I will go against the grain, I worked retail and food services (Dairy Queen) but I don’t think it helped me deal with people. I was very shy and any confrontational person made me nervous and I got really awkward and stammered.
Not saying that working at those places aren’t a good experience for kids (they are) but not everyone has the same experience (thank you capt obvious).
I am autistic so yup, definitely didn't change me. I'd say working in general was helpful but getting screamed at and made to feel like shit and get the nervous poops did not.
Post by lilypad1126 on Jul 1, 2021 19:32:41 GMT -5
McDonald’s. My mom made my dad take me out ON MY 16th BIRTHDAY and told us we couldn’t come home til I had a job. My dad took me everywhere I thought I could get a job that wasn’t McDs, and when no one wanted to hire me, we went to McDs. They hired me as I was filling out the application.
I hated everything about that job but it made me more determined to go to college and learn how to be a good manager and a good employee. I lasted a year before I moved on to a data entry job that paid me 3x as much (not hard when McDs paid me $4.35/hour, ha!)
It’s so funny, because I worked at Target and I totally agree. I hate leaving things messy or where they don’t belong for whoever has to find it and return it.
But my husband worked retail for close to 10 years and he just does not give an f about that kind of stuff LOL. I wonder if there is a threshold where you just go fuck it, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
Sometimes I have to ball my fists and dig my nails into my palms to keep from tidying up when I’m out shopping. We keep things extremely neat and organized at our store (and brand overall). It’s especially hard at our other (less organized and more messy) brand stores bc I know they follow similar protocol. The employees must think I’m nuts.
I haven't worked in a bookstore in 18 years, and I still sometimes have dreams about shelving/facing out books with 4+ copies on the shelf. Going to Barnes and Noble is basically an exercise in sitting on my hands because they are DOING IT ALL WRONG these days.
My first tax paying job was as a cashier/deli worker at a convenience store/deli at 16. I got the job because one of my “smart” friends from AP classes asked if I was interested because she had gotten another job and was serious into dance and they’d asked if she recommended anyone to replace her.
I worked register, stocked the drinks and milk chest, made sandwiches and salads and made coffee.
I did have a paper route from ages 11-14 where I made quite a bit of money for that age! Especially during the holiday season.
Post by starburst604 on Jul 1, 2021 19:48:39 GMT -5
First job was McDonald’s, for a few years. I became a shift manager and I think it was a really good foundational job. Taught me a lot about responsibility for running a business, dealing with the public and managing different personalities. Come to think of it I pretty much do the same management job on a much higher level now. But I don’t go home smelling like fried food lol.
I did have a job before that that was under the table on weekends, cleaning motel rooms at the place my neighbor owned. My mom would drop me off and pick me up a few hours later and I got paid pretty decently in cash. Good pocket money for a 14 year old.
I forgot to add that I think every single person should work either retail or food service when they’re young. Everything I learned about dealing with people, especially disgruntled people, I learned from there. It’s made me a better professional and mom, I swear to God.
I agree completely. Waiting tables, in particular, made me a better human. I am far more patient and understanding of service people and will cut a lot of slack, largely because I know they work so much harder than I do most of the time.
I also have way better people skills than i likely would have without that, which is very helpful in my field. The ability to be friendly, make conversation with anyone, and convince people you genuinely care about their needs is so helpful!
I worked in a place that designed printing press plates for newspapers, which makes me seem 100 years old. I mostly filed giant dusty engineering prints and sometimes made minor CAD changes to drawings. I got the job through referral from my my high school drafting teacher.
Baskin Robbins and I pounded the pavement until I found someone that would hire me because I was 15 (it was a long time ago but I remember worker permits were a thing and all that so 16 was the normal hiring age).
Post by expectantsteelerfan on Jul 1, 2021 19:57:45 GMT -5
When I was 14 I worked at the local library shelving books (it was one of the only places that hired 14 year olds, but it did pay and I did file taxes). I got the job with my bff, and we got in trouble constantly for chatting while we shelved books, but otherwise it was SO boring. She and I both moved over to working at the movie theater (where her older brother worked) when we were 15. I swear this was the BEST job for teenagers. Managers were young and fun, but old enough to be mature enough to actually run things. Most of the other workers were teens (and there was huge turnover except for a core group who stayed for years), we got to see as many free movies as we wanted, and we got as much free popcorn and soda as we wanted (as long as we brought our own containers). I feel like I learned a bit of retail, customer service, cleaning, and eventually leadership and managerial skills. I worked as a cashier at a pharmacy the last 2 summers of college, and that was a good experience too, although not nearly as fun as the movie theater.
I lived very rural so all of my money making as a teen was babysitting/farm work/cleaning houses for cash. My first job with taxes was at a fancy camp in the Finger Lakes, working in house keeping and hospitality. I lived at the camp the summer after high school and again 2 summers later.
The first summer was a fantastic first step towards independence. I made amazing friends, loved my job, it was great. The second summer I was a staff leader as well. Some of the high up leadership had changed since my first year, it was awful. People quitting in the middle of the day, actual criminal activity and our head cook fleeing in the middle of the night. It built character though 😛
I got a job at TCBY when I was 14 and I loved it. They started selling pizza at our location as a test market thing. I ate so many breadsticks and yogurt, YUM. Then in college I worked at a coffee shop, thank God it was before all these crazy insane coffee orders I've seen on SM though.
I picked strawberries when I was 15-16 and worked in the u-pick field directing customers where to pick and checked them out. My Dad’s friends were the owners. It was fun and it gave me a chance to be responsible.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
Prior to that I babysat a toddler in my neighborhood and I think my first cat-sitting job was when I was 10. Incidentally, a good lesson I learned when I was babysitting (they had a Great Dane and told me I was welcome to walk her) is that I had no business walking a dog of that size. I took her for one walk, she saw a squirrel, and I lost any perceived control I had over her. I'm so grateful nothing worse happened than her briefly getting away from me but she could've been hit by a car. I never walked her again. She was a total sweetheart though and I loved spending time with her in the confines of her home.
I was a lifeguard at a country club where I had grown up swimming. It was a great job. Got to hang out with friends all day, be outdoors, free food from the snack bar lol. $5.50/hour.
Subsequent jobs were lifeguard at a gym, and then hostess at Olive Garden and TGI Fridays. That was the closest I got to food service; never actually waited tables. I would have been terrible at it.
Prior to that I babysat a toddler in my neighborhood and I think my first cat-sitting job was when I was 10. Incidentally, a good lesson I learned when I was babysitting (they had a Great Dane and told me I was welcome to walk her) is that I had no business walking a dog of that size. I took her for one walk, she saw a squirrel, and I lost any perceived control I had over her. I'm so grateful nothing worse happened than her briefly getting away from me but she could've been hit by a car. I never walked her again. She was a total sweetheart though and I loved spending time with her in the confines of her home.
Not your fault, they should have known better than to let you walk a dog of that size!!!
My first job was at my local Dairy Queen - I started spring break the year I turned 15. I worked there for about 10 years, including almost full-time during college.
I think everyone should work food service to learn empathy.
A few weeks ago I went to a different Dairy Queen. The drive thru line was wrapped around the building and when I got to the pick up window the super young manager apologized because their ice cream machine was having issues. I told him I understood and had been in his position back when I worked at DQ. He was so relieved that I was nice and said - “you really DO understand.”
Take away - people are still jerks. Poor kid. I’m sure he got cussed out multiple times that’s night.
My first job was Ross at 18. I wasn't allowed to get a job before that but had moved out on my birthday and needed to pay rent. Like others have said, I still find myself straightening clothes in stores.
After that I worked at Subway and then a few years at Whole Foods. They all definitely taught me how not to be a jerk customer.
I babysat for years in high school and college, but my first "official " job was in the medical library at my college when I was an undergrad. I liked that job.
At 15 I got a job as a hostess at a diner. My grandfather had mentioned to the owners that I would be looking for a job and they said to bring me in. We chatted for a bit and they offered to pay me under the table, lol. I worked there every weekend morning during the school year and in the evenings during the summer through high school.
I also worked for a very brief time at a movie theater (most disgusting job I’ve ever had).
I worked at a camping/former Army surplus store. I did a great job selling tents/camping gear and kayaks which is funny because I have zero interest in camping.
I didn’t work until I was in college. I volunteered many hours a week and did school activities in high school. Which paid off because I got a lot of scholarships that, combined with my Pell Grant paid for college. No way I could have saved that up on minimum wage.
I worked at an ice cream shop but my gymnastics coach had my quit cause one arm was getting stronger than the other from scooping lol. I worked as a hostess at a popular bar/restaurant in my hometown after that.