What was your first job?

[Nut]

Hello! I was wondering what were some poeple's first job... I'm 15, and I got a job at IGA, a grocery store near my house. Its my first REAL job! Ya I was so nervous the first day, but I made it through... :)
Before, I would just babysit my uncles dog on weekends (that was pretty fun) and I would get paid 20$ for sitting down and watching television. But things have changed...I have to work so much for 7$/ hour. Ya thats life...
Enough talking about me! hehe! So What was your first job????

[Xyandar]

Does Volunteer work count? I have been doing volunteer work for a year now. I'm collecting on my hours for school and getting the experience to put in Resumes. I applied for a few jobs and got interviewed but they all got back to me saying they found someone with more experience. It really pisses me off because I am always confused with how you can get the right experience for that job if you cant work! lol I know you can do volunteer work but I have been doing that for a year and I guess its still not enough...

I get an allowance tho lol. 40 bucks a month by each parent so 80:). I get it for keepin my room clean:D

[Sir Kyle]

You're complaining about $7.00 an hour? Let me tell you a story. A story about my work experience.

At the time that this is posted, I'm 18 years old, soon to be 19, and I've had a few different jobs over my tenure of high school and part-time service.

My first job ever was a job as an "all-around" worker at Arby's, a fast food restaurant for those not familiar with it. You know what I made? $5.15, or minimum wage as we call it. I worked there for two years of my life, with both heavy lifting, tons and tons of customer interaction, and smelling like absoulte crap when I would get home at night. At the end of that two year period at Arby's, I was making $5.80. That's it. Two whole years of my life, and all the more I got was not even 6 bucks.

Then I moved on to Target, a department store for those who might not have one near them (though most people have 3-4 near them ;). When I started there, working on the sales floor as a person who keeps things straight, helps the "guests" out when they need it, and performing different operations when needed. When I started, I made $6.75. Hell, I was estactic to make that much cash since it was almost a dollar more than what I made back at Arby's.

Now I'm in college and I don't have a job at the moment (yeah, a little lazy but I do work when I return home on break and make my cash there) and I can tell you I only made more that $7 an hour for about 3 months of my working life so far.

Anyways, be happy that you make $7.00 an hour when you're just 15 years old, that's a hell of a wage (at least it is here) and I'm sure the amount of work you do isn't as hard as you think it is. By the time you've worked there a month of two, that work will be absolute cake for you and you'll be making an easy 7 an hour without much effort.

And hey, at least you can say you're working. I'm glad you're not one of those kids who never ever has a job throughout high school and college because mommy and daddy take care of it. That's just pathetic, in my view, and doesn't adequately prepare you for life down the road.

Just my 2 cents, as it would be.

[Oukan05]

My very first job was babysitting in the age of eight. My step-mother had to go shopping for supplies and food. So, she let me babysit about eight to nine kids. They're from I guess ten months to four years old. It was kind of hard watching over them, but we had great times watching Barney:) and Pokemon:D . All of them really love me; like a big sister.:) The funny thing is, they sometimes either forget or say my name wrong; but it's so cute hearing that.

When that was over, I would get paid about $20.00. I think along time ago I had about $40.00 (from my dad) With that, I'd babysit anytime; especially during summer.

The second and last job I had was cleaning new houses that were on sell and display. Four of my friends and I had good time; there were intercome with radio. So, we can listen to music while cleaning. It was $6.00 an hour. After one week, I had $50.00. Though, I didn't spend it for myself. We all went to KOEL's. My friends were shopping for clothes (which were over $50), and I just bought a new watch for my dad for father's day, new bracelt with earrings for my mom, and a ponytail holder for myself. I felt good afterwards. It was a great experience. Also, my parents loved their gifts. This time, I don't have to get a job until either summer or never. My mom believes that education comes first; school and work is too much for me. I agree with her.

Woooo.....:sleep: what good times they were. Hopefully, I'd find a job working in a store that sells a bunch of anime.:D :D

[AnonymousSource]

I worked for $5/hour for my uncle Ken, who has a chicken house (then turkeys) and I picked up his dead birds and made sure they could eat... Do you know how hot and stuffy it is in there when they're just chicks!?

Ah well... I was young and didn't know any better... I also mowed the lawn...

[Guest cloricus]

I charge around 120$ per computer I build (normally 2 to 3 hours) and about 40$ an hour for computer work (20$ on mates rates) which includes anything from repairs, networking and programming. Other than that I'm currently trying to get a job in networking some where in town for money and experience.

[roymund]

My first job was as a movie theater floor staff. I got paid $9.50 an hour US STANDARD because it was a union job. Unfortunatly because it was a theater national laws said that entertainment industry gets no overtime....:eek:

Didn't seem so bad untill I started pulling daily 14 hour shifts monday through thursday and 18 hours friday, saturday and sunday.

It got so bad that I couldn't even stop and enjoy my $2090 bi weekly paychecks.... I was too busy sleeping!!!!

Then I went into Used car sales..... Made about 3 bucks in three weeks. Didn't have the knack.

Then I worked as a sound Stage roadie for.... :sweat: N'Sync on their Pop-Oddesy 2000 Tour :sweat: Don't tell anybody. That paid 27.85 an hour plus expenses....

Now I'm a full time college student who sells carpets and works part time as data entry for the NSA.....

So if you ever wanna buy a nice rug or hardwood floor... Gimme a holla PLEASE!!!!

[Japan]

My first job was like three or four years ago. I worked as a teacher assistant for this one mentally disabled class for summer school. It lasted for about a month.

It was hard work, but a lot of fun. I had to feed them their snacks and change their diapers, yes diapers. The feeding and the changing of the diapers were the worst. They were disgusting and very messy. I won't go into details though. There was also this one kid that smelled too.

Although there were a few mishaps, it was nice too. Every day, we would go on walks around the block. I got to pull the wagon. The two little boys, who were around the ages of four and six, rode in it. They were so cute!

Other than taking them for walks, we played with the kids. We played with all the toddler toys you could imagine. That, was a lot of fun.

This job also gave me quite a few headaches. After hearing some of the kids cry and have tantrums, and also the smell of a lot of baby powder...I felt like I wanted to scream.

*sigh* All this work was really for nothing....sort of. It was a volunteer job. At least, I got some job experience and I also got the chance to help those poor kids out. My wallet was just as empty as it was before the job, but I learned quite a few useful things.

[Corey]

[color=003333][size=1]I'm curious, roymund. How old were you when employed as floor staff at a theater?

My first job was at a catering company about three or four years ago. There was lots of heavy lifting and quite a bit of standing. I got $10 dollars an hour, but it wasn't worth it. I'm much happier at my 5.15/hour job than I was there.

Now I'm at a local mechanised carwash. Like I said, I make 5.15 an hour plus a small amount of commision depending on my sales. The only problem? I work too much. Right now, the busy season, I'm pulling 35+ hours a week out in the feezing cold. It's brutal, but the job itself and the people are much better.[/size][/color]

[ChibiHorsewoman]

[color=violet]I did the babysitting thing, but my first actual job was being a cart girl (Helping HAnds) at Wegmans around the corner from me.

I'm a friendly person-the customers sometimes gave me tips-but I hated most of the guys I worked with because they always stood around and I got yelled at. I was told I couldn't be a cashier by my supervisor because he said I couldn't handle it.

I also had to be outside pushing the damn carts in the middle of summer, over blacktop. I got heat exhaustion from doing that once and went in to see if I could go home. My surpervisor started yelling at me to get back to work-so I threw up on his shoes. Needless to say I went home that day. I also got fired from that job. All that crap for $5.15 an hour and they didn't even give me the hours they promised.

I worked at Tops Markets as a cashier (ha!), AVI fooodsystems doing a load of work, a few other cafeterias, a few factories jobs, a pharmacy and did more babysitting. I now work two jobs McDonalds and some molding job at a plastics plant. The most I've ever made is $9.00 an hour the least is the stupid $5.15 at Wegmans.

And if anyone is wondering, I was 16 when I started working-I'm 22 going on 23 now.[/color]

[Oukan05]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by ChibiHorsewoman [/i]
[B][color=violet]I did the babysitting thing, but my first actual job was being a cart girl (Helping HAnds) at Wegmans around the corner from me.

I'm a friendly person-the customers sometimes gave me tips-but I hated most of the guys I worked with because they always stood around and I got yelled at. I was told I couldn't be a cashier by my supervisor because he said I couldn't handle it.

I also had to be outside pushing the damn carts in the middle of summer, over blacktop. I got heat exhaustion from doing that once and went in to see if I could go home. My surpervisor started yelling at me to get back to work-so I threw up on his shoes. Needless to say I went home that day. I also got fired from that job. All that crap for $5.15 an hour and they didn't even give me the hours they promised.
.[/color] [/B][/QUOTE]


Oh:mad: , I know how you feel. I have a friend who works at a different store; she too had to go through that issue. Staying outside in the heat pushing carts and couldn't get a single drink; nor a break. Don't forget working late and during bad weather and holidays too. Heck, they never had breaks. Also, the employee issues. She told me about this guy who works with her right? He's all stuck-up and walks around while my friend had to do the hard labor. She told me alot about him. Although, he has a son, but he's young; now who's stuck-up? But still, I can see it. and I would quit if I had to go through it; heck my mom would drag me out after she beats the crap out of the boss and the mean employees I work for. It's a good thing she works somewhere else. I'm glad that's over.

[Darkest Moment]

[size=1]Doing drywall with my dad. I guess you could call that a job. I would put mud on the nail heads and he'd give me a quater a nail, witch turned out to total quite a bit in the end ^_^.

Hanging sheet rock for my dad's boss was also I job. 2 bucks a board I think it was, Im not sure it. This was all about 3 summers ago. I cant honestly say that I've had a true [i]first job[/i]. Over febuary vacation Im planning on appling at a daycare I used to go to. That should be fun :p[/size]

[Manic Webb]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Sir Kyle [/i]
[B]And hey, at least you can say you're working. I'm glad you're not one of those kids who never ever has a job throughout high school and college because mommy and daddy take care of it. That's just pathetic, in my view, and doesn't adequately prepare you for life down the road.[/B][/QUOTE]
That hurts when you say that, Sir Kyle. Really.

I just got my first job a little over a month ago. I'm working as a Market Research Recruiter. Fancy title, crappy job. I'm basically one of those people who stop you in the mall and ask you to take a survey. In some ways, it's an easy job. No heavy lifting. Not a large amount of skill involved. Only work 6 hours a day. However, that doesn't mean me and my co-workers don't think about quitting everyday. We have to stand up the entire time. We're not allowed to sit down in any of the 1,000 benches in the mall (looking at them only makes standing that much harder). No breaks. We have to stand at least 5 feet away from every store in the mall. We can't buy anything to snack on or drink from the vending machines or food court. We're only allowed to walk around the same little section, which is only 1/4 of the mall. Our quotas are ridiculous and impossible to meet. People reject us all day and even put their hands in our faces. Some people even dodge us by running in another direction. My friends and old classmates suddenly pretend not to know me when I'm at work. People stare at me like I'm crazy. One lady even told me I was scaring away customers. The turnover rate is ridiculous.

But hey, I'm getting paid. It's worth the $7.00/hour. Or is it? :therock:

[Panda]

My first "real" job was working as a cashier at a movie theater when I was 16. It was pretty good first job. I got free passes for my friends and family to watch movies, free soda and popcorn. Private screenings of movies before they opened to the public. I met the man who would later become my husband. I would have to say that my first job was pretty good. ^_^

[Farto the Magic]

I get paid $5.50 an hour to sit there and listen to a bunch of morons order food at McDonalds.

Example:
Me: What was the last thing?
Them: *nods* Yes.

People are stupid. My job sucks and I still have to pay for my food. Sombody shoot me. Now!

[Sir Kyle]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Manic [/i]
[B]That hurts when you say that, Sir Kyle. Really.: [/B][/QUOTE]

I'm sorry if that did offend you or if that was sarcasm (Damn internet and your lack of emotional distinction and such!), but I guess that's way I feel.

The reason is that I grew up in kind of a half rich/poor type of school where there were a lot of kids that bragged about not having to get jobs because mommy and/or daddy gave them a $1000 a month allowence as well as buying them things like Land Rovers and Trail Blazers for their sixteenth birthday.

Sorry I have to rant, but this is just one of those damn touchy issues with me. When I bought a car, I only had made about $1700 and managed to buy a crappy '91 Grand Am. She may be a piece, but I love her to death because I bought it with my hard earned money. I didn't have to beg my parents for cash or anything like that, I worked and got a car. I just figure that hey, all these rich kids do is party and be lazy all the time without learning the responsibility/employee skills they might need later in life while I'm gonna be prepared. Their lives, I suppose.

Maybe it was just the fact that when I was a young child, my father made absolutely no money one year according to his tax return. That's right, $0. All tha wasn't spent on essential things was spent on taxes. I don't know, perhaps I'm bitter, perhaps I'm jealous at other's good fortune as compared to mine.

I don't like feeling this, but I do. I guess it's one of my huge fallacies and I shouldn't really rant about it. You guys probably don't want to hear my sob story anyways :rolleyes:

By the way, if it WAS a joke, Good one! If not, then I still certainly digress from the topic by a long shot.

::Jumps back in topic::

So yeah, I've worked since I was 15 years old and made 5.15 for a year. Then went to 5.85 for another year, followed by the massively prosperous year where I made a whole 7 dollars. Yes, good times indeed.

[NorykoAngelcry]

[color=darkred][SIZE=1]Wow. . I have had too many jobs. . I don't even remember some of them. . (is that bad?)

My first job was with good old Kroger (one of those food places. . grocery store). I started off as a bagger. . but because I was more intelligent then almost everyone there, I moved up to cashier really fast. I made minimum wage, btw (at the time, it was like. . $5.50? - Ya, it's been a while). Umm. . I have to say. . for a first job. . as bad as it was, I have met some really good people who I still talk to this day ^_^ (specifically, my best friends Jenny/Mike/Jay/John. . good times). Jay and I used to compete with each other in seeing who could scan the most items in the fastest times. Most people would go for the fewest amount of items in the carts. . we would go for the full carts ^_^ It was great. Everyone thought that we were crazy! LOL

We also invented the Kroger Olympics! LOL, a set of events that involved using the carts in the parking lots. . we would see how many carts we could push at once. . (I think we cleared out the store on all the carts. . and could still manage to push them. . And that is a lot of carts (one would push, one would steal). Another thing would be to hurdle them sideways. I could barely jump one row, while Jay would jump two easily (he is taller then I am. . that's my excuse). . we had some others. .but oh well, another time. Plus, we would get out of work all the time by doing odd-jobs (often the nasty type) that no one else would volunteer to do. . Not only would we do it well, but we did it so fast that our bosses were pretty impressed ^_^

Anyways, I worked over there for about a full year. I left because they were some idiots. . I asked off Christmas break like, three months in advance, and they said it wouldn't be a problem. . then two months, then a month. . then like, every week till Christmas break. . I don't know that I would have minded, but I was going to Michigan to visit my family up there (no one comes between me and my family). Anyways, a week before we were going to leave for Michigan, they wouldn't let me have it off. . so, I wrote them a 1 week notice (ya, I know that it's supposed to be a 2 week notice) . . don't mess with me!! *waves a fist in an intimidating fashion*. .

I have worked lots of places, but I don't think I will ever work at a restaraunt. . just not my cup of tea. . I also won't stoop to trying to sell people stuff. . Retail (right now) is right up my alley. . I am not going to voluntarily try to sell people pieces of crap. . *shrug* shutting up now.[/SIZE][/color]

[Manic Webb]

My parents bought everything for me, I admit it. But I don't exactly come from a rich family. Not by a longshot. I just happened to get my support from my mom (who worked 2 jobs for a while), dad, step-mom, and grandparents. I got $20/week allowance from my mom, and everyone else would buy stuff for me and my siblings during holidays and birthdays. I was gonna get a job in high school, but (no lies, here) my grandmother encouraged me to enjoy not having to work while I can. She said I could start working after I got out of high school.

So then I spent my entire freshman year of college applying for jobs that I never got. I suppose it doesn't help that I started looking for my first job during a recession. I went through a few bad job interviews, and eventually landed a job in mid-December.

I didn't buy my first car. In March 2003, my grandparents got me a used '89 Honda Accord. I knew from the start that the only way I was getting a [i]new[/i] is if I paid for it myself. Which is what I'm saving up for, by the way.

I have been paying my own internet bill for the past couple of years, though. I'm very frugal, and that $20/week I was getting for allowance was more than enough to pay for Earthlink.

Since I got my job, I paid for college by myself. Tuition, those damned books, the parking permit that suddenly became $10 more expensive since Schwarzenegger took over, and even the extra stuff that certain teachers wanted us to have just for the sake of having. Those were a rough couple of paychecks, by the way.

I'm just glad the California minimum wage is $6.75. It's the second highest state minimum wage, I think.

Yep. I'm spoiled. But at least I got a job. And I'm paying my own way through school. I mean, it's not like I'm one of those people who decide they won't get a job in the mall until [i]after[/i] they get a degree in philosophy. :rolleyes:

[wiccansamurai]

[QUOTE]I just got my first job a little over a month ago. I'm working as a Market Research Recruiter. Fancy title, crappy job. I'm basically one of those people who stop you in the mall and ask you to take a survey. In some ways, it's an easy job. No heavy lifting. Not a large amount of skill involved. Only work 6 hours a day. However, that doesn't mean me and my co-workers don't think about quitting everyday. We have to stand up the entire time. We're not allowed to sit down in any of the 1,000 benches in the mall (looking at them only makes standing that much harder). No breaks. We have to stand at least 5 feet away from every store in the mall. We can't buy anything to snack on or drink from the vending machines or food court. We're only allowed to walk around the same little section, which is only 1/4 of the mall. Our quotas are ridiculous and impossible to meet. People reject us all day and even put their hands in our faces. Some people even dodge us by running in another direction. My friends and old classmates suddenly pretend not to know me when I'm at work. People stare at me like I'm crazy. One lady even told me I was scaring away customers. The turnover rate is ridiculous.[/QUOTE]
If my mom allowed me more than an hour at the mall, I would do those surveys, just because of what you just said.

[QUOTE]The reason is that I grew up in kind of a half rich/poor type of school where there were a lot of kids that bragged about not having to get jobs because mommy and/or daddy gave them a $1000 a month allowence as well as buying them things like Land Rovers and Trail Blazers for their sixteenth birthday.[/QUOTE]
That's still mean. I'm that kind of person. My parents wouldn't think of letting me get a job. Of course, I don't really get an allowance either. Lunch money is as good...

I do a few babysitting things, if some odd relative needs it. Even then, like everything, I have to share that with my twin.

[Sir Kyle]

Just to clear a few things up, I don't mean any disrespect to any one here. It seems that my little grudge against those with wealth has upset a couple people and could potentially upset some more if I don't clear things up a bit.

Basically, I grew up in quite the unwealthy family and have had to work for my cash ever since I became of legal age to work. Other kids that were my age were getting new clothes every week, new cars on a whim, new gadgets, and basically an invitation to be lazy and unmotivated to do anything. Why do anything at all if you don't have to?

I'm not trying to offend anyone here. Quite the contrary, I don't want to make any enemies or make anyone angry or mad at me. Basically, I was just spouting off about how some kids don't have to do jack **** and get along better than me who had to work long hours for many years. I guess it was more of a post of rage and anger, not really thinking to hard.

I was over-generalizing (a definite no-no) and assumed that most people raised like that acted like that. I didn't assume the same of people here, though it seems that people have taken it differently than I intended. I apologize.

WHEW! Anyways, to sum it all up: I=not very wealthy and fortunate. I grow up to see kids my age be lazy, stuck up, and prissy because of their parent's wealth and good fortune. Stupid me assumes that most people are like that. People get offended when I spout off my feelings, and I feel like an ***. Bottom line, I'm sorry to all I've made feel bad.

Really, I am.

[pbfrontmanvdp]

My first job was lifeguarding at a private pool club (which i also was a member at) from being 14 years old to 17. Didn't really get paid that much: started at $6.00 and hour then got a 25 cent raise each year i stayed. Great thing about it was i knew everyone there since like i said i was a member there for 18 years and all my friends went there. Plus i knew the snack and meal bar owners and they would give me free food all the time. I never really had to save someone in a serious situation, but i did have to save little children a couple times from getting injured. One case which could have been fatal is a small child around the age of 2 was about to dive head first in the shallow end of a pool only 2 feet down, but before he/she could do that i grabbed the child back. Parents thanked me for like the entire day when they saw me do that. Lifeguarding is a great job for teenagers and plus you learn how to do life saving techniques which is lifetime benefit.

[Fall]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Sir Kyle [/i]
[B]My first job ever was a job as an "all-around" worker at Arby's, a fast food restaurant for those not familiar with it. You know what I made? $5.15, or minimum wage as we call it. I worked there for two years of my life, with both heavy lifting, tons and tons of customer interaction, and smelling like absoulte crap when I would get home at night. At the end of that two year period at Arby's, I was making $5.80. That's it. Two whole years of my life, and all the more I got was not even 6 bucks.[/B][/QUOTE]Damnit, that's exactly where I am. I've been working at Hungry Jack's, a fast-food restaurant, for a bit over two years now, and I'm on $5.50 per hour. I'm not too worried though, we get away with everything up there, and I'm only after some pocket-money. This is the only job I've ever had. Apart from mowing lawns on weekends in town for a bit of cash.

[lea]

[COLOR=blue]I have been looking for a job for over 6 months....
I still dont have one yet.
Jobs are extremely scarce where I live.
When this new store opened up, there was a reported over 200 people lined up in a humongouse line, to apply for jobs.
Not one person was there to buy anything...
=\ [/COLOR]

[terra]

You know, even though minimum wage is whatever it is, companies can get away with paying you much less by just calling it an "internship." Right now I'm interning at a publishing company, and I'm getting paid the whopping amount of $10 a day. The rest of my pay is "experience." :p Well, I am grateful for the experience, but considering I come in 9-5, I'm technically getting paid just slightly over a dollar an hour. If you want to put it in those terms. Plus I take the train into New York and need a subway ride ... so I'm losing money every day. :)

Anyway, my first job was ....... *thinks back* It must've been when I was a receptionist at the sister company of my friend's dad's company. It turned out to basically be signing for mail, answering the occasional phone call, and browsing the web. Requires a lot of intelligence, really. At least it was relaxing.

[the_fizz]

[color=royalblue]Well my first job was with my high school district as an Emerald(theater tech):D. I was into theater in high school and they gave students job doing stage works for other school actives like; student and teacher pep rallies, meetings held at night in the school, elementary school plays, and ect.. I did it for two years and then I graduated and had to move on. :( But, I loved it,:love: because I got to get paid for what I like to do for free in class.[/color]