What was your first job when you were a kid?

[TheNiche]

At the age of (probably) 6, I determined that decent money (being spare change, when you're that young) could be made by loading up my Radio Flyer wagon with rocks from my family's property and carting them seemingly-vast distances as part of a door-to-door sales operation targeting the neighbors.

I am told that when one neighbor asked why he ought to buy my rocks when he had perfectly good rocks on his property already, I responded, "mine are better." And they were (not that I probably understood it). After all, I'd collected them from the former Tonkawa indian campsite that was on our property and didn't realize I was actually selling cultural artifacts. So, by probable accident, I actually made a few bucks.

Considering my pattern of investments and improbable returns in recent years, not all that much has changed.

[cnote]

First paycheck was from Outback Steakhouse in Humble as a busboy. That was the grossest and one of the most fun jobs I ever had as working in a restaurant is like working on the set of a real life soap opera, especially for a 15-16 year old kid. I look back on it now and think about the bartender that offered to take me to San Antonio to see the Beastie Boy's and wonder what he was thinking....of course this is the same guy that was constantly hitting on the 16-17 year old hostesses...In fact, now that I think of it, that was quite an introduction for a teenage kid to drugs, alcohol, sex, and all the drama that comes with it.

The worst parts of the job were trash duty (seafood and prime rib make disgusting trash) and bathroom cleanup (especially the womens restroom)...lets just say the delusion that some men have of women not going #2 was ruined for me....

[57Tbird]

Paper route during the summer when I was in Jr High. I delivered the Houston Press. The front and back page was pink on some days. I threw the papers from my bike, out of bags on a rack I had mounted on the back. I had 50 customers and collected $1.10 from each at the end of the month. I cleared about $20/mo.

First job during the summer in high school was at then City National Bank downtown. I rode the bus from home, to downtown and back, every day. My main job was placing the written checks in a machine that punched holes in them. I also got to photocopy checks daily and the statements before they went out at the end of the month. When things were slow, I was sent down to the vault to empty the very heavy bags of coins into machines that would count the correct number of coins that went into the roll paks. I would then crease the tops of the rolls over and slam them onto a steel block to seal them shut. I made pretty good money for a HS kid at that time... $150/mo.

[Daniepwils]

clerking at a lawfirm.

[TJones]

First paycheck was from Outback Steakhouse in Humble as a busboy. That was the grossest and one of the most fun jobs I ever had as working in a restaurant is like working on the set of a real life soap opera, especially for a 15-16 year old kid. I look back on it now and think about the bartender that offered to take me to San Antonio to see the Beastie Boy's and wonder what he was thinking....of course this is the same guy that was constantly hitting on the 16-17 year old hostesses...In fact, now that I think of it, that was quite an introduction for a teenage kid to drugs, alcohol, sex, and all the drama that comes with it.

The worst parts of the job were trash duty (seafood and prime rib make disgusting trash) and bathroom cleanup (especially the womens restroom)...lets just say the delusion that some men have of women not going #2 was ruined for me....

Did you ever get scared when you went to clean up the women's bathroom and a toilet seat was actually left up ?

[kittysmith]

I was an usherette at the late, great Windsor Theater on Richmond. All summer long they played "Ice Station Zebra." I saw the same parts over and over and over.

[cnote]

Did you ever get scared when you went to clean up the women's bathroom and a toilet seat was actually left up ?

Never happened, but I think tranny activity in the area was generally low. I was mostly surprised that the difference in the women's and men's bathroom cleanliness was pretty small...men just "miss" a little more...

one of the best perks was the free meals after closing shifts...by the time I quit I was actually sick of steak..and after working in and cleaning the kitchen, I had no qualms about eating there, it was a well run place.

[Subdude]

First regular paycheck was working in the warehouse at one of those catalog showroom places after school and on weekends. I loved it!

[west20th]

First regular paycheck was working in the warehouse at one of those catalog showroom places after school and on weekends. I loved it!

Picking tomatoes at a greenhouse. Summer job when I was 14. Naaaaaaaasty work for the princely sum of 1.75 an hour.

[Talbot]

My first job was at McDonalds when i was 15. Man, did I hate it.

[Porchman]

Actually, the problem was "across" horizontally. I got a similar injury a year later on the same hand while carving a pumpkin. My hand went down, the knife stayed up, and now I can no longer bend my pinky. I can bend it if I push it with the other hand, but I cut right through all the muscles and tendons and things down to the bone so now I can't move it with my mind. I guess if I'd told my mother she would have taken me to the hospital to have them sewn back on, but I was 17 and listened to enough Depeche Mode that I didn't really feel pain back then.

Mrs. Porchman does not like my handling knives. BTW, I often cut myself when listening to Depeche Mode.

MY JOBS:

12-16... Mowing lawns

17... Food prep/bussing/dishes at a fondue restaurant. I have a valuable cheese sauce with kirche recipe.

18... Working for a small opera company.

[infinite_jim]

Voter Consumer Research. We did political surveys mostly. We were allowed to make up whatever name we wanted. I'll never forget the time I was "Nomar" when I called Boston and got cussed out like a mother from a heavy accented Bostonian and then the time I was "Kobe" when I called LA and they guy said, "yeah, and I'm shaq." The LA guy was nice to me.

heh, I worked across the street from you at the Gallup Poll

my 1st job was a busboy at Los Cucos

[Mark F. Barnes]

Grew up on a working Dairy, I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count.........................

[Vertigo58]

Mrs. Porchman does not like my handling knives. BTW, I often cut myself when listening to Depeche Mode.

Hopefully it didn't happen when hearing Master & Servant! "Domination is the name of the game..."

[PuroAztlan]

Mrs. Porchman does not like my handling knives. BTW, I often cut myself when listening to Depeche Mode.

Emo FAIL

[TJones]

I was an usherette at the late, great Windsor Theater on Richmond. All summer long they played "Ice Station Zebra." I saw the same parts over and over and over.

OOOOOOOOOO, I envy you a little for that job back then. I saw my favorite movie of all time, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 3 times there. First time I remember any theater handing out promo posters for the movie. I had like 8 or 9 of them.

[Native Son]

Palms Nusery on S. Post Oak, right by Beldens and AJ Foyt Chevy...across the road from the little Christie's...they called us farm labor so they could pay us less than minimum wage

[EastEnd Susan]

First job was at Foleys in Almeda Mall. 1975. There was a woman who worked there that would shave her eyebrows off and paint big black eyebrows on with an eyebrow pencil. Scary.

[Vertigo58]

We once ran a fire work stand in summer! 1977ish? Way out by Lake Houston area Beaumont Hwy? Seems like a zillion moons ago. That was a real eye opener. Have a pic I took with my "new" Pronto instamatic camera.

Those firework stands gather a wild crowd I tell ya. We torched most of our stock but had a blast doing it.

[foxmulder]

My first job was at Office Depot Still there 6 years later...

[Montrose1100]

Assitant Manager of an optometrist's office.