The question I flipped to tonight: What was your first job ever and how old were you when you started it? I'm going to go further than just my first job. Lucky you!
Most people think of jobs in which you provide a service of some sort and you get paid. I think of a job where you have a very specific responsibility at a very specific time. Using this definition, my first job was my junior year in high school.
It was my first semester at TASIS and I was told that everyone has a "job" on campus for at least one of the two semesters in a school year. The idea was, of course, to help us understand responsibility. We didn't get paid for these jobs. But if you didn't show up, there was detention as the consequence.
My first job at TASIS was managing the tables in the dining room. There were specific dining times (I think two or three a night). My job was a certain set of tables, basically waitressing. We would pick up the meals served family style and serve them to each table we were responsible for. Then, when the meal was complete, we would clear the table, wipe it down and set it for the next dinner. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
This job was only a couple nights a week - I think like Tuesday and Thursday for me. And as jobs went it wasn't horrible. We ate early, then stayed late to help clean up from dinner. I did it at home, so doing it at school wasn't all that different. There were kids I worked with who HATED it. Though some of them I'm not sure ever washed a dish in their life. I figured it was one semester, I could do it.
My senior year because I was a Prefect (we "managed" a floor of girls in the dorm). There was a dorm mom too, but her responsibilities were different. We had to make sure everyone was in their room by a certain time AND stayed there for study hall. Then did "lights out" every night. Because I was a Prefect, I only had to do one semester of a job. I chose to man the phone booth twice a week. Sadly one of my time was Friday nights from 6-10. On the plus side, I got my homework done. The down side was 1) no one was EVER in their dorm to take a call and 2) everyone was out having fun off campus.
The job was simple - remember this was WELL before cell phones - the phone would ring. You answer it and find out who they wished to chat with (it was parents, friends, family calling internationally usually). You'd put them on hold, call the dorm for that kid and hope someone would answer the phone. They'd answer, find the person you were looking for, and then you'd transfer the call. Looking back now it was a riot.
Most parents scheduled a time to call their kid. So the kid would be home to take that call. Calls were not allowed during the week during study hall, so manning the phone during those hours wasn't really any fun either. You had to tell the parent that no calls were being accepted and to call back at 9pm. To be honest though, it was rare I got a call during the week to transfer. I would just sit in that little phone booth and do homework.
Once I graduated, I spent the summer in Riyadh before coming home for college. During that time Dad was adamant that I find a job. In a country where they don't like women to work, that made it difficult. But a friend in the compound introduced me to a potential job. I worked the summer for the United States Training Mission in Riyadh. It was a military base, and my job was typing up ID cards. Soldiers would come in when their IDs would expire, or they were new to Riyadh and we'd take their photograph, type up the ID and laminate it. And I got paid pretty good. I made $120 a day - paid in cash - cuz technically we weren't military and didn't have a "paycheck" situation. No taxes were taken out. We got an envelop at the end of every day and had the equivalent of $120 in Saudi riyals. I'd take that cash home and put it in a shoe box. At the end of the summer, Dad bought those riyals from me and gave me cold hard US dollars.
Once in college it was expected that I'd get a job to help pay my way during the school year. The riyals from Saudi will only take me so far. And since my BFF and roommate, Sherrie, was going to be working I might as well.
I got a job in the cafeteria my first year. I hated everything about it. Everything. I was basically on the line serving food to students. After my first semester I quit. It was that bad.
I knew I needed another job and it just so happens that I was chatting with the front desk person one night (getting my mail really) and she was saying they needed someone from 12am-3am 5 nights a week. I jumped at it. The hourly pay was higher because of the hours so I had to work less. I was surprised how easy it was to stay up until 3am.
I did that for a couple of semesters. Then I got smart and got a job during the summer and saved all that money for school so I wouldn't need to have a job.
The first summer between Freshman and Sophomore year I worked at Kidd Valley in Redmond.
That was a riot. The owner was a woman called "Babe" - I'm not kidding. She was a hard worker and had very high standards for a fast food place.
I started as a cashier. Eventually moved to drinks and shakes. Eventually moved to the fryer position and then eventually became a cook and "night manager". I worked at Kidd Valley two summers in a row. It was awesome. I had as many hours as I wanted and made good cash to hold me over the semester. When I'd come home at Christmas I'd work there for a couple of weeks picking up shifts.
I know a lot of people who didn't work during high school or college. I think I know equally as many people who did. I'm glad I had to work. It definitely taught me responsibility, customer service and the reality of the public. There's something you learn about customer service that you take with you your whole life. You understand the guy behind the counter a little more. You can appreciate the struggle and sometimes that makes you a little nicer to them.
Since then I've had a number of jobs. Most good. Some not so good. Some I quit. Some I got fired from. Every one of them prepared me for where I am now. That's what really counts.
