What was your first real job

[jjcanoe]

Had a paper route (shopping news) at 9yrs old, until I was 16 then pased it off to a younger brother, delivering on Friday or Saturday, Doubled my income when they went to a Wednesday and weekend edition. Also took on sears flyers and cataloges (hated the X-mas wishbook) Was on every doorstep in Chippawa (part of Niagara Falls) at one point or another delivering the blasted things, but they paid for my new BMX bike every spring. worked at the Skylon tower in Niagara for a few years after that, making $3.90\hr to start. Paid for college and my first car with that $$$ (1990 Chey Corsica hatchback)

 

jjcanoe

Edited February 2, 2010 by jjcanoe

[JohnF]

Been trying to remember since this thread first appeared. I think my first job was in around 1955 when I took on my first paper route delivering the London Free Press. At the same time I was cutting lawns and later started doing some baby sitting. No recollection of the money but it was long enuf ago to be irrelevant.

 

Lawn cutting led to a summer gig running a Snapper for a commercial lawn care guy and then around age 15 I started working as a stock boy and carry out at the local grocery. Then a summer in a park tourist food booth. Learned a little meat cutting during the grocery years and that got me two summers with a packing plant. Didn't actually get to do any cutting but made a lot of bologna and sausage and put in many hours on the hog kill floor. Be glad to share bloody stories with any of you who care to listen and wanna become vegans.

 

Then I did a summer on railway spare gang, a summer of pouring concrete, a summer on road construction and then two summers of university summer school trying to fast track my degree. During this time I was working full/part time fixing lawn mowers, snowblowers and sleds. In looking back it seems that there were too many work summers for the years I was in school but I definitely had all the jobs. The above jobs were interspersed with the full time jobs below as I cast about "finding myself".

 

My first grown up job at age 19 fresh outa high school was back at the Freeps in the circulation department. That got old really quick and I took a turn in insurance claims adjusting. I wasn't hardassed enuf for that and packed it in to go into computer work. I ran an IBM 360/20 and was studying programming. Didn't take long to figger out I was meant to work with people, not machines, and so it was back to university for a few more years. In 1973 I talked my wife into dumping everything and heading for Europe. We backpacked around there for months until the wanderlust was sated. I was offered a job running a motorcycle shop in France but she wasn't interested in staying so on we went.

 

When I got home my sled racing experience got me a job offer in the Rupp sled distribution business. After a couple of years having too much fun for it to feel like a real job I figgered out that the sled industry was gonna get real small real fast so I bailed and got a real estate licence in 1975. That licence has kept me in groceries, cars and mortgage payments ever since. It'll do until I figger out what I really wanna be.

 

If you find this account confusing think of how it was for me.

 

JF

Edited February 2, 2010 by JohnF

[tdotfisherman]

First real job was when I was 16... I worked at an ice cream and coffee shop.. I'm 23 now..

 

I Think I made about $9.00 an hour.. which was above minimum wage at the time.. so I was happy..

 

It was great to work and make some money for the first time..

[danjang]

Born 86 My first "job" was door to door sales in Toronto. I think the entire city of my generation had worked there at some point. It was straight commission. Most I've made was 140 in the 4 hours I worked thanks to this one guy saying how I didn't make enough. He practically bought the entire van! Next was Canada's Wonderland (Kidsville ride operator) for a summer for 8$ an hour. Seeing that I live in toronto, the commute was terribad in terms of time and money. Finally my current job is a huge improvement from the other two which is a field archaeologist. It's dirty especially when it rains but I love being outside. My crew is mostly girls too. Dirty muddy girls all day!

[motion]

Been trying to remember since this thread first appeared. I think my first job was in around 1955 when I took on my first paper route delivering the London Free Press. At the same time I was cutting lawns and later started doing some baby sitting. No recollection of the money but it was long enuf ago to be irrelevant.

 

Lawn cutting led to a summer gig running a Snapper for a commercial lawn care guy and then around age 15 I started working as a stock boy and carry out at the local grocery. Then a summer in a park tourist food booth. Learned a little meat cutting during the grocery years and that got me two summers with a packing plant. Didn't actually get to do any cutting but made a lot of bologna and sausage and put in many hours on the hog kill floor. Be glad to share bloody stories with any of you who care to listen and wanna become vegans.

 

Then I did a summer on railway spare gang, a summer of pouring concrete, a summer on road construction and then two summers of university summer school trying to fast track my degree. During this time I was working full/part time fixing lawn mowers, snowblowers and sleds. In looking back it seems that there were too many work summers for the years I was in school but I definitely had all the jobs. The above jobs were interspersed with the full time jobs below as I cast about "finding myself".

 

My first grown up job at age 19 fresh outa high school was back at the Freeps in the circulation department. That got old really quick and I took a turn in insurance claims adjusting. I wasn't hardassed enuf for that and packed it in to go into computer work. I ran an IBM 360/20 and was studying programming. Didn't take long to figger out I was meant to work with people, not machines, and so it was back to university for a few more years. In 1973 I talked my wife into dumping everything and heading for Europe. We backpacked around there for months until the wanderlust was sated. I was offered a job running a motorcycle shop in France but she wasn't interested in staying so on we went.

 

When I got home my sled racing experience got me a job offer in the Rupp sled distribution business. After a couple of years having too much fun for it to feel like a real job I figgered out that the sled industry was gonna get real small real fast so I bailed and got a real estate licence in 1975. That licence has kept me in groceries, cars and mortgage payments ever since. It'll do until I figger out what I really wanna be.

 

If you find this account confusing think of how it was for me.

 

JF

 

WOW! Not bad for a guy that is only 39 Thanks for sharing this with us John.

[JohnF]

WOW! Not bad for a guy that is only 39 Thanks for sharing this with us John.

 

And I feel every one of those 39 years. In fact there are times it feels like I've been selling real estate almost that long.

 

JF

[Fisherman]

1971, worked in a metal and wood furniture factory in Orono, Curveply, pretty much slave labour at $1.50 an hour but that's all there was in the local area. That lasted 7 weeks and I swore I would never work for another of that background as long as I live.

[troutboy]

Belive it or not my first job was to collect shed antlers from a farmers field so his tractors wouldent get ruined,He paid me $5 and antler and plus I got to keep what I found! But the job dident last long(about 3 mounths) because I missed a few and they got caught in his carbine... he fired me lol.

Edited February 3, 2010 by troutboy

[JohnF]

Combine mebbe???

 

JF

[danc]

Cool thread. Here's my story. Worked at a mini putt for a few summers during high school for $1.25 an hour. It was nice to have some cash in my pocket. A couple of purchases I made back then were a Mossberg 20 ga. pump action shot gun, which I still use to this day for Grouse hunting, and a Martin 72 fly reel for Steelheading, which has long since been retired. Didn't know what I was gonna do after high school. Actually that bothered me quite a bit. Lots of today's high school aged teens don't seem to care what's on the horizon. But I spent many a sleepless night trying to decide on a career. Decided to go to grade 13 (remember that), and possibly university after that. The summer after grade 12 I got a summer job with Maclean Hunter cable tv. Loved the job. I met the nicest and the nastiest people on the planet hooking up cable. The best part was when I had to go knocking on peoples doors and ask them to pay up or they'd be cut off. People aren't happy when you tell them to fork out some cash or they wouldn't be able to watch Days of our Lives anymore. At the end of the summer they asked me to stay on full time. Having no real reason to go to grade 13, I took up the offer. I loved the job but wasn't too happy about the money or future to make more money. I was clearing $296.00 every two weeks (1976). Fourteen months later, someone gave me an in on a union sheet metal workers apprenticeship. I talked to to owner of the company and he promised me 3 months work, which was enough to become indentured in the union. Ended up working there for 21 years. Twelve years after that, I'm still in the trade and doing fine. I'm either sitting in an office estimating, or in the field as a foreman. I get paid well, have tons of benefits, and a very sweet pension. 6 years to go at the most.