OT - What Was Your First Job?

henapple

Mickey said:

Setting bowling pins for a nickel a frame.

They bowled in the 1800's?

:-/

henapple

My step dad married my mom when I was 6. At six I was roofing, laying block, pouring concrete, etc... First paying job a dishwasher at a steakhouse. Junior summer did 40 hours hauling lumber at a construction site and 30 at the restaurant. I've been paying my own way ever since.

billyray

Delivered newspapers at 10, started parking cars at the Salinas Rodeo at 12 and at 13 was cutting meat with my dad and grandfather.

Doc_Eggerton

My first steady student level part time job was Police Cadet/Dispatcher/Booking Officer while I started college.  My first self supporting job was a Police Officer.

CowboyEngineer

Pizza delivery

sodigthisbigcrux

I worked at an old Super Market chain called Alpha Beta when I was about 15 and a half...for about 2 weeks before I missed a shift and was let go.  Ended up getting a job a few months later at Domino's pizza, which was actually a fun gig as one of my best friends was a manager. Funny enough, the brother of my then girlfriend managed a liquor store across the street...so pizza/beer trades were a common thing, which was pretty great for a 17 year old

Chubbs

Shucking oysters for an oyster bar. 15 years old

erniemcclain

Paper route for the Muskegon Chronicle in Muskegon, MI.  Winters were tough.

 

pasoegg

tobacco farm...from planting to harvest 6 days a week just abought all day...no sick days or call in's...got real friendly with a garden hoe and wore nothing but shorts - sneakers - t shirt -ball cap.  Tough way to make enough money to buy the first ride ..... 1973 Buick Century!  and a pretty durn good tractor driver at 8 years old!

henapple

Got real friendly with a garden hoe? Me too.

Fred19Flintstone

The weirdest job for a young person I've heard of belonged to my first roommate at college.  I can't remember the guy's name, but I remember some of what he told me.  The City of Hazel Park, Michigan didn't have their own in-house coroner transport service.  It was private.  My roommate's job was to transport bodies.  He went to accident scenes, suicides...anywhere.  I remember him telling me about going to an accident scene and people were fanning out looking for some poor soul's head.  He said they put the head in loose inside the body bag.  His term for a decomposed body was "a stinker".  An interesting and mostly disgusting way to make a buck to be sure.

double

Dishwasher at an airport restaurant. Was a bartender by the time I was 15, I was a big kid nobody asked my age :-)

Doc_Eggerton

Fred19Flintstone said:

The weirdest job for a young person I've heard of belonged to my first roommate at college.  I can't remember the guy's name, but I remember some of what he told me.  The City of Hazel Park, Michigan didn't have their own in-house coroner transport service.  It was private.  My roommate's job was to transport bodies.  He went to accident scenes, suicides...anywhere.  I remember him telling me about going to an accident scene and people were fanning out looking for some poor soul's head.  He said they put the head in loose inside the body bag.  His term for a decomposed body was "a stinker".  An interesting and mostly disgusting way to make a buck to be sure.

I was a cop, and at the same time a volunteer fireman.  Oooo, the corpse stories I could tell.  Some involved shovels.

cazzy

Cook, prep, and cut at CiCi's Pizza. Fun job!

BigGreenBamaGriller

Groundskeeper at the local baseball park when I was 14.

shtgunal3

My dad was a carpenter built houses and decks and anything in between. I worked for/with him alot and loved it. I remember roofing a barn at 7 years old. My first job not counting my dad was picking produce on a 1000 acre farm at 13 years old. Got paid by the pound of everything you picked. Then we would go sell it at the farmers market on the weekend.

Austin Egghead

Clerking in my parents law office.  Mostly at court house going thru old records.  Learned early the science was a lot more fun than reading the law.  

The other half of the time filling manure in empty oats sacks and pedaling fresh manure in the hood to pay for my horse upkeep and entry fees.....

JRWhitee

Mickey said:

Setting bowling pins for a nickel a frame. Blue Velvet and Sugar Shack were big songs, you guess the year.

62' 63'? I think I was 4.

Browninggold

Well I built a garage because someone said they wanted to start a "Math Lab" in a garage. A few days later a lot of traffic going in and out of my garage. One little letter off (a/e) and I'm spending ten years in the slammer. Cell 22 at the local pen. Luckily for me they allow the Internet.

Canugghead

My dad owned a hand-made shoe store in downtown Calcutta, I helped him make and sell shoes everyday after school.  

CAT Seller

I ran a Sporting Clay's facility in Tampa.

Botch

Austin Egghead said:

Learned early that science was a lot more fun than reading the law. 

I'm curious, what have you ended up doing for a living?  

Botch

Browninggold said:

Well I built a garage because someone said they wanted to start a "Math Lab" in a garage. A few days later a lot of traffic going in and out of my garage. One little letter off (a/e) and I'm spending ten years in the slammer. Cell 22 at the local pen. Luckily for me they allow the Internet.

I'm hoping you're joking here!   :-O

Eggcelsior

Started as a cart boy at 14 with the local golf course. Had to be there at 0430 to line up carts at the starter shed, pick balls off of the driving range, collect trash from the course receptacles and wash carts at the end of the day. First and only time I ever worked outside.

Austin Egghead

Botch said:

Austin Egghead said:

Learned early that science was a lot more fun than reading the law. 

I'm curious, what have you ended up doing for a living?  

Ended up as a Clinical Chemist and worked in a Hospital Chemisrty lab for 10 yrs.  

Went to big Pharma when other half was sent back to the east coast.  Stayed in the lab and did methods development for new drug discovery and managed the clinical side for phase 3 drug testing lab.  

Left lab 23 years ago to take a field service position with a company that makes scientific equipment that I used in the lab. 

I have a fancy title, but my main job is to repair the machines, repair the chemistry or repair the customer.  

phoenix007

Bagging groceries and hoping for tips after loading them in cars!

Lowflyer

Scrubbing pots n pans @ the famous Aunt Fanny's Cabin at 14yrs old, 1984, Smyrna, Ga.

bodski

Started out cutting grass, graduated to setting up and tearing down church festivals, to cleaning out movie theaters on graveyard shift, to bagging aquarium filter charcoal for a pet supply distributor. At the time I thought I was movin' on up.

mo egg

Setting pins at a bowling alley for bowling leagues 2 leagues a night  each league had 10 bowlers and i set 2 alleys and made 3.00 a league so i made 6.00 a night that was 1955

gabriegger

Rasied and worked on my Grandfather's farm from age 8 to 16.  Bailed and drove my first load of hay at 10.  Dumped it coming out of the field onto the side road.  Old lad just laughed, rolled a cigarette and said, 'you lost it you reload it.'  Hated him that day.  Served me well though at 16 working in the kitchen at a ski lodge.  Sent out to clean up a mess of french fries and mustard someone had dropped at the cash.  Saw the mess and figured whoever dropped that should clean it up.  Said so, was fired, got on the chair lift and started working the top of the hill ten minutes later.  Been reloading ever since.