First job stories

[william12123]

First job at about 17; I worked as a "park monitor"; you basically stay in a little shack, in the middle of winter, in the middle of a park, and make sure the paths are clean, the bathrooms are clean, and nobody is doing any vandalism. Boring as all heck, but it was nice to work. Biggest problem was assholes getting drunk late at night throwing bottles around. Ugh. I ended up working for the same city again in an "inside" job, at some reception halls they had to rent. Same basic job, but with more drunks! And setting up tables & chairs...

As to the anxious fellow above, my parents had a similar rule: gotta be out of the house after I finish my undergrad, or they make me pay rent. I ended up leaving before that, but honestly it wasnt too bad. I'm a anxious fellow myself, and while it is hard to put yourself out there, it has done wonders for my self-confidence. I might have been lucky, but I think it's definitly worth a shot!

 

[Scarim Coral]

Well my first job (and still currently working at) is petty much the same as I did work experience for them abliet with wearing the uniform and I no longer get away with some mistakes for being the work experience person and aswell learning new stuff (counting the money etc in the safe room).

 

[Adair Belton-schure]

I worked in a South African sawmill when I was eight and got beaten for passing out in the heat. . .

 

[Cursed Frogurt]

I started delivering newspapers at the age of 14. I'm now 28 and I have never NOT been employed and earning a paycheck since then, ever.

Delivering newspapers had its ups and downs, but I don't recommend it to anyone. Worst job I had was working in the dishroom at my college cafeteria.

It's a lot of luck whether or not you enjoy your work. I lucked out and was working with a super entertaining dude when I was serving food at the cafeteria. We had so much fun together every saturday during the dinner shift that I would've came into work for free. Similarly, I've left cushy office jobs because I just didn't get along with anyone.

So try to be as social as you can and make work fun.

And, for the love of god, do NOT date any coworkers. I tried that once at a convenience store. We were young and stupid, but it was an excruciating experience after the inevitable breakup.

 

[Doclector]

I got back a little while ago from my first shift.

I think I did okay, but the boss expressed concern that I wasn't going fast enough, and of course, me being me, that's all that's replaying in my head. I did have a real stressful morning before my shift so hopefully, it was just that, plus the new job thing, but I know I have a habit of checking things a bit too much, I'm worried that if I don't sort that out, they'll fire me.

 

[Eamar]

I did the occasional bit of waitressing for a family friend's catering company in my teens, but my first regular job was when I was 18, in the summer between finishing school and starting university. It was at the local kebab shop, and it was pretty dodgy.

The two guys who ran it were Turkish and really didn't speak much English at all, so that made quieter periods really awkward. The older guy was pretty nice - he seemed kind and would always check up on me and praised me to the skies (I'm good with mental arithmetic, which meant I was able to bypass most of the broken, unreliable till when taking orders and just enter the total and change due manually), but he was the main chef so he'd be towards the back of the shop most of the time. The younger guy though... urgh. He would constantly come on to me, touch me unnecessarily and ask really inappropriate questions like "what's your favourite sexual position?" Bear in mind this wasn't banter between colleagues - he was a thirty- possibly forty-something man behaving like this towards an 18 year old girl he didn't really know at all. And it was just the three of us, so it's not even like I had anyone else to spend time with.

It was gross. Plus the fact that it was a kebab shop meant I'd get back home around 2am absolutely stinking of grease (anyone who's worked in fast food knows what I'm talking about), but unable to shower until the morning for fear of waking my family - my parents' room was next to the bathroom, plus the boiler was incredibly loud when it came on. So yeah, that was gross too. And I was being paid less than minimum wage (as I said, the whole operation was a bit dodgy). I immediately understood why they had such a high turnover for that one job.

I stuck with it because it was literally the only job available in the (small) town at the time, but if I'd been able to drive to work further afield I would've been out of there after the first shift. I forbade my sister from working there the following year after she finished school, and thankfully she didn't.

On the plus side, my bar for jobs since then has been set incredibly low. I'll do anything so long as it's legitimate. The menial retail job I had for a while at university seemed like heaven. Once you've scraped the bottom of the barrel, things can only get better

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

First job? Gods... On the books it would be Blockbuster Video. Great job, I love movies and love talking about them, so it fit perfectly. It could be described as a Clerks-esqe workplace, and we did fuck with customers but subtly and not in such a way that the cokehead GM would catch on to what we were doing. Also it was a franchise store so we didn't have to follow regs that corporate stores did, and could watch pretty much any movie as long as there was no nudity or major swearing. At least that was until the Wedding Singer happened to be playing and Adam Sandler tossed out an f-bomb while the GM was standing in the store. After that it was PG or G rated movies only.... when she was around.

 

[The Funslinger]

I got back a little while ago from my first shift.

I think I did okay, but the boss expressed concern that I wasn't going fast enough, and of course, me being me, that's all that's replaying in my head. I did have a real stressful morning before my shift so hopefully, it was just that, plus the new job thing, but I know I have a habit of checking things a bit too much, I'm worried that if I don't sort that out, they'll fire me.

That's fairly typical, don't worry. You'll get quicker as you learn where everything is and just generally relax a bit.

OT: My jobs have been pot washing in kitchens, and a bit of bar work. I have to say I enjoyed the bar work the most, although the best company was in the last kitchen I worked in. An assistant chef was an old friend of mine, and the head chef was a total riot.

The first job I had was kitchen work when I was sixteen, though, and I ended up quitting that one because I got tired of the head chef (who was also owner of the pub in general) taking out all his stress on me and generally going out of his way to make me feel as incompetent as possible.

Also, he once threw a chopping board at my head, which I luckily caught. And whoever had the evening shift before my regular lunch shift definitely got fucking special treatment, because every time I came in, there would still be stuff utterly filling the sink and stacked around it on the floor. Which was a nightmare, because I would have to empty it of stuff to change the water, and to empty it, the stuff needed cleaning, and to clean it, I needed fresh hot water, and if I ran everything under the tap, I got shouted at for being wasteful.

And when it wasn't piled full as hell, there were often knives in the (opaquely soapy, scummy) water, which any good chef will tell you is the fucking Cardinal sin. I had some close calls with that fucking sink, I'll tell you.

It was the longest time before I could bring myself to quit that job though, because said head chef is a friend of my parents', and my dad got me the job.

It was to the point that in my most recent kitchen job, I actually had to stop and ask the chef why he was being so nice, and why everything was kept so respectfully clean before I got in.

 

[kasperbbs]

My first job was at a factory which manufactured plastic parts, mostly lamps. We worked there in groups of three people and a few days after i started one of my coworkers got some serious food poisoning so there were only two of us left. We barely even saw each other because one person always has to stay next to one of the machines and the other one is left to take care of 3 of them, packing the crap that they produce and refilling them with plastic grains. It was pretty hard with one person short, but i somehow managed it, but eventually something went wrong with one of the machines and i didn't notice it because i was a stupid newbie trying to handle the workloud of 2 people and was let go after the end of the month.

 

[purplemonkey555]

I actually just recently started my first job as well, working as a cashier at Wendy's. My very first day they had me by myself on the register during that 11:30ish lunch rush. : /

Don't worry about starting off, you'll do fine as long as you have common sense. Mistakes happen, but everybody there was really nice and simply explained where I messed up and how to not mess up in the future.

 

[Esotera]

I worked as a paper boy when I was 13, and stupidly started the job in the middle of Winter. The pay was really crappy at about £15 a week and I'm pretty sure they were breaking UK employment law as we had to be there at 6:15 on schooldays.

Anyway, I lasted about 6 weeks of carrying heavy bags around in icy conditions until I sprained my ankle in an unrelated attempt to use a sledge as a snowboard. Then I quit.

 

[geK0]

What if an alien comes into the office and asks whether his left his ID there?

.......

An Alien comes into the office

........

into the office

.......

office

You're getting your first job at 23 and it's an office job?!?!

*flips desk*
*stomps on computer monitor repeatedly*
*throws computer tower out of apartment window*
*politely apologizes to the young couple my computer nearly landed on*
*screams*
*punches a parking meter*


I guess the job market in UK is much different from that in Canada.

I've been putting out tons of resumes and have only gotten a few calls for interviews; I'm competing with people who are MUCH more experienced than I am for the interviews I do get (these are mostly temp positions and I'm competing with people who have been working 3+ years). I have about a month of co-op with in accounts payable for a very high-volume gas provider (It wasn't in their budget to actually hire me :[) and I have 8 months experience of part -time book keeping for a small company (this company no longer operates) and I currently work as a front end supervisor at Walmart (I'm paid the same wage as the people I supervise). I am no paragon of my profession, but God damn I figure I'm at least good enough for an entry level position somewhere.

/rant

Sorry I'm just venting. This is awesome, congratulations, I wish you all the best! : D

Would it be rude to ask what your position is?


OT:
I had my first job at 15, I was pushing a freezer cart full of ice cream and popsicles and I made under-the-table commission income doing this; this was usually less than minimum wage working 10 hours a day doing much more work than a Mcdonalds employee (that cart was heavy and even small hills were a major obstacle). There were some days that I brought in very good hauls by hitting sports practices and games, and I actually got very good at it after a while, but I still got fed up and quit after a month and a half.

My first job that I was on an actual payroll was dish washing at a restaurant called Swiss Chalet; I was 17.

 

[Drake the Dragonheart]

First job for me was as a part-time press assistant with the Green River Star. Nothing too memorable good or bad from my first day there. I started on a Friday, so I caught the Sweetwater County Guide. Got a short break to grab some dinner, which was lasagna. Went back and helped deliver the route. Got home about 11:30-midnight.

Then I worked for a month or so at NOWCAP services. For me that was the bottom of the barrel. giving baths and changing diapers. ugh.

I interviewed yesterday with Rock Springs Police Department and Sweetwater County Sheriff. Just dropped the ball on a really important question with the first and the second, there was a lot of situational questions, and I fear the hesitation killed me there. Thankfully, I still will be contacted in April for the date to take the Pack test for Sweetwater County Fire Department.

 

[Doclector]

What if an alien comes into the office and asks whether his left his ID there?

.......

An Alien comes into the office

........

into the office

.......

office

You're getting your first job at 23 and it's an office job?!?!

*flips desk*
*stomps on computer monitor repeatedly*
*throws computer tower out of apartment window*
*politely apologizes to the young couple my computer nearly landed on*
*screams*
*punches a parking meter*


I guess the job market in UK is much different from that in Canada.

I've been putting out tons of resumes and have only gotten a few calls for interviews; I'm competing with people who are MUCH more experienced than I am for the interviews I do get (these are mostly temp positions and I'm competing with people who have been working 3+ years). I have about a month of co-op with in accounts payable for a very high-volume gas provider (It wasn't in their budget to actually hire me :[) and I have 8 months experience of part -time book keeping for a small company (this company no longer operates) and I currently work as a front end supervisor at Walmart (I'm paid the same wage as the people I supervise). I am no paragon of my profession, but God damn I figure I'm at least good enough for an entry level position somewhere.

/rant

Sorry I'm just venting. This is awesome, congratulations, I wish you all the best! : D

Would it be rude to ask what your position is?


OT:
I had my first job at 15, I was pushing a freezer cart full of ice cream and popsicles and I made under-the-table commission income doing this; this was usually less than minimum wage working 10 hours a day doing much more work than a Mcdonalds employee (that cart was heavy and even small hills were a major obstacle). There were some days that I brought in very good hauls by hitting sports practices and games, and I actually got very good at it after a while, but I still got fed up and quit after a month and a half.

My first job that I was on an actual payroll was dish washing at a restaurant called Swiss Chalet; I was 17.

Poor wording, sorry, it's kind of the university's post office, and I'm just sorting things and doing a bit of data entry. So not that great a position.

 

[Gaijinko]

Take this for a first day on the job then. At the age of 17 I was headhunted straight from my school in Spain to work as a legal assistant in an asesoria (Spanish legal firm) on part due to being bilingual and also wicked smart and of dubious morals. On my first day;

-Had a loaded shotgun pointed at my head
-Almost set fire to the entire office using the photocopier
-Had the office raided by the guardia civil while holding an illegal pay packet for one of my co workers

Since then I don't care what the job is, or where I am I can't be fazed. Bad experiences when they happen especially on the first day feel like the worst thing ever BUT you will look back on most of them happily as a learning experience as in my opinion you learn a crapton more from crap happening then if everything is rosy, you learn more about yourself and what you can handle. Its just at the time you think the world is over, don't worry we have all been there and last time I checked we are still here.

 

[Drake the Dragonheart]

-Almost set fire to the entire office using the photocopier

May I inquire as to how you almost set fire to the office with a photocopier?

 

[Frezzato]

snip

Oh my God that was fantastic.

snip

Keep that chin up. Like Voulan said, nothing is as bad as you think.

This is coming from a guy who went Airborne in the Army. Sometimes the process started at around 10 PM the night before, and we got to jumping at around 6 AM the next morning. We jumped from around 1,200 feet. Everything like the smell of jet fuel, being cramped in the back, the smell of vomit (flying that low is very turbulent), it made the process so miserable you couldn't wait to get away from it. Incidentally, that's how you get people to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Once your chute opens you get 30 seconds of the most peaceful time you'll ever remember--floating in the air is amazing. Every jump runs the risk of death or a crippling injury. In retrospect however:

It wasn't as bad as I thought[footnote]But don't join the military if you can help it![/footnote].

 

[Gaijinko]

-Almost set fire to the entire office using the photocopier

May I inquire as to how you almost set fire to the office with a photocopier?

it was entirely kind of my fault. I was the only non-native speaker of spanish in the entire office so i could understand what people were saying but things like slang or notes left in txt speak were beyond me. The boss left me a note stating what I thought meant he wanted 200 odd photocopies of some legal document when he only wanted a couple for each client totaling around 10 copies in all. The copier was a big old fashioned machine and was stuffed with paper in cabinets around it under it basically everywhere. It was a legal office so paper or kindling was abundant. i set the copier as high it would go and wandered off (I was alone in the office that time) I came back later to find smoke and a horrible smell coming from the machine, turns out it shouldn't have been left for that long to do so much and something was burning out inside. If I had come back a bit later who knows what would have happened. oh so I can add that to my list of first days woes, cost the office the price of one new copier machine as well.

 

[viscomica]

My first job was a sort of ad-hoc possition at an english school run by nuns. They called me to work there because the principal knew me from studying there and thought I was smart enough to help the english teachers and sub whenever they would couldn't make it to class. I was also in charge of preparing all the stuff necessary for 'tea time' (or the break the teachers would get in the middle of the afternoon in between classes). I hated working there, they would always complain about my clothing which they thought was "provocative" and wanted me to "cover my arms". My arms! So whenever it was hot I would practically melt under the sun. Also, they didn't like that I sometimes baked cookies for the little kids.

 

[geK0]

Take this for a first day on the job then. At the age of 17 I was headhunted straight from my school in Spain to work as a legal assistant in an asesoria (Spanish legal firm) on part due to being bilingual and also wicked smart and of dubious morals. On my first day;

-Had a loaded shotgun pointed at my head
-Almost set fire to the entire office using the photocopier
-Had the office raided by the guardia civil while holding an illegal pay packet for one of my co workers

Since then I don't care what the job is, or where I am I can't be fazed. Bad experiences when they happen especially on the first day feel like the worst thing ever BUT you will look back on most of them happily as a learning experience as in my opinion you learn a crapton more from crap happening then if everything is rosy, you learn more about yourself and what you can handle. Its just at the time you think the world is over, don't worry we have all been there and last time I checked we are still here.

Are you the main character in an action movie?