topic What Was Your First Legal Paying Job? in Among Friends

What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

Flatbush — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 07:59:17 GMT

I had my working papers at 15. It was a part time job and I was a stock girl in a women's clothing store.

I had to change from my high school uniform and wear a black, navy or dark brown dress.

It was a tedious job and if I ever thought of dropping out of school. it changed my mind in a jiffy.

So, what first job did you have and did it influence you at all?

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

Desertdi — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 08:05:28 GMT

Legal secretary at a title company. I decided that being a "Della Street" wasn't as good as it looked........ I went on into public relations.......and then accounting.

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

2Kittys — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 08:18:00 GMT

I made "boot-leg" 8 track tapes and the mini tapes. It wasn't exactly legal, but it paid my bills until I could get a better paying job, that became my lifelong career in I.T.

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

Xivambala — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 09:07:17 GMT

While in high school, I worked part-time at an independent convenience store close to school. I was always uncomfortable there because the elderly manager was clearly an alcoholic and drank in the back office. I also worked in trade for free admission to my favorite obsession at the roller skating rink. This was at 'The Hub' in Chicago for anyone that lived there in the late 60's/early 70's. No money changed hands for this one. The owner got free labor, and I (along with the others that participated) got to skate free! Fortunately, I had my own car in high school to cart myself around to these places.

None of this influenced my later careers, many that they were.

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

Tinkrbl44 — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 09:09:42 GMT

@Flatbush wrote:
I had my working papers at 15. It was a part time job and I was a stock girl in a women's clothing store.
I had to change from my high school uniform and wear a black, navy or dark brown dress.
It was a tedious job and if I ever thought of dropping out of school. it changed my mind in a jiffy.
So, what first job did you have and did it influence you at all?

@Flatbush

First "legal" paying job?

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

Desertdi — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 09:15:10 GMT

@Xivambala

YES..........I used to go skating at THE HUB

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

Mary Bailey — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 10:08:54 GMT

Old Chicago Amusement park at Arby's for a couple of weeks, then the amusement park as a sweeper. I met my HS bf there.

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

on the bay — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 10:26:58 GMT

@Flatbush -

I was 15 too with a "work permit."

Do we still start that young?

Anyway, I think my first was at a Baskin Robbin's store. I loved that job except in the summer when lines were long, and my arm felt like it would fall off.

The sweet elderly couple eventually let me run the store by myself. The "Mrs." taught me how to decorate the cakes. In the winter, I would do my homework, sing as loud as I could,swing back and forth on the cases, and yes, take a spoon and try all 31 flavors! 😁 ( I was the only one in the store. Back then, I never had fear of that)!

One time a man came in and ordered Pralines and Cream. He said, what happened to all the pralines? Lol, I ate them in a night of shame haha!

My mother always wondered why I wasn't hungry for dinner.

Who would be after a milkshake and sundae!🤭

I was always so grateful to that couple for teaching me responsibility, and care for a job well done (the cakes) and entrusting me with operating their store.

The other job I had, and I can't remember if this was my first or second, was at Hot Shoppes, my favorite place to eat. It was like the McDonalds (which I also worked at in college-great job too!) of our time.

I rode my bike several miles on the highway-who does that now?!, in my pretty pink uniform.

That was run by Marriott. What a great training program they had. It was a wonderful company and they were so good to their employees, treated them like students of not just restaurant work but life. Responsibility, hard work, attitude, respect, and "the customer is always right!" This last one taught me to hold any anger or frustration in towards rude customers later in my life.

I loved being a waitress, all thru highschool and college, and sometimes even later, but sometimes I really had to remember that attitude.

Later teaching special needs kids for the rest of my working days, that "customer is always right" became important in a different way when extra love, patience and understanding was needed

Thank you @Flatbush for such a great thread. I will look forward to reading others!

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

doolie — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 10:37:21 GMT

Day after graduation at 17 was a Secretary at a Wall Street Brokerage Firm.

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

cbrite — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 10:39:03 GMT

Quicky filling up all the food in an ALL YOU CAN EAT place. One time running into the kitchen to get more hot gravy I slipped and it and I went all over.

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

cotton4me — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 10:47:20 GMT

At 15 I began work as a salesclerk at a local department store. I really enjoyed the job. They let me dress the mannequins and for a time I thought about fashion merchandising as a career.

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

gidgetgh — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 11:09:33 GMT

I was a switchboard operator at an answering service starting in 1973, when I was a senior in high school. Think Lily Tomlin on Laugh In. Headset, big switchboard and all the cords. Each board held 100 lines and we each had 8 cords, so the ability to be on 8 lines at once.

I also worked there summers during college. I LOVED that job!

It taught me how to handle phone calls pleasantly and quickly. And I was really fast at taking messages, which were all handwritten on little message sheets. You had to work fast, especially during peak calling times. All that phone stuff served me well in my future career.

Great crew of people. We had high school girls working as well as older women and we all got along great. We answered for doctors, real estate companies, private homes (the pre answering machine days), insurance agents and tons of other type businesses.

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

shaggygirl — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 11:28:34 GMT

At 15 and growing up & going to school in Pa. came with a busload of other teens (a hired bus and we were supervised) came to Ct. that summer to work on a tobacco farm. After high school worked in D.C. but eventually wound up back in Ct. to live.

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

ninjawife — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 11:34:32 GMT

I was a news carrier at age 12. I collected fees from my customers to pay for my newspapers. Whatever was left was my pay.

I got my first paycheck at 16 when I worked in the dietary department in a nursing home.

Along with those jobs I babysat and taught dancing at the school where I took lessons- my lessons were free for teaching.

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

Imaoldhippie — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 12:15:37 GMT

I dont believe I have ever had an Illegal paying job.

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

Meowingkitty — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 12:39:25 GMT

My first job was in high school where I took something called COE. It was school in the mornings and work in the afternoon. I worked as a receptionist on saturdays and a couple of days a week. I got fired because I was painfully shy and had no clue what I was doing. No one trained me. All I was told to do was cut out newspaper clipping of houses they had for sale and paste them in a book. My first real job was in the dietary department of a hospital where I met my husband.

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

Shanus — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 12:44:31 GMT

Legal...not quite sure, but did modeling as a child when I was 6 through 12. I was paid with clothing from the stores. I first received a paycheck working retail in fashion and cosmetic counters in high school and college.

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

Xivambala — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 12:59:24 GMT

@Desertdi wrote:
@Xivambala

YES..........I used to go skating at THE HUB

@Desertdi

WOW! What a coincidence! My mother actually pushed me into roller skating when I was little. When I started high school, I was there every day, hence, the job so I didn't have to pay the entry fee. I was sad to hear when they tore it down. The Maurice Lenell that was close by used to do a lot of business with my grandfather. My grandfather was a mechanic and had his own service station where he performed maintenance and repair on their trucks.

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

jubilant — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 13:06:41 GMT

There was a new mall being built in our area. I applied for a job in the fanciest dept. store there. I got a job in their service center and did a variety of things. Switchboard, gift wrap, taking credit card applications, handing out money bags in the morning, the voice over the intercom, etc. It was a fun job because of the variety. I never was bored!

Re: What Was Your First Legal Paying Job?

amyb — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 13:15:29 GMT

Worked for a live summer theater (open air then...still exists, was made year-round about 20 years ago)...age 17-22. Usherette, Box office, occasional wardrobe. One of my favorite jobs.

Before then when I was a kid, would help in my family's printing shop in the summertime before their week vacation in July when they'd be "crushed" to get everything done before closing for a week. Old school print shop where we'd: collate by hand, then put pamphlets through the staple machine, help with shipping/wrapping...whatever needed doing that we, as kids, could do...probably about age 12. #memories