Escapists First Jobs

[Realitycrash]

First real job, not just for the summer? Construction. My dad got me in, doing logistics. I was eighteen and I made 135SEK an hour. That's roughly 20 dollars an hour, 16 after tax. In Sweden, construction pays well. REALLY WELL. God our labor-unions to thank for that. At 18, I had more money than I knew what to spend it on.

 

[requisitename]

McDonald's. I actually liked it at the time, though I can't remember why.

I hated it when I was there. Of course, I got to work the grill instead of taking orders or anything, so that might have been it. It was nice not getting bitched at by customers, though, but I was there for a month in high school before I quit.

I plan to never work in fast food again.

I did both. I started out in drive through, then moved around from there. I ended up being a Team Leader in pretty short order. Actually, having given this some thought, I think that the thing I really liked about it was the thoroughness of the training I received. I'm unsure if it is still that way, we are talking a long time ago. I know for a fact, however, that it opened doors for me later on - I had several later bosses tell me that they would hire McDonald's employees over anyone else because of that same thoroughness of early training, basically the fact that they turn 15-year-olds into good little corporate minions!

 

[xDarc]

It was 1996 and I made $4.15 an hour bagging groceries.

 

[Sealpower]

Worked as some sort of engineer's assistant at a local forest machinery producing factory. That's a bit vague and undescriptive, I know, but my job didn't really come with a fitting title. What I did was minor blueprint revisions and a whole new set of spare part books.

 

[SilentCom]

I wish I could work in a pizza place. The only job I had was working in a factory processing and packaging synthetic frozen fish products during the summer.

 

[JLML]

Only counting real jobs, it would probably be professional slacker. As in, I work with not working. As in, never had a real job. Then again, I'm 18, so it's not THAT bad. Think I have to get one soon though, especially once school ends.

 

[burhanr]

A fast food chain called, "Hungry Jack's", which is the Australian Burger King, different name due to trademarks and stuff I guess. Quit almost a year ago in search of a job that is related to my university studies (IT), no goddamn luck since.

I really wish I didn't quit, It was kind of shit when it is busy and hot, but every now and then something cool happens. You see, the store is located in "Circular Quay", a quay, and massive cruise ships can dock somewhere there. One time, an American customer just came fresh off a boat (oh the irony), and tries to buy a Whopper using American dollars. He got very confused when I said that Australians have their own currency and we only accept that in this store. Paid with a Visa instead.

Somehow those world maps saying that Americans doesn't really care about the rest of the world is somewhat true.

 

[General Vengeance]

Working at an old beat up Drive-in in 1979(An outdoor motion-picture theater, we had those back then). Picked up garbage on the grounds. It was fine but didn't pay well $3.00hr.

 

[Quantum Star]

Currently working my first job now at Safeway as a deli clerk. The assholes I used to work with were shown the door and now I can say I like all the people I'm working with. The work is all around "meh" put it pays well enough for a first job, not to mention it's only a ten minute walk from my house. In short, I'm content.

 

[Erttheking]

Bagging at a grocery store, nothing special.

 

[Da Orky Man]

Lifeguard at my local pool. Started there 3 years ago, 17 now and still there. Great pay (for a Saturday job), good hours, and actually useful training.

 

[Gaiseric]

I did flooring. I hated almost everything about it(I liked seeing the end result of our crew's efforts).

My boss had the temperament of a child prone to tantrums and by that I mean he would literally scream, yell, break, and throw things(sometimes our clients things). My boss also liked to not tell me we had a job until the afternoon before and that we would need to leave at 5 A.M. and then we'd get stuck in traffic, work hours later than he said, and then get stuck in more traffic on the way home. To top it off he never would teach me how to do the installation and would often not have me work when he'd be doing it so I couldn't even try to learn by watching him.

Should also point out most of my coworkers were either drunk, hungover, doing speed(sometimes on the job), or smoking weed on the job. Some were cool dudes though so not all bad.

So...yeah, I really didn't like my years of flooring removal and installation.

Oh and the pay sucked.

 

[Mr. Google]

McDonald's. I actually liked it at the time, though I can't remember why.

Probably the people. I work there now and it's the only reason I like the work there. The people are awesome, including my managers.

 

[Zerazar]

Hmm.. I worked for my parents in their... Pelting center? They pelted mink. I wasn't very old when I started.
Didn't really consider it a real job though. I didn't do it a whole lot. I hated it so I was allowed to stop after not so long.

After that was a paper route. I still have it today.

 

[alandavidson]

First paid job I had was working at the local library as a shelver. I'm lucky the branch manager is pretty liberal, because I had a mohawk at that the time. It was a good job, and I worked summers there until I graduated.

 

[Stryc9]

My first job was as a trapsetter at a gun club once a month. My job was to sit in a concrete bunker and put clay pigeons on the machine for a bunch of old men to shoot at with shotguns. This was much easier than the guy I replaced made it sound, apparently he was so slow his finger kept getting snapped by the machine.

I got paid minimum wage which was like $7.14 an hour at the time, plus I got to shoot for free before anyone else and I got free lunch - hotdogs, soda, chips and pie. I did it for a couple of years before I graduated high school.

 

[sidecord]

guess my first real job is with the air force

 

[LooK iTz Jinjo]

I worked at JB Hi-Fi as a games/software advisor. I don't think I could have asked for a better first job.

 

[AnotherAvatar]

I was 16 and didn't care about anything except for games, I got hired at gamestop, I did so little work it blows my mind but I was good with customers so they liked me... Checking out free games was the shit for me as I was and still am EXTREMELY poor.

In a way it was great, as all I did was talk games and count cash, but retail sucks... You just end up selling a bunch of shitty shit to idiots who would be horribly offended if you told them how absurd what they were buying was.

Good luck with the pizza job, I've had a number of friends work that and always considered it before I started doing school full time, the job should be pretty chill.

 

[Shadu]

I started my own pet sitting business when I was 13. It may not have been in a cafe or anything, but it was a paying job that I did. And it's still going, actually. I still do it.

As for the first job at a company, it was at a local pet store. They had shoddy practices and I left when school started up again.