OT: We all started somewhere- Your first job
My 14 year-old son begins his first "formal" job today. He will be working in a diner kitchen at a summer campground doing various chores and whatever gruntwork the new guy has to do. He's always been a good worker- I'm proud of him, and grateful he has this opportunity.
This got me thinking of my first "real" job. Working at a local vegetable farm. It was April - September, 7 AM - 5 PM (during the summer months- during school, 3:30 - 6 PM), and all manual labor. I was 12. It was hard work- but there was still plenty of time for dirtball fights, smoking cigarettes, listening to the radio, hot-rodding on the farm equiptment, teasing (and learning about) the girls that worked with you, and other various forms of mischief. I learned a lot and would not trade that experience for anything!
So just wondering, MGo community- what was your first job?
Go Blue!
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Worked at the member service desk at Sam's Club in Muskegon. Interesting crowd of customers, but not nearly as interesting as the WalMart next door.
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-I picked raspberries for .10 a quart in the neighborhood. There are alot of raspberries in a quart if you are picking and don't get to eat them. Whew!
-First job with a pay check was putting party ice in bags at an ice factory and loading the ice trucks. I think the pay was about two dollars an hour. Whew!
I mowed lawns and worked picking blueberries at one of my friends' farm at around 13 or so, sold Cutco knives in high school, then washed rv's the summer after graduating.
I was a bus boy at Denny's, and loved that carrot cake. I moved up to working as a bus boy at the Innkeeper, which was then the fancy restaurant out at Detroit Metro airport. In addition to bussing, we also did room service for the attached hotel. I had some pretty wild things happen doing room service.
I called Little League games, girls softball games, etc for like $6/game. We'd also operate the scoreboard/keep score for older kids baseball games. Man those were the days...
Dishwasher and busboy at a beef buffet restaurant.
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for the rag that can no longer be mentioned. It was better then.
Then caddying at Meadowbrook CC. Long days, but for a 13/14 year old, great dough.
I worked at a department store in Dallas when I was 16, in the men's underwear department. I don't know whose brilliant idea it was to put a teenage girl in men's underwear. I remember a caregiver coming in to buy underwear for the man she took care of. She didn't know his size, so I had to open all the packages and unfold the boxers so she could see them. They just kept getting bigger and bigger, and I found myself holding up a pair of like 46 boxers and she said, "Yep, those are the ones." I grew up a lot in that job.
Paper boy. And I sucked at it because I would never deliver early enough. Lots of blue collar people on my route that wanted their paper by 6:30 am. I was typically an hour late and my customers were not happy most of the time. Collection days were always fun.../s.
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(which gives you an idea how long ago THAT was) working for minimum wage, I worked in "shipping," which meant I became very adept at using a handtruck, a box cutter, and a straw broom. I got a raise because the fed increased the minimum wage.
One of my motivators for success was thinking about being stuck in a job like that. Oh, and I was working for my father, which really sucked...trust me I did not go into the family business. This was actually a good thing, because textile manufacturing went overseas beginning in the mid 70's.
That place taught me what hard work really is.
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Delivering room service at a 5 star, 5 diamond hotel. Greatest job ever. Hourly wage sucked, but the tips were great.
Delivered room services to Walter Payton, Paul Newman, Mario Andretti and a lot of rich people.
I was with a crew of room service waiters aged 17 to 19. We got away with murder. So many interesting and hilarious experiences that have unfortunately never been topped since.
My buddies dad was a contractor so in the summers my friend and I worked for him doing odd construction jobs making 7 bucks an hour. Minimum wage at the time was 3.35. I was 12, I was rich, I had a brand new Schwinn 10 speed and the girls all wanted me lol. I loved construction then and do now. I am a civil engineer.
My first job was with the local Little League baseball organization. I got to drag the fields, chalk the lines in the infield and paint the outfield, make the batters box, etc. Great first job to get to hang outside on a baseball field every day after school
Lead to a shipping and receiving position for me that I would end up working 60+ hours a week.
I guess I can say I am happy I did it because I made me realize I how I needed to get my ass to college and I did!!!
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It wasn't a real job per se, but when I was about 7 years old, my brother and sisters and I would do a bit of yard work for my grandparents (my dad mowed the lawn because we were so young). What I remember most was my grandmother plying us with lemonade and cookies while my grandfather groused about kids these days. One of his favorite refrains was "when I was your age I worked from sun-up til sun-down for 25 cents. I was never quite sure if what he was telling was true, but given that he was born in January 1900 on a farm, it's likely he was doing manual labor before the age of 10.
Later, I did snow shoveling and yard work for neighbors from about age 12-16.
At 16, I got my first "real" job: a busboy at a Sveden House buffet. There were almost never any tips. Ever since then, I always tip well unless I get really crappy service.
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I had the paper route and shoveling snow type things but my first 'real' job was at mcdonalds.
In Michigan at the time you had to be 16 to work. I was 15 and forged my birth certificate to get a work permit. I worked there about a year.
One day my friend was having a huge party and I called in sick to work for that night. For some reason my mom offered to drive me to work which she NEVER did. I told her I was ok to walk but she insisted. She took me there, dropped me off in the back, and I sneaked off. As I was walking to my friends house down 11 mile I hear someone beep. It was one of my bosses from mcdonalds on their way to work.
I go to my friends house. Mom calls and talks to my friend and asked where I am as work had called after the boss found out I called sick and had just seen me. I lived two blocks away and Mom told friend she is coming over. I take off running down street and then Mom is there with her car. When I told her why I called in she was pissed and was going to take me to work to 'teach me a lesson about responsibility.' After talking with my mom, the boss and I, my boss fired me on the spot.
My Mom felt really bad as she thought they would write me up or something. She felt so bad she let me go to the party!