First Job?

[Patrick]

What was your first real, paid job?

I started designing websites for people in the fall of 1998. I don't know if I'd count that or not just because I didn't make that much. But, I suppose it counts. After that, I started creating and managing my own websites, in early 2000. Of course, I didn't make much there, either, for quite a while. But, one of those two would be it. The only time I've worked for someone else was when I tried to do tech support for a web host. I only did that a couple weeks, though, as I just didn't have the knowledge.

[Sohan]

I haven't had a regular job in 15 years. My last employer was IBM back in the late 80's and early 90's, and I was essentially a hardware service rep. I worked on the 46xx store systems that IBM had in retail locations. It was an enjoyable job because I wasn't stuck in an office, and most of my customers were women's clothing stores, so it was a good situation for a young single guy!

As far as my first job, it was back when I was 13, and I got about 2 bucks an hour supervising the weight room at my local Y every Sunday afternoon. A local powerlifter by the name of Joey Ladnier would come in every Sunday and lift unbelievable amounts of weight. He was very friendly with me and was my inspiration for entering powerlifting competitions. Here is Joey's website today:

http://www.joeladnier.com/

With respect,

Sohan

[Havoc88]

I started out bringing around the paper of my soccer club when I was like 11 years old. After that, I turned to the newspaper till I was 15. Now I work in a warehouse.

I'm 18 by the way

Tom

[pegasi]

My 1st job was Little Caesar's pizza. Worked like 4 hr shifts, and we used to argue over who had to put the anchovies on the pizzas, since the oil left your hands smelling like fishy stuff forever. This was in the days before food service workers had to wear gloves.

[patusai]

I was a paper boy. It was only part time (local paper delivered once a week). If that does not count I was a busboy at food place inside of a Ramada Inn but that was a few days a week. The first time I worked 40 hours a week I moved furnature and was a stockman for a Marhsall Field's but that too was a long time ago..

[bushido_man96]

I started mowing lawns in the summer that I turned 14, I think. Then, I worked at McDonalds.

[lordtariel]

My first job was working staff at a Boy Scout summer camp.

[ninjanurse]

I worked at a Glider Port as ground-crew when I was 14. Got free lessons in return. I also worked as a groomers apprentice for pocket money at the same time.

[tekki]

I had a number of odd, under-the-table jobs beforehand but my first "real" job was working as a stockboy at a local gas station/convenience store. The place sold a lot of beer, so I spent most of my shift inside the cooler with goves and earmuffs, even in July. I also remember getting a 15% off employee discount, but it didn't kick in unless you spent over $15. I was under 21, so that ruled out the beer, and I didn't have a car, so that ruled out gas. What are you then going to buy at that place for over $15?!?!?!

The other thing I remember about that job was having to measure how much gasoline was left in the tanks every night. I literally had to go out to the back lot, remove the little "manhole covers" and drop a long dipstick into the tanks to measure how much fuel was left.

[Sohan]

I started mowing lawns in the summer that I turned 14, I think. Then, I worked at McDonalds.

I have a rather interesting experience to share.

When I was 17, my family moved to Atlanta. I got a job at the local McDonalds, and the first night I was working, my car wouldn't start, so the assistant manager offered to give me a lift home. We had a pleasant conversation, and he told me about his girlfriend, his family in Illinois, and where to go for fun in Atlanta. Nothing out of the ordinary.

The following night he showed up at a manager's meeting with a bandage on his hand, seeming out of sorts. The day after that he didn't show up for his regular shift, and we discovered later that day that he was being eagerly sought by the police for a brutal murder that had occurred the previous evening at his apartment complex.

To make a long story short, he eventually was caught and convicted for the murder of his secret boyfriend (and disposing of the body in a very Dahmer-esque fashion) and he remained on death row for nearly 21 years until he was executed in Georgia in 2005.

I left McDonalds after only a month. I was a bit freaked out, understandably.

With respect,

Sohan