Allen ★ Posted June 10, 2019 Share #1 Posted June 10, 2019 Other than from your folks. Mine was for doing yard work for a Jewish couple. I was 12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsharr ★ Posted June 10, 2019 Share #2 Posted June 10, 2019 I did yard work and went door to door putting out flyers as a jr. high student. First real punch a clock, get a paycheck job was for Wolfe Nursery in Richardson, Texas in 1980 as a sophomore in high school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kzoo Posted June 10, 2019 Share #3 Posted June 10, 2019 Baling hay at about 12 or 13 yo. I think I made 50 cents an hour. We got paid when the milk check came. Those were long and dusty days. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen ★ Posted June 10, 2019 Author Share #4 Posted June 10, 2019 1 minute ago, jsharr said: I did yard work and went door to door putting out flyers as a jr. high student. First real punch a clock, get a paycheck job was for Wolfe Nursery in Richardson, Texas in 1980 as a sophomore in high school. My first payroll job was bus boy at the local steakhouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Wheels Posted June 10, 2019 Share #5 Posted June 10, 2019 I delivered 100 local newspapers a week. I made $16 a month. I was 12 or so, I thought I was rich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Road Runner Posted June 10, 2019 Share #6 Posted June 10, 2019 At 11 years old, I became a paper boy. I made about $8 a week delivering 70 or so papers. I had a small route. 8 bucks was big money when you could buy a small fountain soda for 5 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisL Posted June 10, 2019 Share #7 Posted June 10, 2019 I worked under the table in Jr High at a 7-11 my sister worked at. $5 a day to stock the cooler after school. It was a PITA job but I could get my fill of slurpee’s! First actual paycheck was from the Army. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Road Runner Posted June 10, 2019 Share #8 Posted June 10, 2019 First actual job was as a senior in HS through a special program where students could leave school early and work part of the day. I had a part time job with a local shoe store as a stock boy. I made 0.95 an hour and my 20 hour take home pay was around $17. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted June 10, 2019 Share #9 Posted June 10, 2019 First check was during the latter part of HS working at a local market. A classmate of mine also worked there. Sweeping & stocking & such. Can't remember the pay rate, but whatever minimum wage in 1991 was. Prior to that I did some work but was paid cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 10, 2019 Share #10 Posted June 10, 2019 15 minutes ago, Kzoo said: Baling hay at about 12 or 13 yo. I think I made 50 cents an hour. We got paid when the milk check came. Those were long and dusty days. Glad you didn’t say lawn mowing? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 10, 2019 Share #11 Posted June 10, 2019 Like most I was around 10-12. Lawn mowing, painting did whatever came along to make a few bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsharr ★ Posted June 10, 2019 Share #12 Posted June 10, 2019 4 minutes ago, Zackny said: Glad you didn’t say lawn mowing? Nominated!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur ★ Posted June 10, 2019 Share #13 Posted June 10, 2019 Load clay pigeons at a skeet range. $10 for a whole day crouched over in a cinderblock hut freezing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kzoo Posted June 10, 2019 Share #14 Posted June 10, 2019 3 minutes ago, jsharr said: Nominated!!!!! I don't think so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12string Posted June 10, 2019 Share #15 Posted June 10, 2019 Started with a paper route. It's a shame they don't exist anymore, great character builder. Mowing, odd jobs, gigolo, whatever I could get. The first regularly scheduled job was working the grill at McD's senior year of High School. That made me appreciate working harder to get a better job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kzoo Posted June 10, 2019 Share #16 Posted June 10, 2019 2 minutes ago, wilbur said: Load clay pigeons at a skeet range. $10 for a whole day crouched over in a cinderblock hut freezing. At least you weren't getting shot at. Oh wait... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx ★ Posted June 10, 2019 Share #17 Posted June 10, 2019 12 or so lawn mowing. 14 or so varmint hunting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsharr ★ Posted June 10, 2019 Share #18 Posted June 10, 2019 12 minutes ago, Kzoo said: At least you weren't getting shot at. Oh wait... A Canadian clay pigen shoot could be fun. PULL bang, bang, smash. Sorry, eh. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerrySTL ★ Posted June 10, 2019 Share #19 Posted June 10, 2019 14 YO working at a full service car wash. This was in 1968. 95¢ an hour. I think that the first check was around $13. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kzoo Posted June 10, 2019 Share #20 Posted June 10, 2019 4 minutes ago, jsharr said: A Canadian clay pigen shoot could be fun. PULL bang, bang, smash. Sorry, eh. Many years ago I used to shoot trap. On practice nights there were times we would challenge ourselves to hit the bird as close to the house a possible. One method was to pay attention to the timing of the arm and try to time your "pull" to be front and center and nail the bird as it came up over the top of the house roof. I'm sure I took some asphalt off shingles from time to time. We had an unmanned house. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post 12string Posted June 10, 2019 Popular Post Share #21 Posted June 10, 2019 4 minutes ago, Kzoo said: We had an unmanned house. eventually, or from the start of the session? 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onbike1939 Posted June 10, 2019 Share #22 Posted June 10, 2019 At eleven I was working 32 hours a week delivering papers before and after school for seven days a week and was paid 10 shillings a week. The UK equivalent today would be 50p.....I think that would have been around 60 cents. My mother needed the money but would give me a shilling to spend. Not that I'm complaining as it made me the man I am today ........which when I think of it......is a pity really. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kzoo Posted June 10, 2019 Share #23 Posted June 10, 2019 Just now, onbike1939 said: At eleven I was working 32 hours a week delivering papers before and after school for seven days a week and was paid 10 shillings a week. The UK equivalent today would be 50p.....I think that would have been around 60 cents. My mother needed the money but would give me a shilling to spend. Not that I'm complaining as it made me the man I am today ........which when I think of it......is a pity really. So they had paper currency back then? Huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsharr ★ Posted June 10, 2019 Share #24 Posted June 10, 2019 3 minutes ago, onbike1939 said: At eleven I was working 32 hours a week delivering papers before and after school for seven days a week and was paid 10 shillings a week. The UK equivalent today would be 50p.....I think that would have been around 60 cents. My mother needed the money but would give me a shilling to spend. Not that I'm complaining as it made me the man I am today ........which when I think of it......is a pity really. Which one is you? 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onbike1939 Posted June 10, 2019 Share #25 Posted June 10, 2019 1 minute ago, Kzoo said: So they had paper currency back then? Huh? Well........indeed they did.......but I never saw much of it. I think that there are things which can build too much character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onbike1939 Posted June 10, 2019 Share #26 Posted June 10, 2019 2 minutes ago, jsharr said: Which one is you? None of these.......I mean we could never afford shoes. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BR46 Posted June 10, 2019 Share #27 Posted June 10, 2019 58 minutes ago, Kzoo said: Baling hay at about 12 or 13 yo. I think I made 50 cents an hour. We got paid when the milk check came. Those were long and dusty days. Baling hay on the neighbors farm 12 years old. I made 65 cents per hour. When I wasn't working on that farm I worked on the other farm up the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentonMakes Posted June 10, 2019 Share #28 Posted June 10, 2019 My brother and I did some random "odd job" work for a guy down the street. We did some general lackey work like clearing brush and helping him move big rocks out of XC ski trails. I think we were paid by check but I can't really remember. My first paycheck for the cashier job at the supermarket was around $120. I was elated and I probably went and bought some stupid cheap gadget at the auto parts store next door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsharr ★ Posted June 10, 2019 Share #29 Posted June 10, 2019 Just now, onbike1939 said: None of these.......I mean we could never afford shoes. We got evicted from our hole in the ground 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groupw Posted June 10, 2019 Share #30 Posted June 10, 2019 Detasseling corn. For those not familiar. Walking through rows of corn in July and early August pulling the tassels from the female rows before pollentation. It's how hybrids are made. In the morning the corn would be wet from the morning dew. We walked in rows with irrigation water (before pivot irrigation became common). By noon, the fields were a sauna and the corn stalks blocked the breeze. We worked until mid afternoon if we were on schedule, then returned to town and would hang out at the swimming pool until dad came to pick us up after work. WoW's mom is cousins with one of the couple who we worked for. They tell us new labor rules, pivot irrigation and automated detasseling machines mean the kids don't have any idea what it's like to work like we did. $200-$300 for the season was good for upgrading school clothes, a new camera or something and some in savings. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Far ★ Posted June 10, 2019 Share #31 Posted June 10, 2019 Summer after I turned 16, $1.65/hour building the back 9 at a new golf course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffJim Posted June 10, 2019 Share #32 Posted June 10, 2019 3 minutes ago, jsharr said: We got evicted from our hole in the ground My dad would wake us up at 10 o’clock every night, half hour before we went to sleep and make us work a 29 hour shift down at the mill. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onbike1939 Posted June 10, 2019 Share #33 Posted June 10, 2019 8 minutes ago, jsharr said: We got evicted from our hole in the ground You had a hole in the ground? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsharr ★ Posted June 10, 2019 Share #34 Posted June 10, 2019 5 minutes ago, onbike1939 said: You had a hole in the ground? Yes, but as I stated earlier, we were evicted. Is this where you tell me about living in the brown paper bag in the septic tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsharr ★ Posted June 10, 2019 Share #35 Posted June 10, 2019 8 minutes ago, BuffJim said: My dad would wake us up at 10 o’clock every night, half hour before we went to sleep and make us work a 29 hour shift down at the mill. But you were happy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onbike1939 Posted June 10, 2019 Share #36 Posted June 10, 2019 Just now, jsharr said: Yes, but as I stated earlier, we were evicted. Is this where you tell me about living in the brown paper bag in the septic tank? My family envied the people who owned brown paper bags. We all felt it was something to aspire to. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsharr ★ Posted June 10, 2019 Share #37 Posted June 10, 2019 Just now, onbike1939 said: My family envied the people who owned brown paper bags. We all felt it was something to aspire to. You try to tell that to the children of today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onbike1939 Posted June 10, 2019 Share #38 Posted June 10, 2019 1 minute ago, jsharr said: You try to tell that to the children of today? Spoiled little bastards.....I hate the lot of them with their shoes and all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickinMD ★ Posted June 10, 2019 Share #39 Posted June 10, 2019 A friend's father was a carpenter who laid hardwood floor and moonlighted on the weekend. When I was about 13, we'd often lay the flooring someplace out in the country where we would work from 6 am to around noon, then hunt or fish on the property. I was paid $10 each time. My first FICA-deductions real paycheck came when I was 17 and working at Gino's, a McDonald's-like fast food chain that also had the exclusive Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise for Maryland. That was a hard, always-on-task job, but fun for a high school teenager. I started at the minimum wage of $1.25, but back then that was a trial wage. Within 9 months I was making $1.55 and a year later $2 and Gino's paid my way through the first 2 years of college. At first I worked 1-2 nights a week and punched out after 4.5 hours each night because they had to pay you for a half hour "lunch break" if you worked for at least 5 hours. I soon realized that I'd be kept an extra half hour - and then be paid another half hour for lunch - if the parking lot was dirty and needed to be swept. So I'd tell everyone I knew who came in to carry their trash outside and throw it on the parking lot before they left! That way, I got paid for 5.5 hours instead of 4.5 hours. We could eat all we wanted for free. For my family or my girlfriend's family, they'd buy $5 worth of stuff and occasionally I'd ring up $0.15. The manager was ok when we did that on rare occasions. After a while, I worked to closing, 8 hrs each night for 3-6 nights/week while struggling to keep the grades to graduate from high school: I needed the money to go commute to UMBC the next year. We closers divvied up and took home stuff cooked but not sold: KFC chicken, Gino Giants (copied as the Big Mac), cheeseburgers, etc. and my kid brother and sister loved it. A trick among us closers was to make an extra pot, 18 pieces, of Kentucky Fried Chicken above what was expected to be sold when the manager wasn't looking. After we closed, we'd take to the local Dunkin' Donuts and trade it to the waitresses for free coffee and donuts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prophet Zacharia Posted June 10, 2019 Share #40 Posted June 10, 2019 I delivered papers as a young one. Back in the day when a kid on a bike rode through the dark pre-dawn hours to bring you the paper, then went around and collect the subscription money. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rattlecan ★ Posted June 10, 2019 Share #41 Posted June 10, 2019 1 hour ago, jsharr said: We got evicted from our hole in the ground Luxury! We'd 'ave killed to "ave an 'ole. 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffJim Posted June 10, 2019 Share #42 Posted June 10, 2019 My first informal work was cutting lawns, but it didn’t suit me due to severe allergies, and an inability to make things all pretty. I carried newspapers for 2 years. Had to do my own collections, too. First formal paycheck was from doing dishes at a restaurant for 2 years. $3.35 was minimum wage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airehead Posted June 10, 2019 Share #43 Posted June 10, 2019 I picked spinach as it passed on the line. Minimum wage didn’t apply as it was seasonal at work or some crap like that. Worst job ever and a great reason to stay in school. Prior to that I sometimes baby sat for a dollar an hour. I also occasionally got paid or a stipend to play the fiddle when a group was short. That was fun being treated like a member of the band grown up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Further Posted June 10, 2019 Share #44 Posted June 10, 2019 Scrubbing floors around the neighborhood for 50 cents to a dollar per floor, I was less than 10. Then added lawns & odd jobs. Worked fairly steady at a race horse stable for a couple years when I was about 12. Had a paper route somewhere in there. First tax paying job was working in a college cafeteria at 14, I think min wage was about 60 cents an hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottleshead ★ Posted June 11, 2019 Share #45 Posted June 11, 2019 JC Penney formal. Picking weeds as a child informal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrapr ★ Posted June 11, 2019 Share #46 Posted June 11, 2019 first one was newspaper delivery. But there was a catch. Mom would make us quit the delivery route to go out & pick berries. Strawberries, then blackberries, then boysenberries. Then Fall, Winter, Spring for newspapers. Or as we call it in Oregon...the rainy season Then caught on moving irrigation pipe for row crops. I thought i was in heaven. Took about an hour to move each line. Then F off for a couple hours and do it again. I think that was $1.00/hr. But boss' wife made me crew chief so i got $1.10/hr. Long days because boss would get as many sets a day as he could. By August the corn was 8' tall. Like @groupw says it was sauna like conditions. Because you just watered half the rows you are moving the pipe over that is a foot or 2 over your outstretched arms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Page Turner Posted June 11, 2019 Share #47 Posted June 11, 2019 8 hours ago, Square Wheels said: I delivered 100 local newspapers a week. I made $16 a month. I was 12 or so, I thought I was rich. 8 hours ago, Road Runner said: At 11 years old, I became a paper boy. I made about $8 a week delivering 70 or so papers. I had a small route. 8 bucks was big money when you could buy a small fountain soda for 5 cents. 8 hours ago, 12string said: Started with a paper route. It's a shame they don't exist anymore, great character builder. 7 hours ago, onbike1939 said: At eleven I was working 32 hours a week delivering papers before and after school for seven days a week and was paid 10 shillings a week. 3 hours ago, Scrapr said: first one was newspaper delivery. But there was a catch. Mom would make us quit the delivery route to go out & pick berries. Strawberries, then blackberries, then boysenberries. Then Fall, Winter, Spring for newspapers. Or as we call it in Oregon...the rainy season Leave It To Beaver - S01 E17 - The Paper Route 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Page Turner Posted June 11, 2019 Share #48 Posted June 11, 2019 ...I think maybe my first paycheck came from my job as a lifeguard over at the Naval Research Lab pool. But I also had a job weekdays after high school for a couple of hours working as a gofer/courier for a law office over on K Street, (Sellers, Conner, and Cuneo.) That was how I found out I didn't want to be an attorney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheep_herder ★ Posted June 11, 2019 Share #49 Posted June 11, 2019 It was too long ago to remember. Funny some of you talk about paper routes being a thing of the past, as we still have them here, with some walking, some biking, and some traveling via car. We're on a rural route delivered by folks driving a car. However, I usually have read the paper, via the net, before the paper copy arrives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Karen_Cooper_Incident Posted June 11, 2019 Share #50 Posted June 11, 2019 I worked in a Patent Office. Shu Fang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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