Vox pop - What was your first job?

Pearly · June 2007

We've decided to extend our vox popping to the boards so you can all have your say. Please give us your opinion to the question below, attach a picture of yourself (feel free to disguise if you're shy), and give us your first name and age.

We will choose the best/most interesting and balanced answers to appear on the vox pop area of TheSite.org. The only difference is that we won't have audio for the ones we get from the boards. We will sub them in the same way we always do to make them into short and concise answers, so if grammar isn't your thing, then fear not!

:chin:

What was your first job?

How old were you when you got your first paid job, what was it and how much were you paid? Whether you've just started a full or part-time job or you're reminiscing about the days when £3.50 an hour was acceptable, TheSite.org wants to hear about it.

Pearly · June 2007

And don't worry if you haven't got a picture at this moment in time, we can sort that later on if you still want to have your say...

Former Member · June 2007

I was about 13 and worked for my mum and her boss in a Shopmobility. I got to ride the electric scooters (on speed 10!! hell yeh!) around the shopping centre after closing and it was SO much fun. Then I did a bit of dusting and got a tenner in an envelope addressed to 'Slave' :thumb: Good times :thumb:

Former Member · June 2007

About 14. Washer-upper in a health food cafe called Ceres (gone now) down in Eastbourne. Was absolutely dire. Hot, sweaty, bad tempered waitresses complaining because there was a currant stuck to the bottom of a 'clean' tea cup

but we used to get a free lunch, drinks and cake in the afternoon tea break which i used to seriously pig out on. Problem was the 'staff room' was next to this old fashioned enormous boiler in the cellar so you didn't really want to be there that long.

Got about £8 for a 10 hour shift.

Former Member · June 2007

18 years old :P last year :P Fish farm worker, then started second job a week later in a Factory,

Got £6.10ph at fish farm and £5.35 at factory

Former Member · June 2007

Pearly wrote: »

What was your first job? How old were you when you got your first paid job, what was it and how much were you paid?

I didn't get my first job until I was 20. To be honest, I had little reason to get one any earlier. I worked in a shop that is best described as a "mini-supermarket". I was paid minimum wage at the time, which was £4.85 an hour if I remember correctly. I worked at that shop for two years before I moved on.

If you want a picture, get in touch.

Former Member · June 2007

I was a gofer at a hair dressers cant remeber how much i got paid tho

Former Member · June 2007

I was 16 and i was Weekend Grotto Supervisor (ie. Head Elf) at a Christmas Grotto in my local shopping centre. It paid £6.50 an hour and paid for me to go to Amsterdam for New Year

Former Member · June 2007

I had just turned 15 when i got my first job. I worked in the coffee shop of a speciality foods and sandwich shop. It was great at the time. I started on £3.50 an hour and was up to £4.50 within about 3 months, got free food in breaks, great people working there. I used to fancy my supervisor like hell, and we got together on a work night out

Made work even better for a while

Former Member · June 2007

I was 16 when I got my first job as a casual banqueting waiter at the local Hilton hotel.

I can honestly say I've never worked anywhere worse in my life lol

I did 2 shifts, then shattered my ankle in a unfortunate drinking incident in a park - never went back to the hilton once my ankle had healed and went on to work in a camera shop - which was pretty cool!

both jobs min wage at the time which was about 6 years ago now, no idea what min wage was - time flies!

Former Member · June 2007

I think it was when I was maybe 12ish. I had a paper route. It was the shopper, the once a week cupon/sale/clasifieds add type thing. It was my brothers before but I took over... then my dad did all the work for me. He would bag them and drive me around, even though it was just around the neighborhood. And it was $40 a month I think. It definatly wasn't minimum wage and they had to be breaking a ton of child labor laws. It lasted about a month, then my dad got sick of it

Former Member · July 2007

Worked for Boots on Saturdays as a till jockey/photo counter person. £3.25 an hour at 16, I thought i was rich

Former Member · July 2007

My first paid job was instructing two groups of ten 6-10 year olds when 15 at a riding school! I only got to do it because I looked older than I was (my boss actually lied I was 18) and I was in no way mature enough to handle the job. I had no idea how to entertain so many kids for three hours, and then again after lunch! However, I got about 730 quid for my efforts per month which was over what most of my friends earned at that age.

After those three months I decided horses would only be my hobby from then on and that there are some things that money doesn't justify doing.

(my boss spent the whole summer trying to convince me that there's nothing more natural than a 16 year old absolutely lusting for somebody 50 years older... incidentally, without a word I stopped showing up two months before my 16 year old birthday)

Former Member · July 2007

I delivered morning newspapers when I was in my sixth year at school (aged 17). Took me half an hour each morning, six mornings a week. I was paid £8 for the pleasure.

Although the money was rubbish, I was playing hockey about 9 times a week and doing other extra-curricular activities too, so I didn't really have time to get anything better.

When I left school I started working in a bar at £4.20 an hour.

Former Member · July 2007

I was 18 when I got my first job. It was at Blockbusters whilst I was still in sixth form. I got paid £4.50 an hour and normally worked about 25 hours a week.

Pearly · July 2007

Thanks for all your responses, the vox pops are now live:

http://www.thesite.org/community/reallife/voxpops/whatwasyourfirstjob

Let me know if you have any ideas for our next board vox pop question!

Thanks all

Former Member · July 2007

My first job was when I was 14. I lied about my age to get it as well. I worked in the gift shop at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust down in Arundel. It was dull as hell and I spent most of my time dusting mobiles of Canadian geese. Great fun haha

Former Member · July 2007

I used to help do a milkround, Staurdays and School Holiday. It was worth about £10 per day for a five hour shift (mximum), in 1983-1987 that was good money.

Illegal as hell having a 13 year old getting up at 2am and it was all "off the books" too...

**helen** · July 2007

Since the voxpop is already live I'll move this to the work forum

Former Member · July 2007

I was fourteen and I worked as a volunteer in the local charity shop. I loved being nosey and sorting through everyone's old clothes, especially if I got the first pick of the good stuff!

Vox pop - What was your first job?

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