What was your very first job after leaving school?

Right after college in I was a Medical Technician. I ran the Lab for a private doctor on Michigan Avenue in Chicago..
 

I got an office job in an insurance company in Vancouver. Made lots of friends there, loved it, so much fun and the work was a cinch. Stayed for about 2 years then went back to university.
 
Right out of high school...worked at a florist..(loved it) then big Insurance Co, downtown Dallas (hated it) then went to Cosmetology school and had my own shop for several years (it was ok)..this was until I was around 28 or so.
 
I worked for a major shipbuilding company on the gulf coast in the accounting dept. Total employment was around 25k when I was there. I felt like a little fish in the ocean. I lasted a little over 2 years before moving onto a company with employment in the 200 range. :)
 
After graduating high school at 16 and before military service and college I lied about my age and went to work on a grave yard shift at a box and container factory inserting carboard slabs one by one into a waxing device to make milk cartons. When I got off shift I walked next door to Libby McNeil and unloaded cases of fruit cocktail from box cars one by one for 8 hours. Almost two years of this before enlisting in the Air Force convinced me to go to college after getting out of the service so I could earn a living doing something more exciting and rewarding.
 
Hmmm ... actually I was working before I graduated school. Of course, it was part time, but ...

I started teaching martial arts when I was in my senior year of high school - taught out of my basement and in local parks and YMCA's. By the time I started college I was living in a loft and taught roughly 20 hours a week while I got my Bachelor and Masters degrees, then kicked it up a bit more while I went for my PhD.

Technically, by the time I graduated I was already running my own business so it wasn't very hard scaling the hours up. Then I started traveling around the country, got involved in corporate things, and that's when the wrecking ball came down. :rolleyes:
 
Unfortunately I left school at 14 years old as it was the way of life when I was young many young girls who were the eldest of large families had the same experience. I m the eldest of eight
However I did work for a year in a fruit and veg shop before traveling to South Australia to work in a seasonal factory in the Riverland where fruit and vegetables were canned.that factory is no longer in existence.
I returned to NSW and decided to move to the Riverland which I did continuing to work in the factory each season until it closed
It was when I had all that trouble I mentioned, then shifting to the farm before meeting my husband 11 years latter
After meeting my husband in 1986 I studied to become a carer of disabled persons, which I only retired from 4 years ago at 65
 
Last edited:
My first job in the summer was what you'd probably call a "soda jerk" at a drive in. I did the shakes, sundaes, etc, and one guy cooked the burgers and fries. It was a blast, but only lasted about 4 weeks, then I got a better offer as a waitress at a steak house. Not as much fun but the tips were good. At the end of the summer they offered me the job as bartender there,:cool: but decided I better go back to school.
 
I started writing code for Burroughs mainframe systems. I did that for about 5 years before I moved on to a more modern system. A few years of that and then I started my own company.
 
I had part-time jobs in high school - dishwasher, nurses' aide. After high school I didn't want to go to college/university and sat around for most of a summer. My mother found a job advertised in the newspaper for a local factory and drove me there for the interview (I did not want this job!). I'm sure the idea was that making me work in a horrible job would motivate me to go to university. Backfired on everybody. Met a cute guy, fell in love (lust), got pregnant, got married.

The reply to the question: I hated the first job I had out of school!
 
I also worked at age 14 until graduation. Went to college 4 yrs., then the Marines, including 14 months in Vietnam, or as I call it, "Hell on Earth", then got a job for DuPont, didn't like engineering, so I went to flight school and graduated, got a job with Wisconsin Air, then a job with United and retired 32 years later. I wanted to fly helicopter in the Marines, but they said I was too tall at 6'4". I learned later that was a bunch of B.S. I also tried for an appointment to West Point and Annapolis, but my Congressman wouldn't give me the time of day even for an interview.

I did the reverse. I should have went into the service first and then to college on the GI bill. I was just very unsure of what I wanted to do. My Dad was military and I knew that at some point that's where I belonged, so I decided after college to go into the Marines, despite my Dad's request to join the Army, which was his branch. As I looked back after retirement, I am 100% satisfied with the way my life turned out.
 
I left school aged 15 years and one month and started work the very next day as a junior clerk for a shipping and forwarding agency, I left 9 years later to have my first baby, by this time I was manageress of the office in charge of old and new clients.:)

I really did love that job, I have had other jobs since (all in retail) but none that I can say I really enjoyed.
 
After school, I went to university. Those were the days before student fees etc... (free in Scotland to Scottish residents), and you could get a grant depending on your parents' income. You could also 'sign on' to the Buroo (Dole) Still, you needed money and during the holidays I had a series of jobs. Note that since my parents knew the 'right' people, I always had a job.
In the summer, I worked for the local council lifting bins (trash can ?) - in the days before wheelie bins and at Christmas, I worked as a temporary Postie, in the days when people wrote letters.

These gave me a better education in human nature than any college could have done.

Number 1. Everybody needs somebody to look down on. The man who is picking up your trash or sweeping your street is a prime candidate, even for people who couldn't add 2+2.
Number 2. Never judge a person by the job that they do. I met many people who did menial jobs but were highly intelligent, skilled and articulate. Never assume a person is more stupid than you are.
Number 3. Wealthier people are often much more polite to you. They, sure as hell, wouldn't want to be doing your job and they're happy that you do it for them.

I did various other jobs, most of which I enjoyed, though I didn't always like the people I worked with.
 
Cookie said:
I got an office job in an insurance company in Vancouver. Made lots of friends there, loved it, so much fun and the work was a cinch. Stayed for about 2 years then went back to university.
Click to expand...


My first job was working in a little jewellery wholesaler with a little old German lady named Mrs. Hess. Dingy little walk-up office, but the gems were so lovely! I made $70.00 per week and I think I was there for about a year.

But I have to ask Cookie, what did you find 'fun' about working in an insurance office? Unless of course you're just referring to the cheerful folks you worked with? The reason I ask is because I worked in two insurance agencies for about four years and while I liked the people, I hated the business. Reminding people to get their insurance, 'pushing' endorsements, calling late payers and then when they did have a problem having to tell them how sorry I was, but their claim was not covered! Or telling them because they had used their insurance, their premiums would have to go up. Insurance, so necessary but kind of a nasty business. It must have been the people that you thought fun right?
 
NancyNGA said:
My first job in the summer was what you'd probably call a "soda jerk" at a drive in. I did the shakes, sundaes, etc, and one guy cooked the burgers and fries.
Click to expand...

I was a "soda jerk" at a creamery/bakery in the summer while in high school.
I made the best malts and sodas anyone could wish for!
No more malts and the sodas sure aren't made the way they were then! :(

First job after high school was as secretary for a 2-man law firm. It was okay.
 
Debby, my first job at that particular insurance company was enjoyable mainly because the people were so great and the atmosphere was very social, with lots of other girls my age just out of school and an open concept environment, before cubicles even existed. Being so young and inexperienced, I didn't take the work very seriously, the clerical job was very easy, but what I loved was the friendly atmosphere. That was in the late 60s, those places don't exist anymore. Other insurance companies I worked for were very corporate and very stressful and no fun at all.
 
Delivered papers in High School and after school was done, I worked as an usher in our local theater, The Colonia. A fun job and paid a whopping 50 cents an hour. Shortly after leaving the usher job, I went to work for Victory Supermarkets and stayed with them until I went in Army. The Colonia still shows movies but the old, beautiful decor is gone.

Where the Fishbowl is, on left, was a small jewelry store where I bought my wife's engagement ring.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    152.2 KB · Views: 31
Cookie said:
Debby, my first job at that particular insurance company was enjoyable mainly because the people were so great and the atmosphere was very social, with lots of other girls my age just out of school and an open concept environment, before cubicles even existed. Being so young and inexperienced, I didn't take the work very seriously, the clerical job was very easy, but what I loved was the friendly atmosphere. That was in the late 60s, those places don't exist anymore. Other insurance companies I worked for were very corporate and very stressful and no fun at all.
Click to expand...


I suspected as much. After all, who can enjoy telling folks that they're SOL when it comes to a loss right? I liked the people at both offices I worked in as well, the work, not so much.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top