What was the first job that you had and how old were you?

For the purposes of this question, the job would not include doing chores for parents or family, and not include doing paid work for other family members (i.e. mowing grandparents’ lawn or painting your aunt’s porch, or anything like that).

What was the first job that you had? How old were you?

For me, I babysat for a couple who had a baby. They came home late and they gave me $20, which was thrilling. The father drove me home. I was probably 16. I also babysat for the family across the street who had a 5 year old. It was easy work because the kid went to sleep early and I’d fall asleep on the parents’ water bed. It was 30 steps from their house to mine so it was great. There was a time when I couldn’t do it, so I had a friend meet them and she was doing it for one time, and they came home early and found her and her boyfriend and another couple with a bottle of vodka on the table. They told me what happened and they didn’t have me babysit any more after that. They didn’t blame me but they just didn’t use me, and then they moved away. My first job for a corporation was a cashier in a five and dime store when I was about 16 or 17. The minimum wage at the time was $3.35 and I got paid $3.50 an hour.

What about you?