My First Job

What was your first job? Cutting grass? Baby sitting? Helping out at a family business?

What about the first job you got solely on your own merits…a job that didn’t involve family, neighbors, or friends?

I remember an early job when I was right out of high school. It was the summer before I entered college. I hadn’t planned on working that summer, but my parents informed me that they would no longer pick up the tab for gas in my car.

I applied for and got a job at a snack bar that was attached to a large retail store. The snack bar was outside, and I thought it would be fun to work with people and serve hotdogs, snacks, and ice cees. The other workers were around my age and the first couple of days were fun.....getting to know everybody and learning how to operate the machinery and serve the food.

It really wasn't bad, except for the TOTAL lack of hygiene exhibited by many of the workers. (You would think that I would never eat out again after some of the things I saw...but, of course this wasn't the case.) By the second week, I refused to eat anything that came from that snack shop.

Eventually, I transfered to work as a sales clerk inside the store. It was better, but not something I wanted to do forever. It DEFINETLY encouraged me to continue my education.

How about you? What are your memories of your first job? What did you learn? Did you like the people you worked with?