What was your first job?

[BlakeIC]

And how old were you when you got it?

My dad wants me to get a job this summer just to get experience
Which i see no problem with

and that just got me thinking about what other fastlaners did for their first job
I don't want to work at a fast food as i don't see it contributing any skills to me or at least i don't see an educational benefit

but as some say your first job is the hardest job to get, so i can't really be picky about my choices

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Runum]

Mowed grass until 16, then Dairy Queen.

 

[IAmTheJeff]

Sesame Place when I was 15.

 

[Kate]

15 at an assisted living home

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Hayden]

I've never had a real job. (19 and in college now). I have a website with a few things I sell, and I've bought/sold on craigslist since I was 14 or so. Mowed lawns before that.

Sent from my SM-T210R using Tapatalk

 

[Stubbers]

Emptying garbage bins in Glasgow, the best paid job for a 16 year old waiting to join the British army...

 

[FionaS]

Pizza Hut at 16, worked there until I went to university. Didn't think I'd learn anything going in, but that job, more than anything else, helped me with my fear of talking on the phone. I went from always handing the phone to my mom and missing calls on purpose to being able to call strangers. That was a huge step for me back then.

I also learned a lot about sales, customer service, the running of a business.

I wouldn't necessarily want to do it again at this point in my life, but I think it was a valuable experience for me.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[jon.a]

Pumping gas
I was 15
Gas was 21 cents a gallon

 

[Vigilante]

Paperboy as a youngster.

By age 15, I was managing a doughnut shop with employees working under me that were in their late 20's.

That was also the first and only job I was ever fired from.

 

[NicoleMarie]

You are right, in this economy you can't really be picky haha. That's why I ended up working in the deli at Piggly Wiggly at one point (ew hairnets). Money is money though. My VERY first job was technically babysitting at age 11 but my first official one was a cashier at Kohl's (about 18 years old). I took a year off after highschool just to work and then went to college.

What did Kohl's teach me? That you can't sell something to customers that they don't want, especially if it's a store credit card with big late fees. No one likes to have things forced on them and I despised being forced to basically "not take no for an answer." I made it my resolution to have a more passive way of selling someday that DIDN'T make me look pushy and wasn't a scam in disguise.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[jon.a]

Pumping gas
I was 15
Gas was 21 cents a gallon

I forgot paper boy, cutting grass and babysitting, so then about 11
I thought the OP meant a "real job"

 

[Vigilante]

Hey. Paperboy is a real job. Up at 3AM, bagging papers by 3:15AM, finished by 5AM. Back in the day, you actually had to collect the money from the customer and pay the newspaper company.

 

[ddzc]

Delivering newspapers at 8, started my first business at 12 as a bird breeder. Worked on payroll starting 15 as a dishwasher at a hall.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ddzc]

Hey. Paperboy is a real job. Up at 3AM, bagging papers by 3:15AM, finished by 5AM. Back in the day, you actually had to collect the money from the customer and pay the newspaper company.

LOL I actually had to do that. I had 70 houses, I never got paid until it was all collected. Had to go to the same houses multiple times a week bc they didn't have $6 on them (4 issues - every Sunday). Custom built a carriage attached to my bike to deliver...broke the pops balls in the snowy winter months Sunday mornings at 4AM to use his van to deliver. Made a whopping $50/mth to support my RC car hobby addiction back then

 

[jon.a]

Hey. Paperboy is a real job. Up at 3AM, bagging papers by 3:15AM, finished by 5AM. Back in the day, you actually had to collect the money from the customer and pay the newspaper company.

No shit. I did all that in Chicago and Dallas suburbs way too fking big papers. Sunday was terrible. More like self employed starter. As was baby sitting and cutting grass.

 

[Tiago]

16. Helping sort SS# in Germany's Tax Office
17. Labeling and sorting through merchandise for a sports company
18. Delivering pizza
18. Watching over a building site through the night shift.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[CarrieW]

first jobs were baby sitting starting at age 10-11ish... my first paycheck job was @ 14. working at Easter Seals as a summer day camp counselor for the handicapped children. one of the best most rewarding and eye opening experience in my life. I was very lucky to have the opportunity to learn it at a young age.

after easter seals *which was seasonal I started working in fast food. I was the queen of the drive thru LOL we had one of the busiest stores around and had lines wrapping the building during rushes (that on the weekends were solid for 8+10 hours or longer!) I was the fastest/best in the store. I could get cars from order to out the window in less then the 90sec goal! those who discount fast food jobs don't. I cant even put into words how much I learned from those jobs. I cant tell you how many other jobs I got because I was trained in customer service by Mcdonalds

@IAmTheJeff it was the one on old Lincoln highway across from the rack room right off 95

 

[pickeringmt]

I painted concrete lawn ornaments at about 14 years old.

It was awesome

 

[stranger]

I wrote articles in the local children magazine when i was 13 years old.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[scott.legendre]

phone support at a call center facility, supporting dell computers back when we had to walk users through how to re-seat processors, memory, and get the user to resolve computer problems. I got chewed out at least twice a day from customers about it, and chewed out by the floor managers for calls taking too long. fun times....

 

[ProblemSolver]

My first job was at 18 as a Busser in a local family owned restaurant. Worked there for 5 years while going through college. My first money making experience was when I was in 3rd grade (8 or 9 years old) and I would go to the gas station and buy blowpops, jolly ranchers, airheads and now & laters for 5-10 cents and sell them at school for 25 cents. I made a couple hundred bucks before being sent to the principals office!

 

[IAmTheJeff]

@IAmTheJeff it was the one on old Lincoln highway across from the rack room right off 95

Woooooow!!! No exaggeration about how busy that store gets! You had the benefit of the automated fryers though!!!!!!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[CarrieW]

Lol nope it was 1991 they got all kinds of new shit now. That is a test store for new ideas from corp. They did get everything first but we hand filled n dropped fries and no microwave qed system like on 413mcd system we only had clamshell grills

Sent from my SCH-I200 using Tapatalk

 

[Guest]

My first job was also my first entrepreneurial venture, although I didn't realize it at the time. I was 12 and selling snow-cones to the neighborhood kids when everyone else was selling lemonade. The snow-cone machine was one of those hand cranked ones, it broke right after it paid for itself.

 

[LibertyForMe]

Mowed grass all throughout grade school.

So my first legit job is a reaaally funny story; I suppose I will share it.

I was 15. After mom nagging me to go get a job, I figured I better at least try. Instead of handing out applications to the fast food joints, I went to a strip mall type place and just started walking door-to-door talking to the business owners.

So at this point, I am pretty nervous. I was 15, and I am basically pitching myself to try and land a job. I was determined that I was going to walk into every store in the strip. Well, the first store didn't need anything so I moved on to the second.

Since I was nervous and excited all at once, I didn't even look to see what store it was. I just pulled open the door and walked in there as fast as I could before I could talk myself out of it.

The owner immediately greeted me and asked me what I needed. I began my spiel about how I was wondering if they were needing help with anything...and then I looked around.

PINK. EVERYWHERE. I had accidentally walked into a girly party store. I am talking tiaras, glitter, the whole 9 yards. This place hosted Princess themed birthday parties for little girls.

I abruptly stopped talk, gathered my composure, and said I was sorry. I turned around and started heading for the door as fast as I could. Before I could get there, I heard the owner lady say "Stop, wait a sec."

She then asked me what I was good at. So I told her I was good at photoshop, painting, stuff like that. It turns out, she was in need of someone to paint one of the themed party rooms.

I spent the next month or so painting fairies, horse drawn carriages, and magical trees. LOL.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ProblemSolver]

Mowed grass all throughout grade school.

So my first legit job is a reaaally funny story; I suppose I will share it.

I was 15. After mom nagging me to go get a job, I figured I better at least try. Instead of handing out applications to the fast food joints, I went to a strip mall type place and just started walking door-to-door talking to the business owners.

So at this point, I am pretty nervous. I was 15, and I am basically pitching myself to try and land a job. I was determined that I was going to walk into every store in the strip. Well, the first store didn't need anything so I moved on to the second.

Since I was nervous and excited all at once, I didn't even look to see what store it was. I just pulled open the door and walked in there as fast as I could before I could talk myself out of it.

The owner immediately greeted me and asked me what I needed. I began my spiel about how I was wondering if they were needing help with anything...and then I looked around.

PINK. EVERYWHERE. I had accidentally walked into a girly party store. I am talking tiaras, glitter, the whole 9 yards. This place hosted Princess themed birthday parties for little girls.

I abruptly stopped talk, gathered my composure, and said I was sorry. I turned around and started heading for the door as fast as I could. Before I could get there, I heard the owner lady say "Stop, wait a sec."

She then asked me what I was good at. So I told her I was good at photoshop, painting, stuff like that. It turns out, she was in need of someone to paint one of the themed party rooms.

I spent the next month or so painting fairies, horse drawn carriages, and magical trees. LOL.

And to think if you had actually looked before entering, you probably would have never got that job. You never know whats behind the door until you open it!!!

 

[All In]

Worked at a Christmas tree lot. Unloading, moving, and selling trees.

 

[SteveO]

Paper boy in grade school, horse stable cleaner in jr. high, truck yard maintenance in high school, marine corps at 17.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Red]

First "real" job was scorekeeping/announcing games at the local ball fiends in the evenings at age 13 (parents provided transportation). At 15, I had a job at the Finish Line & could finally drive myself (at that point, you could get a restricted license in Kansas -to work/school, at 14).

 

[Get Right]

First Business: I made paper finger skateboards in 6th grade. Sold them for $0.25 each
First Employed Job: Grocery bagger