What was your first full time job? What year was it and how much did it pay?

Youngster

Youngster

Member
Being retired gives me more time to reflect on my past. This came to mind and I thought it would be interesting to hear what others had to say.
My first full time job was working in a lumber mill pulling dimensional lumber off a planer chain and stacking it. This was in 1973 and it paid a whopping $3.00 per hour.
How about you?
 

hahaha.. £3.00 an hour... I wish I could have been so rich...:oops:

My first job as an office junior in a Computer and punch Tape Office... in autumn 1970.. paid just £4. 10 shilling a week.. for 40 hours.. That's old money .In decimal which we changed to in '71 that is £4.50p... which is only worth today about £80.. which would be illegal to work for any less than £10.50 per hour nowadays...but back then office work paid much less than factory work.. about a third less.. but I didn't want to work in a factory.

It made no difference to me at all, because I didn't see any of my wages my father took them, pay packet unopened..
 
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October, 1965, went to work for Collins Radio, which is now Rockwell International, building electronics for the space program. Started at $1.99 and 3 years later had advanced to working on the Apollo Project at $5.25. They went on strike, and I ended up working for Ma Bell as a telephone operator.
 

Full time with my cousin Sandy hauling hay and putting the bales up, that payed .25 per pickup so .50 in your barn plus mileage charge. Later on we both doubled that charge after others did so. That bought us 2 new 4x4 pickups and we paid cash for them. We both worked together always all we could. I loved the hay business. There was not much limits on what you could earn, just work harder. Always in the hay season there was more work than we could get done. After that we both worked for my uncle Hans running his cotton gin at night, it took seemingly forever for our parents to give the ok for us to do this, during ginning season we both worked 7 days a week. She ran the scales and did payments and book work I spotted trailers and ran the gin and oversaw the hands there working, we ginned 24/7 during season. We easily both each made $150 a week. The truck salesman my uncle took us to was shocked 2 teens came in with cash and bought 2 trucks. My cousin's father was my uncle's gin manager also where I got my middle name from. Her dad also went with us to buy our trucks.
 
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First full time job was Goodyear retread, I spent my shift grinding tires so they could be recapped, dirty, nasty work. It was my first exposure to a union, and it wasn't good. The first shift guy and the union Stuart keep chewing me out because I was getting too much work done and screwing up pay quotas. I had no clue what the fuss was about, all I knew was to work hard. I wanted to hang out with my girlfriend one night so called in sick, they fired me instantly. I think pay was just over $5.00 an hour.

Second job was for another union shop, United Auto Workers. Another bad experience where they tried to slow down my work. That was it for me, I knew I wasn't a good fit for union jobs, not saying they're all bad, but certainly not right for me.
 
My first job was with The House of Fraser, large department store chain in UK in 1949.
My Dad was ill so I had to leave school and help provide for the household needs.
It was in the counting house, i.e. office , and it paid me seventeen shillings and sixpence per week.... ( less than £1)
My mother took fifteen of those shillings for the household and I was left with spending money of two shillings and sixpence.
Wow, I was rich!
I got a two shilling and sixpence a week increase after three months and was promoted to the cash room where the money from customers came rolling down a chute in canisters and then with the change sent back through a tube system considered very modern in those days.
That was a VIP position...🤣🤣
 
Wayne said:
Full time with my cousin Sandy hauling hay and putting the bales up, that payed .25 per pickup so .50 in your barn plus mileage charge. Later on we both doubled that charge after others did so. That bought us 2 new 4x4 pickups and we paid cash for them. We both worked together always all we could. I loved the hay business. There was not much limits on what you could earn, just work harder. Always in the hay season there was more work than we could get done. After that we both worked for my uncle Hans running his cotton gin at night, it took seemingly forever for our parents to give the ok for us to do this, during ginning season we both worked 7 days a week. She ran the scales and did payments and book work I spotted trailers and ran the gin and oversaw the hands there working, we ginned 24/7 during season. We easily both each made $150 a week.
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hollydolly said:
seee what I mean £50 a week in 1965... and me on a measly pittance of £4.50 in 1970... it was terrible wages even then
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$50 was not the same as 50 pounds.....
 
Aside from the usual baby sitting jobs, first "real" job was carhop at a frozen custard stand. It paid 15 cents/hr. Not much money on payday, but there were tips so I always went home with a pocket full of change. 1955. I hadn't yet turned 15...because it started in spring as soon as the sNOw melted, and my birthday is in November.
 
Mizmo said:
My first job was with The House of Fraser, large department store chain in UK in 1949.
My Dad was ill so I had to leave school and help provide for the household needs.
It was in the counting house, i.e. office , and it paid me seventeen shillings and sixpence per week.... ( less than £1)
My mother took fifteen of those shillings for the household and I was left with spending money of two shillings and sixpence.
Wow, I was rich!
I got a two shilling and sixpence a week increase after three months and was promoted to the cash room where the money from customers came rolling down a chute in canisters and then with the change sent back through a tube system considered very modern in those days.
That was a VIP position...🤣🤣
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which branch were you at ?.. did you know most House of Frazer stores became victims of the great covid shut down ?.. many branches gone now..
 
My first full-time was in 1976 and I really don't have any idea how much it paid... it was a sewing factory, though, so not a lot. I was sitting hunched over a machine for 8 or 9 hours without more than a couple of breaks and lunch... I remember the horrid back pain every single day, so Friday afternoons were very good. Problem was that Monday morning rolled around too fast! :)
 
hollydolly said:
which branch were you at ?.. did you know most House of Frazer stores became victims of the great covid shut down ?.. many branches gone now..
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I started in Dallas's in Cowcaddens Glasgow, then later years to the big posh House of Fraser, Buchanan St store right in town.
I will always remember that coz I bumped into the actor Tyrone Power who was visiting Glasgow at that time....omg ....never forget those eyes looking into mine with concern and his charming...".So sorry Ma'am" and his arm on my shoulder to steady me.
I was a mess for the rest of the dayFaint.gif
 
1962 Working on the Forest Service summer crew. $1.97/hr. Two years later, I worked at a lumber mill in the Plywood Division pulling sheets of veneer off the green chain. $2.25/hr. These were summer jobs while going to college. After I graduated, I got a job tending bar. It was 70 hours a week, but adjusted for inflation, it was probably the most money I ever made per week, albeit murderously long weeks with no time to spend the money.
 
Mizmo said:
I started in Dallas's in Cowcaddens Glasgow, then later years to the big posh House of Fraser, Buchanan St store right in town.
I will always remember that coz I bumped into the actor Tyrone Power who was visiting Glasgow at that time....omg ....never forget those eyes looking into mine with concern and his charming...".So sorry Ma'am" and his arm on my shoulder to steady me.
I was a mess for the rest of the dayView attachment 278073
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awww I know both Cowcaddens and Buchanan street very well... think of them both with great afftection.:love: My first job was in Blythswood Square, next to the Botanic gardens in Kelvingrove..not far from where I lived.., then after that I went to work in a jewellers in the Argyle arcade in Argyle street , then from there to Chelsea Girl Boutique in Sauchiehall street... always moving on for more money each time..
 
First full-time job was right out of high school, 1970.
Made $124.00 a month.

Not bad; I had free enjoyable meals, a nice comfortable bed, lots of roommates (25) and all
I had to do was listen, shut up and get yelled at.

Even got a nice, stylist haircut!

After 20+ years, pay got a little better...

 

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