My first paid gig was the same as most girls.  I babysat. There was a lady who lived near us who was the only divorced woman in town (seriously).  Most people wouldn't let their daughters babysit for this brazen hussy when she worked nights waiting tables at the bowling alley/restaurant in town.  I was often there from around four in the afternoon till at least two in the morning...often later.  She had three kids aged 4, 6, and 7...I made an average of $.35 an hour to watch them, cook them dinner, clean up, bathe them, and get them to bed.  

After that I had a couple gigs in restaurant kitchens mostly washing dishes, making relish trays, and at the country club waiting tables.  I later worked as a bartender at the same country club.

Dad set up a summer job for me in a farm toy factory which is where I learned that assembly line work in an ancient building with a foundry and a paint room was not for me.  I think I had worked my way up to $2.00 an hour.  I left the job before the required two months was up and got hired the same day at a local mom and pop grocery store where the five of us did everything that needed to be done.  It was really good experience.  I may have been up to $2.10 an hour.

That takes me through high school with the added experience of working for dad since his veterinary business was based out of the house.  That gig was paid with the roof over my head and meals.  I answered the phone and decided what calls were emergencies, waited on clients who came in to pick up medication or pay on their bill, and even worked as a compounding pharmacist when someone needed a medication that wasn't on the shelf.

What put money in your pocket when you were growing up?

(April 22, 2021 at 1:20 pm)arewethereyet Wrote: My first paid gig was the same as most girls.  I babysat. There was a lady who lived near us who was the only divorced woman in town (seriously).  Most people wouldn't let their daughters babysit for this brazen hussy when she worked nights waiting tables at the bowling alley/restaurant in town.  I was often there from around four in the afternoon till at least two in the morning...often later.  She had three kids aged 4, 6, and 7...I made an average of $.35 an hour to watch them, cook them dinner, clean up, bathe them, and get them to bed.  

After that I had a couple gigs in restaurant kitchens mostly washing dishes, making relish trays, and at the country club waiting tables.  I later worked as a bartender at the same country club.

Dad set up a summer job for me in a farm toy factory which is where I learned that assembly line work in an ancient building with a foundry and a paint room was not for me.  I think I had worked my way up to $2.00 an hour.  I left the job before the required two months was up and got hired the same day at a local mom and pop grocery store where the five of us did everything that needed to be done.  It was really good experience.  I may have been up to $2.10 an hour.

That takes me through high school with the added experience of working for dad since his veterinary business was based out of the house.  That gig was paid with the roof over my head and meals.  I answered the phone and decided what calls were emergencies, waited on clients who came in to pick up medication or pay on their bill, and even worked as a compounding pharmacist when someone needed a medication that wasn't on the shelf.

What put money in your pocket when you were growing up?

I started doing assembly work - soldering, cutting wire, polishing plastic parts - ect --- in my parent's basement, for the company dad worked for. No more than 20 hours a week during school year. As much as I wanted during summer break.

I got 10% earned. The rest had to go in my college fund.

During the summer - I baled hay for several neighbors and our own field. (square 75 lbs bales) I got to keep that money.

Starting the year we moved to the farm.  I was 11.


BTW - my first new bike was a $300 Puch 10 speed with lots of goodies. I paid for it myself. (my older sister now has it).

Lifeguard.

I taught swim lessons too, but mostly lifeguarding. It was a cool gig. Got to be outside in the summer. One place I worked had a swimming pool and outdoor lake swimming area. The job really suited me since I was lazy AF. (was? lol.)

It can also be pretty boring at times.

(April 22, 2021 at 1:31 pm)vulcanlogician Wrote: Lifeguard.

I taught swim lessons too, but mostly lifeguarding. It was a cool gig. Got to be outside in the summer. One place I worked had a swimming pool and outdoor lake swimming area. The job really suited me since I was lazy AF. (was? lol.)

It can also be pretty boring at times.

I didn't lifeguard but was certified by the Red Cross to teach swimming to kids with handicaps...most of the crew had Down Syndrome and they were all around nine or ten.  That was a cool experience.

I rented out beach cabanas, waited tables, washed dishes, picked peanuts, fished, prepped cars, and plated printed circuit boards.

Now, that's not what I did for money - just what I did for work.

Mostly farm-type stuff. We were given time off our farm to earn pocket money working for other people.

Aside from that, I earned a bit working for the Travelers when they came round - caring for their animals, helping load and unload caravans, that sort of thing. Funny - I’d rather make 50p from the tinkers than £5 from the neighbours.

Boru

Chicken house jobs, the worst of which was folding the waxed paper trays used as feeders for new chicks.  A night of that left my fingers feeling like I'd shelled a bushel of butter beans.  Maybe all the farm stuff shouldn't count since it was mandatory and rarely remunerated.  I mowed lawns for family and neighbors.  My first employer was the town paper, throwing and collecting.  

My high school job was at a little league ballpark, mowing, raking dirt, chalking lines, calling and scoring games, and cleaning up the next day.  That scene, with the goofy kids, uptight coaches, hot moms, slutty sisters, flat top dads, cops for umps, and me and Brad as the stoner punks would make a good late 70s movie.

In high school, my father took over management of a golf course. My entire family worked for the golf course. I started out as greenskeeper and eventually acquired the title of assistant manager. Because there was a lot of work to be done, I got a lot of overtime. That allowed me to earn enough over the course of the summers to pay rent on an apartment and live off of during the school year.

As a kid I'll limit it to pre HS graduation.

First was mowing neighbors yards, ~11-12yrs old.

Next farm work for a friend of my dads, age 13. May have been punishment, that year I quit church.

Next year detasseling corn in the spring then working at the uncles landfill until school started. Corn sucked, landfill not as bad as it sounds, got me on the big machinery.

From then thru graduation doing sand and gravel/ready mix concrete/street paving for dear old dad. I did a little of everything that there was to do. Jack hammering out the inside of the cement trucks during the off season was the worst.

Did not have a job as a kid. Did not have my first job until I was twenty.