Your first job

prinz

Worked at an upholsterers stripping down sofas and the like to prepare them for refitting. Lasted two days IIRC and told the ignorant bollix to stick his job after he started referring to retards/mongos and the likes.

Golf course greenkeeper after that. Happy days.

Ishmael

First job was picking strawberries @ 60p a bucket in the summer time. Never really made that much money but probably ate my own weight in strawberries.

BIG BAD JOHN

I used to assemble shirt boxes (back in the distant day when shirts came in a box). I got paid the princely sum of 10p (two shillings in real money) for every 100 (ie lids and bottoms). The first day (afternoon actually), I managed 60 and arrived home with my hands and arms sore and tired. After a while I was up to 250 an hour.
My first pay packet for part of a week was £1.40.
To get some perspective, a pint cost the equivalent of 9p - not that I was drinking at age 15 of course - and you could go to the pictures for as little as 5p (unless you wanted to impress a girl at which point you would be shelling out 10p each).
My last job was as the Financial Administrator for a locally based community development company.

southcentralts

Grew up on a farm but would not call it working as I did not get paid for it.
Happily though when I was 17 started working for Supermacs and was exactly like Kevin Spacey described in American Beauty, Stoned Drunk and getting laid all the time.

Would actually give an arm or two to go back to those times now!

phil1nj

First job was working in a chip shop at age 15.
The hours were terrible.
The pay was terrible (Less than £1.50 an hour)
The conditions were terrible, up to my ears in chip fat and grease for +8 hour shifts.

But the craic was unbelievable:). I got to work with three of my best mates and there was a good sturdy wooden counter between us and the ravenous, drunken and extremely loud members of the burger and chip eating public.

I'm an engineer now, better hours, better pay and better conditions but not as much craic on the job:(

yeppydeppy

I had a sort of job delivering the Southside newspaper for a few months but I suppose you could say I was fired because I missed a couple of weeks deliveries. The money was feck all but I was only 13. I can't remember if my first real job was as lounge boy or the summer job I had in an abbatoir (I used to pack livers, kidneys and tails in boxes). Either way I had more spending money then than I do now.

patmac

Worked in Woolworth's for 0.22p an hour in 1975 aged 13, child labour or what, left for a job cutting lawns for a whopping 0.50p an hour 16 hours per week leaving me with a wage packet of £8, never had as much money in my life before or since.:)

kippy

patmac wrote: »

Worked in Woolworth's for 0.22p an hour in 1975 aged 13, child labour or what, left for a job cutting lawns for a whopping 0.50p an hour 16 hours per week leaving me with a wage packet of £8, never had as much money in my life before or since.:)

0.70 pence an hour in 95 in that pub job I had........
things hadnt improved much, but you know what, I didnt mind a bit,

Nothingbetter2d

whistlingtitan wrote: »

Yep lol lol
Oh why the eye roll now

fuel injection engineer...lol thats like calling a housewife a domestic engineer

Kamjana

I started out at around 13 as a vision technician and garden architect,then at 16 i moved into the fuel injection business,been working many different jobs since then

whistlingtitan

Kamjana wrote: »

I started out at around 13 as a vision technician and garden architect,then at 16 i moved into the fuel injection business,been working many different jobs since then

Hee Hee

pablomakaveli

I got a job in Dunnes at 17. They put me on the cereal aisle on my first night. I was on my own as the guy who was supposed to be showing me what to do finished a half hour into my shift. So i just stood in the aisle for about 4 hours just rearranging the boxes.

Also that night i had nightmares about boxes of cereal.

The Big Red Button

First "official" job was washing dishes in a busy restaurant. Long hours, split shifts, crap money, horrible work. Hated it!

For years before that (and after, right through college) I did lots of babysitting work for rich families. €50-€100 a night, and the kids were mostly little angels, and were asleep most of the time I was there. No wonder the job in the restaurant kitchen seemed so awful in comparison!

leviathon

Littlehorny wrote: »

About 15 worked on a chicken farm, stuck in sauna hot, eye watering smelly sheds. 3000 chickens in each shed and was told for the size of the sheds these chickens were being kept in good conditions. All for the kings ransom of 6 punt a day!

Did the chickens have large talons?

mikemac1

chatterpillar wrote: »

I did lots of babysitting work for rich families. €50-€100 a night,

:eek:

My sisters used to get 20, maybe 25

I thought that was the going rate

fearcruach

Worked in a chip shop. Swore to never eat Taco chips again. (Drunk Fearcruach loves ignoring this hard earned wisdom).

Work in the pharmaceutical industry now.

McG

packing bags at SuperValu when I was 14 but I'd done some caddying and divet repairing at the local golf course before that

worked in fast food

current job, actuary

ordinary_girl

Worked in retail then, working in retail now just in a different shop. 'Tis grand, gets me through college.

MarkR

Picking raspberries for 16p a punnet iirc. Wasn't exactly rolling in it. :-) Then as a cleaner in the airport.

Now I mess around with computers.

Rubberlegs

Started work in a fast food restaurant when I was 16, then worked in a Pound Shop, had kids, worked in a Centra for awhile. Went back to college, had a couple of years work as a Community Education facilitator. Now at home again with new baby for the forseeable future.

SEPT 23 1989

Lounge Boy

dazed+confused

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Worked in Garden Centre from 11 years old when on school holidays for few years.

was on £1.50(punt) an hour. You would not scratch your hole for that money now.

Exact same as my first job. You weren't working for Laddy were you?

Nothingbetter2d

MarkR wrote: »

Picking raspberries for 16p a punnet iirc. Wasn't exactly rolling in it. :-) Then as a cleaner in the airport.

Now I mess around with computers.

i did that once but we were paid by weight rather than punnet.

we used to pour water into the bottom of the bucket to make it heavier

RhubarbCrumble

Dunnes, when I was about 16/17. Good craic and am still friends with some of the people I worked with.

Currently a sales rep, so still in retail.

Michael Weston

Nothingbetter2d wrote: »

MarkR wrote: »

Picking raspberries for 16p a punnet iirc. Wasn't exactly rolling in it. :-) Then as a cleaner in the airport.

Now I mess around with computers.

i did that once but we were paid by weight rather than punnet.

we used to pour water into the bottom of the bucket to make it heavier

Water... a tap in the middle of The field ? It's time the people knew the truth, unleash the horror and tell the good folk of boards where the "liquid" really came from ..;)

Nothingbetter2d

Michael Weston wrote: »

Water... a tap in the middle of The field ? It's time the people knew the truth, unleash the horror and tell the good folk of boards where the "liquid" really came from ..;)

there was always water nearby... they washed the raspberries before they got shipped off to where ever

daniels.ducks

Michael Weston wrote: »

Water... a tap in the middle of The field ? It's time the people knew the truth, unleash the horror and tell the good folk of boards where the "liquid" really came from ..;)

Irrigation?

e04bf0c8

My first one was pretty unusual. I used to make the lanes ropes for swimming pools. I was about 10/11 when I started and got the princely sum of 1 punt an hour and a piece of cake each day! The wife of the guy I worked for was always baking away and I used to get a piece of whatever was on the menu that day. The brownies were my favorite!

I am head engineer for a big Australian company now but still look back with great fondness on that job!!

cocoshovel

IVe never had one aside from crappy school and college work experience. However, I have just applied for my first ever job today! \o/

Support service at hospital, porter etc. Doubt Ill get it.

SmilingLurker

Michael Weston wrote: »

What was your first role in employment and how does it differ to your current position?

Worked in a bar at 14 (yes - I know under licensing laws this was not legal). I was paid around £1.40 and hour, and not paid for "cleaning up" Did get tips though...

I have been working in IT for a *long* time now.

How does it differ?
Bar - no or very little training required, ok pay, low motivation, no benefits, limited future, easy to travel, can be dull (it was due to the clientele in the bar I was in), abuse from some drunken customers, generally good work mates. Not for me long term, ideal job at the time.
IT - get a good degree - need to learn how to do it properly, good pay, good motivation, good benefits, good future, easy to travel (have worked in lots of places), hard but interesting work. Abuse from some ignorant people (clients and employees) but handled in a professional manner, generally good work mates. I usually love doing my job.

Side note: do a job you love doing, you will be good at it, and your life will be better - make sure you will enjoy doing the job....

Novella

I worked in Starbucks for one day. The first job I actually stuck with though was in Topshop.

ordinary_girl

Novella wrote: »

I worked in Starbucks for one day. The first job I actually stuck with though was in Topshop.

Was Starbucks that bad? :eek:

Temptamperu

I went around collecting milk money. £5 a night sure i was laughing.

Novella

ordinary_girl wrote: »

Was Starbucks that bad? :eek:

No, to be honest it wasn't that bad. I just hated it and at the time, getting jobs was pretty easy so giving up after a day was something you could do! I got that job in Topshop in the same week so it was fine.

LenaClaire

I babysat (age 11) or did odd jobs for my dad's company during the school year and was a full time Nanny in the summers starting in Secondary School.

Now I do IT shenanigans.

Michael Weston

daniels.ducks wrote: »

Irrigation?

For strawberry fields ? No

kincsem

Bicycle paper round at about age 11 or 12. There I developed my dog kicking skills.

misterdeeds

I worked in a poxy off licence for a poxy wage tho it was my first job and all it was better than the auld dole etc , on a career break now but starting a new job in a few weeks :-)

Laura_lolly87

My first job was in Woodies. I actually loved it, the money was ok and the staff was all young so we had night out nearly every weekend.

Now i'm a full time student and work part time doing accounts for a company. Money is good but it's not a fun job.

misterdeeds

pablomakaveli wrote: »

I got a job in Dunnes at 17. They put me on the cereal aisle on my first night. I was on my own as the guy who was supposed to be showing me what to do finished a half hour into my shift. So i just stood in the aisle for about 4 hours just rearranging the boxes.

Also that night i had nightmares about boxes of cereal.

The honey monster is going to get you lol

ihsb

Penneys! Hell on earth. I am in more skilled retail now. But still retail!

ICANN

I worked in McDonalds when I was 16-18 and now I'm a teacher.

I wish I still worked in McDonalds...

Skrynesaver

Stores assistant in H Williams @14, pay was £1.40 an hour it wasn't too bad. The trainee managers were a shower of little feckers But the rest of the staff were good crack.

IT these days, the customers are nowhere near as much scope to slack off and the moments of stressed frenzy are worse than two deliveries arriving together. Pays a bit better though.