogued but knew kids who did. I did detassel tho. That was a hot hard job. It was either too cold or too hot or too wet. Walking through wet corn stalks is no picnic. It gives you corn rash and the leaves cut like knives. But I did it for 3 yrs.
03-22-2011, 05:12 AM
#54
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Austin, Texas
Posts: 316
When I was 13 I worked on a tobacco farm for the summer (agriculture - 13 year olds could legally work). I earned $1.05/hour, worked 9 hours a day, 6 days a week. Got up at 5:00 a.m., caught the bus at 6:00, started work at 7:00. When I was 16, I worked in a hat factory for 3 days. I was let go because I didn't work fast enough. After that, I always did office type work.
03-22-2011, 05:23 AM
#55
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 69
My first job was in a delicatesan outside Chicago. I always smelled like fried donuts, baked ham and potato salad. I actually enjoyed the job and I love to cook to this day. I still make way too much potato salad when I'm making it for a party. I made friends with lots of regular customers. I made .35 an hour.
03-22-2011, 05:24 AM
#56
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Portage, MI
Posts: 651
My first job other than babysitting was as a seamstress in a shop that made clothing the summer after graduation from high school (summer of '66." The supervisor would drop a big bundle of cloth and I would sew the collar seams. After about 2 weeks I was called to work at the post office. I was hired with 3 other women and we were the first four women to work at the post office in Bay City, MI. It was a good job with good pay for the time. The men were fun to work with and were very worried about me going off to nursing school in Kalamazoo as this was the summer that 8 student nurses were murdered in Chicago by Richard Speck.
03-22-2011, 05:34 AM
#58
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Louisville, Kentucky
Posts: 1,915
My first real job was with a home builder as his secretary. It was really a lot of fun. I got to look at lots of house plans and plan for the future. In the end, I got none of the neat ideas I had stored in my mind. ha ha
03-22-2011, 05:48 AM
#60
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 682
My first job was as a paper girl. I had a route that I shared with my sister. We walked our route because of the Pa. hills. We did it after school during the week and I hated getting up early on Sunday mornings, especially in the winter
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