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My first job was at age 13. I road my bike 2 miles to a neighbors barn to clean stalls after school.
Still worked there at 16 when I took on a 2nd job at a local grocery store working after school. Then would go home change clothes and go clean the barns. All while taking extra classes at school so I could graduate a semester early

Needless to say I was taught early on the value of hard work.
 
eggzotik said:
I was a pickle packer in high school. In college I worked for the dorm as a receptionist then it was a server at the cafeteria where I met DH. Also worked at Burger King and as substitute teacher and then finally into the medical field....
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Do we even have make an attempt on a pickle packer? :9: :shesaid:
 
First non -babysitting job was bus girl at an Italian restaurant. Moved up to deli clerk at the local Certified (anyone else say they've gotten head cheese in their ears? ewwww....). I've waitressed at a country club, Applebee's and Leona's. I've worked at the cafeteria at Eastern both as line worker (passed out the food) and as dishwasher (again, ewwww....) I worked at Northern Reflections, a clothing store at the mall. Walgreens for the past 13 years as a pharmacy tech. Teacher.

I'm glad for every experience. They have taught me the value of education, and the value of hard work. Most importantly, it has taught me the service profession is HARD and to be kind to everyone in that position because they are people, too.

fun thread, btw
 
How do you like the pharmacy work Annie? Is it contract or are there benefits?
 
my very first job was a paper route at 11. it totally stunk! it was delivering the advertiser back in the day when the papers were huge, i did that for a while and then delivered the kenosha news, that was no fun either. from there i was employed as a duster and cleaner at little bit antiques and the old bank antiques in richmond, illinois at age 12-13. dusting antiques could not be less fun. and i cut the grass and raked the yard for mr eldredge in richmond. he has/had the property at the corner of rt 12 and 173 where the white picket fence is still up all along the east side of rt 12. he was a grinch!! after that i was employed as a contruction cleaner on jobsites, pretty fun doing downtown chicago higrise and a few other regular cleaning jobs. next job was working at dom's village inn in twin lakes wisconsin. i stunk at that job as far as i can figure, but got great tips because of my wonderful personality, hahaha, i did rake in the bucks! but looking back, i know it was not my cup of tea. and from there i am an executive in marketing and research, lol. had ya there for a moment. i wish. i am a self imposed shut in. lol. not today! it is going to be hot, hot, hot today and we have school parent teacher conferences.
 
I have some interesting stories from my high school/college jobs... Way more than I can write up...

First job other than babysitting was at Kids R Us. It was in a shady area and I watched a woman take the tags off a pair of shoes and put them on her kid. She turned around and saw me and yelled at the top of her lungs that I was racist. I hid in the dressing room and cried.

When I was 18 I started waitressing... Second job was at TGIFridays. It was in the same bad area. We actually had a security guard because a man killed his wife in the parking lot. I made money because I ran my **** off but I had several tables walk out on their bills or not tip at all. It was a character builder!!
 
I lived in the city and because my mom was an election Judge I always had a job in some kind of "program." Started when I was 13, I worked at our areas council office with some kids shuffling papers. I always worked at day camp in the summer at the park across the street from my house. I sold city stickers at city hall which was so much fun. Probably the most fun job I ever had. My last year working for the city I worked for a judge at the Daley Center swearing in juries. They were all summer jobs and when I was officially old enough to work I worked at a shoe store so there were times I worked every day.
 
11-14 - I balanced the neighbor's books(AP/AR).
14 - Daycare assistant at Wright college
14 & 15 - Counter person & night time supervisor at Michelle's bakery in Lincolnwood Mall
15 & 16 - Hostess at Spaghetti Warehouse
16 - Order taker at McDonalds in Willmette, IL
17 - Appt. setter at Amm's Limousine in Chicago, IL
18 - Telemarketer(set appt. for life insurance)

I didn't learn really learn anything from any of the above jobs aside from the fact that I liked having $$ in my pocket.
 
14 - lied about my age (cause seemed like everyone was doing it) and worked at McDonald's. Main thing I remember is the manager put my register key in his shirt pocket and told me I had to take it out. I now feel that male McD's managers are jerks who like to be in charge of teen girls.
15-highschool worked at Park Forest Theater. Probably learned that I love popcorn, giving birth on the lobby floor before the theater opens is weird (the manager, not me), recording the movies is illegal (again the manager, not me)
17-18 while attending community college - Lerners (I think that's how it's spelled - it's retail) I was a cashier and did "freeze" modeling. That's where you stand in the window like a mannequin. Biggest thing I remember learning there is I am naive. One time the manager asked as we were closing up and leaving if anyone had any earrings or jewelry or something like that and I said, "Yeah, I have some in my purse." It never occurred to me until sometime later that she was asking if anyone had stolen any.
Moved to Texas and worked at a truck stop (long story but that's where my boyfriend was) - learned that people at that truck stop had a different set of morals and marriage didn't mean anything to most of them.
After that worked at Burger King, Long John Silver, Heakin Research, Red Lobster, Pathway Financial and finally figured out I wanted to finish college to get a better job. Oh, and I always hated working at restaurants.
 
First job - age 13 bussing table part time at the restaurant where my mom was a waitress, what I learned: my momma was a rock star workhorse whom everyone loved & I'd better at least be up to the standard she set so as not to embarrass her. And that a good Sunday brunch is the bomb :giggles:

Next, still age 13 (8th grade) working as a shampoo girl & receptionist at a hair salon in town 4 nights a week after school plus Sat & Sun. what I learned: If you are the very best minion you can be you get to be the boss of all of the other minions :giggles: Thus began my quest for perfection on the job (to the point of being neurotic) :lol:

Kept that job until I was a Jr. in high school. Sophomore year I also started working at McDonald's as part of the school's co-op program, worked from 10-2 instead of school during the week and worked weekend shifts at the salon. What I learned: To juggle two jobs + my other responsibilities, this would be a valuable lesson in the future (even though I didn't know it at the time!)

Worked various office jobs until I was 19 and already had DD I also started waitressing at the restaurant where my mom worked. This was also my first foray into "****tailing" as the lounge had a 4:00 a.m. liquor license. What I learned: You absolutely can't screw up when momma is watching your every move or you'll never hear the end of it! I could write a book about what I learned working in a 4:00 bar :lol:

By 21 I had DD and DS and worked 2 full time jobs, one in Sales Finance at Hewlett-Packard during the day and at the aforementioned restaurant at night and on the weekends. What I learned: to function without sleep.

Have worked my way up the "admin" ladder ever since working as an Executive Assistant, Operations Manager etc., took a break for a few years after I I left a dot com job (just before the bust with my stock options in tact :giggles:) in which I was a freelance web designer and "virtual assistant".

Then I took the job as a Legal Assistant and Records Manager at Solo Cup, and now I'm an Office/Operations Manager/Marketing Manager/Project Supervisor/A million other titles :lol: for a business brokerage firm where I helped start a new division strictly dedicated to facilitating the buying & selling of pharmacies.
 
Babysat my 4 brothers at age 10. Other peoples kids from age 11-18, over sixty different kids. This helped me learn how to deal with children of all ages and has helped me with my current job, as I do not have children of my own.

Had a newspaper stuffing gig with my brothers at age 10-13. This job taught me efficiency, organization and teamwork.

From 14-16 yrs old, I rode my bicycle 9.5 miles one way to work at a veterinary clinic during the summer and on weekends. I learned I did not want to be a veterinarian. I cleaned kennels and fed the animals on weekends so I had to be responsible and be there or they would go hungry. I was the only one there on Sundays which now when I think of it was a little scary. I also had to learn to deal with death as I saw many animals euthanized.

When I could drive I worked at a snack shop at the local hospital as a cook,waitress, busperson, and dishwasher all-in-one. Lots of responsibilities with this one, plus I learned how to cook simple foods.

I worked as a bus person and lunch waitress at a fancy restaurant the summer before I started college. Learned how to work quickly and how to promote the expensive desserts to pad the bill.

In college, I worked as a file clerk in the financial aid office. Learned how to file efficiently. First time working with coworkers of other races than my own, which was fun. Learned that many parents don't take the time to read and fill out financial aid forms correctly. And learned about Affirmative Action.

During the summers, I had two jobs, in the A.M. I was a prep cook for an Italian restaurant (More cooking skills)and in the P.M. I was a waitress at Pizza Hut. I loved being a waitress. I was good at it. Learned that there are some people who should not be allowed to eat in public places as they have no manners for it. Still at Pizza Hut after college and then took on a second job as a ****tail waitress which I did not like, so I became a bartender in the same establishment. Did not learn much from bartending except some good recipes.

I finally got a job with my degree one year out of college. I was a mental health counselor for an adult day treatment/day hospital program for the mentally ill. I loved this job! It paid little money but good benefits so I had to keep the bartending job. I left the mental health job after 10 years, I was tired of insurance companies dictating the treatment for these folks. It was just wrong.

During this hiatis, I worked part-time for an apple orchard and a Christmas tree farm. I also helped a friend who owned a daycare with opening in the mornings.

Four years out of college I got a job on a volunteer fire department and 25 years later, I am still working for them but now in a part-time/fulltime position. I continue to learn daily at this job and I meet the most wonderful people even sometimes in their darkest hours.

What holds for the future? Hopefully, retiring in 5-7 years and then something fun part-time.
 
hsmomof6 said:
14 - lied about my age (cause seemed like everyone was doing it) and worked at McDonald's. Main thing I remember is the manager put my register key in his shirt pocket and told me I had to take it out. I now feel that male McD's managers are jerks who like to be in charge of teen girls.
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He could've put it in his pants pocket. :9:
 
My first job was in an office, I was in the high school office work program so got out of school early and went to work, it was great because alot of my friends had to work nights and weekends and I was lucky and worked M-F 12-5 so work did not interfer with my nights & weekends plus I was paid better and I got a course credit for work.
 
Caddys have to pay their dues. It can all pay off in the long run though.

Ever hear of the Evans award? Need to put in 3 years to qualify for it.

boyzrus said:
Kathy, I feel your pain on the teenagers! My oldest one had a caddy job last summer. They didn't assign bags the day before, you had to go and sit and wait. There were LOTS of returning caddies and college kids and he got 1 in 1 week! Kind of hard to make him keep going, getting up at 6am, riding his bike 5 miles, to sit for 8 hours with no work. So now we have to get him to do something else! He has no money, but doesn't care.
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wewsrw said:
Caddys have to pay their dues. It can all pay off in the long run though.

Ever hear of the Evans award? Need to put in 3 years to qualify for it.
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Ya but it is a **** to get. Start kissing some **** NOW!!!!!!!!!:sex::sex:
 
Mine was at 15 for the Warrenville Bowl, on Tues. and Thurs. night I ran the grill for min. wag plus tips. It was ok for my first job. I do remember a guy ordered a burger every Tues. night with a bag of chips and I could bowl for free anytime I came in. After that it was Subway for 3 years, then MCD.'s and now Wendys.
 
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