What was your First Job?
03-22-2011, 05:48 AM
#61
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: East Coast
Posts: 2,221
My first job was babysitting. I started when I was 12 and babysat many nights a week, weekend days and during the summer all through high school and a bit in college. I loved being with the kids, and I would tutor them, too, if they needed the help. I babysat over 300 kids, from 4 weeks old to 13 years old.
My mother was always trying to get me to take a "real" job, because babysitting paid much less than minimum wage. At one point, she set up an appointment for me at my high school's vocational office. The vocational counselor asked me what kind of work I liked, and I told him I loved babysitting, and he said, "That isn't what your mother had in mind, but I could use a good babysitter" so I ended up babysitting for his kids. To his credit, he did arrange a job interview for me at a local cleaners, but the guy asked me why I wanted to work at a cleaners, other than to earn money, and I couldn't think of anything to say. I didn't get that job!
My mother found my first "real" job for me, at an Italian food warehouse. They supplied all the Italian restaurants in the area, and they had a little market for the neighborhood people. My job included stocking shelves, cutting meats and cheeses in the deli, and sweeping up. It was a two-week temporary job, as they needed someone just until the owner's neice got home from college. My mother was convinced that if I did a good enough job, I could win it out from under the neice. I don't think so! I did a decent job, but I wasn't that excited about the work. It was a nice first job, but two weeks was quite enough.
My mother was always trying to get me to take a "real" job, because babysitting paid much less than minimum wage. At one point, she set up an appointment for me at my high school's vocational office. The vocational counselor asked me what kind of work I liked, and I told him I loved babysitting, and he said, "That isn't what your mother had in mind, but I could use a good babysitter" so I ended up babysitting for his kids. To his credit, he did arrange a job interview for me at a local cleaners, but the guy asked me why I wanted to work at a cleaners, other than to earn money, and I couldn't think of anything to say. I didn't get that job!
My mother found my first "real" job for me, at an Italian food warehouse. They supplied all the Italian restaurants in the area, and they had a little market for the neighborhood people. My job included stocking shelves, cutting meats and cheeses in the deli, and sweeping up. It was a two-week temporary job, as they needed someone just until the owner's neice got home from college. My mother was convinced that if I did a good enough job, I could win it out from under the neice. I don't think so! I did a decent job, but I wasn't that excited about the work. It was a nice first job, but two weeks was quite enough.
03-22-2011, 06:42 AM
#66
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Iowa
Posts: 8,108
My first job was detasseling corn. I'm an Iowa farm girl and lots of kids detassle. For those who don't know what that is....the corn stalks grow a tassel on top and you have to pull it off so that certain corn plants fertilize the ears of corn to form the kernals. The seed corn companies need to have the tassels removed to make hybred corn seed for next year. Lots of kids detassel in the summer. When I did it, we had to walk the rows with our arms above our heads pulling out the tassels. I had a real challenge because I am only 5 foot tall. Some corn is 6 feet or more. Now there are machines that you can sit on a ride while you are pulling them out.
My detasseling crew was a good one. We also "rougued" before detasseling started. That is when you use long knives shapped like hooks and cut out the abnormal corn stalks. The stalks were taller than the rest or had something wrong with them and needed to be cut out of the field.
My detasseling crew was a good one. We also "rougued" before detasseling started. That is when you use long knives shapped like hooks and cut out the abnormal corn stalks. The stalks were taller than the rest or had something wrong with them and needed to be cut out of the field.
03-22-2011, 07:13 AM
#67
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Bar Harbor, ME.
Posts: 2,911
My first job at age 15 was working for 4 corporations doing the bookkeeping and writing out rent receipts and keeping the profit and loss books. How they ever trusted a 15 year old to do that for two hours after school still amazes me. That I could do it just amazes me more :wink:
03-22-2011, 07:14 AM
#68
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Prince Edward Island, CANADA
Posts: 592
My first job began when I was 12, I baby sat day in and day out for a mere $1 per hour! I didn't make much money, but that was my way of being out of the house! At that age I began to buy my own school supplies and clothes and never ever had my mom buy me clothes again!
TreeFrog
TreeFrog
03-22-2011, 07:50 AM
#70
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Virginia
Posts: 269
My first job was in a little general merchandise 5 & 10 store in our small town, call "Ralee's"... I was 15 and I just sold a number of items, including working at the "candy counter" where you measured chocolate covered raisins, jelly beans, etc. with a little scoop and then weighed it for the customers. All I remember is the "really old" wooden floors that creaked and it being somewhat "dark" in there. I drew a paycheck, though!
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