Your first job

[Andrew_Collins]

My first job was playing violin in restaurants, at weddings, etc. First non-music job was waitressing at Olive Garden, during which i was also a marketing intern... the next summer I was an admin assistant, while in school I was at the National Air and Space Museum, the next year I was a research assistant at my university and this summer I'm working housekeeping for a hotel and I'm back at Olive Garden. Waitressing is really overwhelming and I often end up crying after work, Air and Space I loved because even if I don't do well with peers, I love kids and I was doing the demonstrations for little ones... but most of the other stuff has been pretty independent so I've enjoyed it quite a lot.

I worked as a waiter when I was 19 in a hotel in England and was punched by the head chef, one of the customers had complained about a fly in his pie . I passed the message on and was punched for it!!!!!... i walked out

 

[Andrew_Collins]

My first job not playing the piano was doing shelf stacking in Woolworths over Christmas. I got sacked, which tells you just how good I am at working with other people!!!

Ive been fired around 25 times for saying what i think

 

[Simples]

Machine Operator in a large textile factory
Started out with just general work i.e. pick packing
Few months in i was moved to a different part of the place and trained on the machines
(industrial size presses, cutting devices, laminators and CAD machinery where you actually had to enter the programme design into the machine each time you wanted something different, bit ancient)

The money was quite good even by todays standards (especially as i was under 18 when I started), and being there a few years I was actually quite fit by the time I had left as a bonus
Saved £1000's from the fact the place was just around the corner from where I lived at the time as well so no travel expenses
Outside of work I was building/repairing computers and selling them, I was also selling odd items on Ebay (which was in its infancy at the time) mainly a "keep busy" thing because I still had issues going on back then

Didn't really get hassled there either, I even occasionly hustled pool during lunch breaks (they had a couple old tables in the cafeteria) and I was quite good at it

Only bad thing I could say was their health and safety was shocking, which is probably why the place went under in the run up to the recession. Its one of the only situations where I was actually anxious about being alone when pulling overtime, because if something happenned with the machines there would be nobody around for an hour or more to raise the alarm/get help.

 

[King_Oni]

My first job was a paper route. But considering the pay and the amount of work I still find that I got underpaid. But I guess, if you're 13 or so and looking for some extra pocketmoney it wasn't that bad. At least it was a solitary job where no one would bother me... and I was familiar with the area

The thing was, it was a paper route for advertisment leaflets. That by itself isn't bad, but the fact that it was somewhere between 600 and 700 addresses with not a single apartment building and all single houses in about 12 streets or so that were pretty spaciously divided on top of the fact that it wasn't just 1 leaflet but it was about 12 or 13 that I had to bundle for every address (even though it wasn't addressed but just went in everyones mailbox). My mom helped me back then and with me going to school, coming home at 5, then having to work by bundling them, and the next day, going to school and doing delivery when I came home, we already had to hurry to have them all delivered before wednesday. And we were doing this with 2 people... by car.

The pay off was, but that's back in the mid 90s, if I'm going by exchange rates, probably $95 (roughly €75 , or back then when we still had "Gulden" rather than Euro, about 160)... a month. So about 95 a month for a 2 mans job that takes easily 12 hours to complete each week. Comes down to 37.5 a person, divide that up by 4 (4 weeks a month), then divide that by 12 for the hours worked and you've got a job that pays about 0.98 dollars an hour. For you Europeans out there, about €0.73 an hour and for you Brits; £0.58 an hour. Luckily my mom didn't want any part of the pay and just did it to help me out a bit. But still, the car didn't run on water or air either. Last word about pay; these kind of paperroutes don't pay in terms of hours over here. They pay by the amount of leaflets. Newspaper routes are the same. The more papers you have the more you get paid, so there's no fixed hourly fee. It also means there's no notion of a raise.

If these kind of jobs actually had an hourly wage (and a decent to boot), and perhaps better hours (like newspaper routes; I did those as well in the past), I wouldn't mind them so much nowadays I guess. Back when I did newspaper routes I did enjoy the peace and quiet of 4 am quite a bit.

My first job with a serious hourly wage was for the dutch IRS. Significantly better pay, way above minimum wage and added benefits for being a government employee. But by that time I already was 20 or so and spent way too much time doing all kinds of underpaid paperroutes, so I guess at that moment everything that pays an hourly wage and at least minimum wage to boot is good. The downside is that it's often only a temporary spot. Often just a month and you'll be let go again. It's a few periods in the year where people have to file their taxes and that's when they have peak hours.

 

[Andrew_Collins]

My first job was a paper route. But considering the pay and the amount of work I still find that I got underpaid. But I guess, if you're 13 or so and looking for some extra pocketmoney it wasn't that bad. At least it was a solitary job where no one would bother me... and I was familiar with the area

The thing was, it was a paper route for advertisment leaflets. That by itself isn't bad, but the fact that it was somewhere between 600 and 700 addresses with not a single apartment building and all single houses in about 12 streets or so that were pretty spaciously divided on top of the fact that it wasn't just 1 leaflet but it was about 12 or 13 that I had to bundle for every address (even though it wasn't addressed but just went in everyones mailbox). My mom helped me back then and with me going to school, coming home at 5, then having to work by bundling them, and the next day, going to school and doing delivery when I came home, we already had to hurry to have them all delivered before wednesday. And we were doing this with 2 people... by car.

The pay off was, but that's back in the mid 90s, if I'm going by exchange rates, probably $95 (roughly €75 , or back then when we still had "Gulden" rather than Euro, about 160)... a month. So about 95 a month for a 2 mans job that takes easily 12 hours to complete each week. Comes down to 37.5 a person, divide that up by 4 (4 weeks a month), then divide that by 12 for the hours worked and you've got a job that pays about 0.98 dollars an hour. For you Europeans out there, about €0.73 an hour and for you Brits; £0.58 an hour. Luckily my mom didn't want any part of the pay and just did it to help me out a bit. But still, the car didn't run on water or air either. Last word about pay; these kind of paperroutes don't pay in terms of hours over here. They pay by the amount of leaflets. Newspaper routes are the same. The more papers you have the more you get paid, so there's no fixed hourly fee. It also means there's no notion of a raise.

If these kind of jobs actually had an hourly wage (and a decent to boot), and perhaps better hours (like newspaper routes; I did those as well in the past), I wouldn't mind them so much nowadays I guess. Back when I did newspaper routes I did enjoy the peace and quiet of 4 am quite a bit.

My first job with a serious hourly wage was for the dutch IRS. Significantly better pay, way above minimum wage and added benefits for being a government employee. But by that time I already was 20 or so and spent way too much time doing all kinds of underpaid paperroutes, so I guess at that moment everything that pays an hourly wage and at least minimum wage to boot is good. The downside is that it's often only a temporary spot. Often just a month and you'll be let go again. It's a few periods in the year where people have to file their taxes and that's when they have peak hours.

I worked in Copenhagen for a while delivering newspapers from midnight on, everywhere was hard to find and everyone had different papers , but worse was we only got paid for the amount of time they thought it too, but it would always take me 3 times longer. Ive delivered leaflets in Manchester too, that was o.k except when i got my hand stuck in someones door ( blood evrywhere)

 

[King_Oni]

I worked in Copenhagen for a while delivering newspapers from midnight on, everywhere was hard to find and everyone had different papers , but worse was we only got paid for the amount of time they thought it too, but it would always take me 3 times longer. Ive delivered leaflets in Manchester too, that was o.k except when i got my hand stuck in someones door ( blood evrywhere)

Heh, that reminds me of when I worked for the postal service here. They allotted an amount to do a certain route and paid you based on that. The fact that someone was new and took 2 or 3 times as long didn't really made them care. It's one of those reasons why I had no interest to keep the job. If I spend my time doing a job I want to get paid reasonable hours. The fact that I heard from the more experienced employee who was training me that the time they set wasn't even manageable by him (and he was doing it for 10 years already) made it seem ridiculous at best.

 

[Andrew_Collins]

Heh, that reminds me of when I worked for the postal service here. They allotted an amount to do a certain route and paid you based on that. The fact that someone was new and took 2 or 3 times as long didn't really made them care. It's one of those reasons why I had no interest to keep the job. If I spend my time doing a job I want to get paid reasonable hours. The fact that I heard from the more experienced employee who was training me that the time they set wasn't even manageable by him (and he was doing it for 10 years already) made it seem ridiculous at best.

Yes these Danish boys would RUN up and down the stairs but I've never been one for rushing...... Most jobs I've had , I've hear "can you go abit FASTER!", i wouldn't even reply....... Then it would be "Andrew can I have a word in my office"

Heh, that reminds me of when I worked for the postal service here. They allotted an amount to do a certain route and paid you based on that. The fact that someone was new and took 2 or 3 times as long didn't really made them care. It's one of those reasons why I had no interest to keep the job. If I spend my time doing a job I want to get paid reasonable hours. The fact that I heard from the more experienced employee who was training me that the time they set wasn't even manageable by him (and he was doing it for 10 years already) made it seem ridiculous at best.

yes these greedy bosses make me SICK... If i was running a buisness , even if it was low wage i would treat everyone nicely then they would be loyal to me, but especially in England they just want slaves

 

[The Penguin]

Dishwasher was my first job. It sucked.

 

[clg114]

Paper boy at age 12.

 

[Lukas]

This may date me... but my first job was a paperboy..

Was awesome ... I would look at the stars through the telescope before heading out with a bag full of papers..

 

[Randomperson]

My first really memorable job was flipping burgers at a McDonalds, pretty boring work, but I got a nasty grease burn on my arm, and it turns out the only thing for burns in the first aid kit was not for grease burns, it was in fact the worst thing you could put on one, ironic since the only hot things to burn yourself with in that kitchen were covered in grease 24/7. Anyway, it came off as memorable because in less then 12 hours a small grease burn blister turned into full blown flesh eating necrotizing fasciitis. Thankfully I still have the arm, but it was close.

 

[JohnH]

McDonald's for me too! I worked there for a couple of years while in high school. No major injuries to report. I made some good friends there, a couple I kept in touch with well into later adult life.

 

[2aspirin]

Pharmacy. Often helping fill Rx's with the pharmacist and stocking the meds, filling out insurance claim paperwork (as was the case back then). I read all of the package inserts that came with all of the meds.

 

[2aspirin]

My first really memorable job was flipping burgers at a McDonalds, pretty boring work, but I got a nasty grease burn on my arm, and it turns out the only thing for burns in the first aid kit was not for grease burns, it was in fact the worst thing you could put on one, ironic since the only hot things to burn yourself with in that kitchen were covered in grease 24/7. Anyway, it came off as memorable because in less then 12 hours a small grease burn blister turned into full blown flesh eating necrotizing fasciitis. Thankfully I still have the arm, but it was close.

Ack!

 

[Randomperson]

Pharmacy. Often helping fill Rx's with the pharmacist and stocking the meds, filling out insurance claim paperwork (as was the case back then). I read all of the package inserts that came with all of the meds.

I think I would enjoy working at a pharmacy, all those little pills to count, very neat, very orderly. Except for all the sick people coming in all the time it would be a fine place to work.

 

[apsie]

My first paid job was door to door selling of cleaning products, I was 13.
It was in the summer vacation, 4 days/week for 2 weeks.
They told me I would recieve 30% of what I recieved. The wankers lied!
Back then I was classed as slightly retarded, so I guess they figured I couldn't do the math myself.

I got paid less then 20% of my revenue, I was furios and trashed the stockroom.
The damage was supposedly more then what they gave me, so I had to give that back to.

That company employed allot of children, maybe people were more tempted to trust/buy from a child?
I wonder howmany others they misled.

A year later the company declared bancruptcy, later I learned they were operating again under a different name, but in the same cities! wtf

 

[Andrew206]

My first job was washing dishes at the restaurant my mom worked at. The restaurant has since been demolished.

 

[Rachel Albritton]

first job was when i graduated, i was like 19 or 20. I worked at a local library but i got paranoid they wanted to replace me about 9 or 10 months in so I "beat them to it" and quit. i was mistaken. lol.

second just was dollar general. i quit a couple weeks ago cause i got robbed back in march and developed anxiety when working nights. tried to tell my boss i was having anxiety and didnt feel comfortable working nights anymore so she put me on more nights. i had to quit. 9 months working there.

 

[Vanilla]

My first job was as a waitress at a family-owned, Italian, restaurant. It was one of the most confronting experiences I can ever remember, but I was so determined to force myself in to it. This was back before I knew anything about Asperger's, and believed that it was important for me to be just like everyone else, and so this was my driving force (had I not felt the pressures to conform, I would have surely been much too terrified to give it a go at all).

I would feel anxious as I walked up to a table, and would always double, and triple, check everything I did, as I was paranoid I would screw up the orders. It took a long time to get over the anxieties, but over time, I learned that it wasn't as bad as I had thought. I still felt slightly anxious, but I had learned to ignore it for the most part. It helped that it was such a casual atmosphere, and the customers were all there to have a good time, and were all so very understanding. I was young too (maybe 17-18), so I think they were more forgiving because of that.

This one guy, I'll never forget; I was bringing him a glass of red wine. On the way to the table, I accidentally tripped; spilling red wine all over his white shirt! As you could imagine, I panicked! My mind went blank, and all I could think was that I was surely fired! I couldn't believe what I had done, and kept apologising, over and over again. He was kind enough to tell me not to worry, and told me that he lived across the road, and could easily change his clothes. I was so surprised, yet grateful that he had taken it so well. That job was definitely a major stepping stone for me. It taught me more about socialising than I had initially anticipated.

 

[grapesicles]

I used to sell stuff for my family on Ebay when I was younger (when it was actually worth doing, it's gone so downhill now), and sold gig tickets on the door for my former boyfriend's music promo company. Most of the time he made a loss but there were a couple of times I got £10 for my trouble! The only thing I didn't like was having to deal with people who would try to sneak in for free or be violent, once had a homeless man come in and grab my face which was a bit terrifying.

My first decently paid job was being a stand-in and extra on a film set for 3 months, most of the people I worked with were so lovely and the food was incredible - I wish I could do it as a permanent job! I had to drive up to stay with aforementioned boyfriend's family each week, & I'd be working 12-13 hours a day for 5-7 days a week, so as soon as I got in the door I'd just sleep.