Here's a new topic to talk about jobs.  Not your strived-for, career (or career stepping stone) jobs.  This is for those summer jobs, part time after school jobs, starting-out jobs, or other jobs that didn't correlate with your chosen career track.  Tell about such jobs.  Questions you might answer include (answer any or all, or write what you want about it):

- What was the job?
- What were the circumstances under which you got the job?
- How long did you work?  What was the timeframe?
- What can you say about your coworkers?  Your management?
- Did you like it overall?  Aspects of the job you liked?  Aspects of the job you didn't like?
- Were you satisfied (based on your expectations) with your pay?  Benefits (if any)?  Perks (if any)?
- Did it lead (directly or indirectly) to anything else?
- Anything else worth telling?

In the summer of '79, I got a summer job at a government agency; my aunt helped me (she worked there).  It was working in the mailroom.  The pay was decent for a summer job and it was semi-convenient, but I came to hate that job.  Logistically, it was a nightmare trying to get the tons of mail sorted out and delivered to its associated folders which were scattered all over the office.  In the 70's, everything was still done with paper - and there was a lot of it.  If that weren't enough, my coworkers were just not nice people.  It was hard getting through that summer.

I will add this - that experience helped me to get a better, permanent (at the time) position with a different government agency the next year, which I really needed.  I guess everything happens for a reason...

I didn't start working until I was 19 or 20. My first job was at floral assembly company. They were called Bay State's Flowers. I was 19 because it was at the beginning of the year. What we did was operate the machines and pack flowers in boxes. It was a fairly easy job. I remember they would pay me every two weeks. But I didn't care. Lol. I worked there 7 months. That was in 2000. Eventually they went out of buisness and I moved on to something else.

I worked a Temp job once for a Construction company and they wanted us to install a metal perimeter fence around the site.  While we were working, it started to rain and I could hear lightning.  They told me to keep going, but I decided to quit instead.  I wasn't there to be a Ben Franklin impersonator lol

My first job, at 16, the earliest you could get "working papers" in NJ in 1962, was in a jewelry store.  Mostly I washed all the glass all the time.  Not much fun, but ok,  The bosses were ok.

At 17, once I got my drivers license, I worked at a chicken place delivering.  That was cool because I got to drive around a lot and got good tips.  Then I drove for a drug store that had a soda fountain.  That was the best of the three because I mostly worked when the owner wasn't there and the relief pharmacist had me make milk shakes and sundaes on the house.  So not only did I get to drive around and get tips I also got free ice cream

Babysitting. I think my first babysitting job was when I was about 13 for some friends of my dad. My second babysitting job was when I was in 9th grade (about age 14 or 15), my English teacher asked me if I could babysit for her. Sure. I was just puzzled why she asked me. I still don't know. I guess she thought that I was mature enough-rather than some of her other students.

The following year, I was living in an apartment complex. There was a monthly newsletter and I put my name in it for babysitting. I don't know if it was in there once or twice but that was all I needed. I became known as the "friendly neighborhood babysitter." There was one guy (one of the managers of the complex) reserved me for every Saturday night-and he paid me whether he needed me or not. Some weeks I got paid more for NOT babysitting than I did for babysitting. When I moved from that complex at the age of 17, my babysitting days were done.

I also worked summer stock at a local theatre where I was an apprentice at the age of 17. I didn't get paid but I did everything from paint the theatre, to work props for some of the plays and at once point I was "production assistant." In other words, I was the gofer for the stage manager and mostly got him coffee. lol. But, it was one of the BEST summers I every had. I LOVED every bit of it.


Cat

I delivered the evening newspaper for a local shop around a few streets. There was a little gang of us to do the neighbourhood. In the school holidays I would sometimes cover the morning delivery.

I also did bits of babysitting, mainly for a neighbour whose daughter was not that much younger than me.

I also had a Saturday job in Woolworths. I started on the tills and then moved to the deli counter.

When young, I never had a 'piddly little job'. After school, while waiting for my first full time employment, I worked in the kitchen of a leading hotel in my my old home town, it was hard, but food was free.