What was your first ever job?

Hiijinx

Hiijinx

Hiijinx

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11 May 2009
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Following on from previous threads I thought it would be interesting to see what people did for their first taste of employment.

Mine was being an Avon rep while studying - the salary expectations were utter BS and the work it took chasing down customers who were never home really ticked me off. Would pull in +£100 a catalogue but out of that I might have earnt £10 after costs. :(

Needless to say I didn't do it for long!
 
First proper job (ie not little cash in hand things I did between school & college)was IT Technician at a Secondary School/Sixth Form
 
Till / waiting / desert station staff at the local chain pub, then moved onto barman. Post work drinks & staff parties were a laugh but the customers were pretty dire & the wage sucked.

Also got in a load of trouble for eating all the ice cream sundae ingredients :D
 
Pushing papers through peoples doors with about 6-7 leaflets in EACH that I had to prepare about 200 a week. I got about £10-13 in an envelope once a week.

Yah.

Sort of paper delivery, I had a little wheeled push trolley and everything lol.
 
Stacking shelves part-time in a small supermarket when I was 16. 8 hours a week at £2.04 per hour, big bucks yo
 
Lifeguard/swimming teacher/attendant at local sports center, really liked job, think got maybe £2.80 p/hour. Girl I used to know got paid 70p p/hour at bakery her job, that always stuck in my mind.
 
Shelf fitting in various stores around the country, 12 hour night shifts and the money was pretty decent for my age.
 
Waiting/Wine waiting/Bar work/general hospitality.

Long hours, minimum wage, surprisingly physically demanding - especially when clearing tables for large corporate dinners, holding a tray whilst 50 half finished soup bowls or pasta dishes are loaded onto it with all the corresponding silverware, and carrying it back to the kitchen with a smile on your face is really really tough.

Not a bad job though. Work was fairly straightforward with no internal politics, and hard work was fairly rewarded through tips, bonuses, shift options and additional responsibilities.
 
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BAe apprentice - £45 a week in 1982 aged 17.

Never felt richer in my life before or since. Gave £10 to my mum and spent the rest on beer and LP records. A pint of good beer cost less than a quid and so did a gallon of 2 star for my moped.

Halcyon days!
 
Trade counter hand for a plumbers merchants back in 86 when I was 16. £75 a week gross. I had never seen such riches before.
 
Secretary in a tiny little accountant's firm for a few months. The typing skills I developed have allowed me to write super-long forum posts in record time ever since. ;)
 
Cleaner at the local swimming pool, then after a couple of months decided to get my qualification and move up to the towering heights of lifeguard.

Best. Job. Ever. Pretty much everyone who worked there was still at school so it was basically being paid to muck around.
 
If you ever ate either a Big Mac, 1/4 Pounder with Cheese or a Breakfast Muffin from Maccie D's on the M3 Northbound @ Fleet circa 2002/2003 - you are welcome.

I flipped em! Was okay for a 16 year old - pay was pretty decent at the time.
 
Working as Tech Support in a call centre. Was not a bad job, paid well and was amusing listening to peoples problems.

Had to answer 40 calls a day which meant spending 8 minutes per caller. All it took was one caller to screw that up and that was thats days targets gone.
 
Weekend nights in a chocolate factory for a couple of summers as a student.

2x12 hour shifts Friday and Saturday night, just over £100 and we could eat the rejects. The work was just soul destoying repetitive line work but it earned me some money toward Uni and stopped me going out and spending it all on drink over the weekend.
 
Packing up gel pouches that you put on your face when you have a hangover/hot face etc.

I then ended up making the gel so my friends called me a fudge packer.

true story.
 
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