What was your first paid job?

tampopo

Saturdays in Woolworths Grafton Street.

Lia_lia

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Nope, more than that. Table service, serving drinks and clearing tables. I lasted precisely one week at it when I tried it

Is "lounge boy/girl" really not a term (or even a job?) any more these days???

Never heard that term in my life, and I worked as a bartender in a hotel for 5 years! Maybe it never reached Kerry

Micky Dolenz

Painting chicken shtye on eggs in an egg factory.

Woshy

Babysitting when I was about 13 or so. Then the summer after transition year I worked in Eddie Rockets for £4.50 an hour. I worked there all through 5th year too. I worked every Sunday and got £20 for my troubles.

Had great craic working there and loved having some money all for me. Worst thing I ever had to do was the time some disgusting asshole did such a massive turd in the toilets that it blocked the whole thing. I had to break it up with a tongs and fish pieces of it out into a bag - then throw the bag and tongs into the dumpster in the back. I have never seen one solid turd so big. I was retching the whole time I did. God, you can be stupid when you're 16 - I should have told them to feck off when they asked me to deal with it. I can still remember how disgusting it was over 15 years later. Urgh

Good times though!

Ciaran_B

Petrol station forecourt guy. Filling cars, sweeping up - the usual. 19 years ago.

mojesius

Lounge girl in a gaa club. Got paid £7 a night or £11 for working a Sunday.

KERSPLAT!

Woshy wrote: »

Babysitting when I was about 13 or so. Then the summer after transition year I worked in Eddie Rockets for £4.50 an hour. I worked there all through 5th year too. I worked every Sunday and got £20 for my troubles.

Had great craic working there and loved having some money all for me. Worst thing I ever had to do was the time some disgusting asshole did such a massive turd in the toilets that it blocked the whole thing. I had to break it up with a tongs and fish pieces of it out into a bag - then throw the bag and tongs into the dumpster in the back. I have never seen one solid turd so big. I was retching the whole time I did. God, you can be stupid when you're 16 - I should have told them to feck off when they asked me to deal with it. I can still remember how disgusting it was over 15 years later. Urgh

Good times though!

Too much info

Woshy

KERSPLAT! wrote: »

Too much info

I'm actually having flashbacks now!

Son Of A Vidic

Graces7 wrote: »

What was your first paid job?

Hitman.

Kevin McCloud

Picking stones in a field.

ZeroThreat

Buona Fortuna wrote: »

Are these some sort of euphamisms?

Indeed....

20 lids a night isn't much compensation for a sore hole....

One eyed Jack

Woshy wrote: »

I'm actually having flashbacks now!

Gave me flashbacks of my time in Supermacs and all

ZeroThreat

My first paid job was working in Bewley's (Westmoreland St) late 90s (98 I think). Something crappy like 3.50 or 3.60 punt rate if I recall.

Any other Bewley's veterans here??

rsl1976

One eyed Jack wrote: »

That's what I had always called it too, but that was before the celtic tiger time when people started introducing fancy names for everything and asking for half lattes in the hotel bar!

I was also promoted from being a night porter to a 'chaperone'. Tipping also became a thing. I remember running after one lady telling her she left a fiver under her saucer

It was lounge girl/boy when I done it and that was in the early 90's

the_syco

ZeroThreat wrote: »

My first paid job was working in Bewley's (Westmoreland St) late 90s (98 I think). Something crappy like 3.50 or 3.60 punt rate if I recall.

Any other Bewley's veterans here??

Nice. In 98/99 I was working in the kitchens of a local restaurant for £2 an hour.

Wichita Lineman

Putting creosote on the fences of a stud farm one summer.

billie1b

Helper on a bread round when I was 12, every saturday for IR£25, was great, started at 3am and finished by 10am

ZeroThreat

the_syco wrote: »

Nice. In 98/99 I was working in the kitchens of a local restaurant for £2 an hour.

hah never realised the extent of crap pay back then but for this thread.

the evasion_kid

Picking winkles, the money was actually OK that's when we bothered instead of throwing them at each other.

eternal

retalivity wrote: »

there's still plenty of lounge boys/girls n the locals at home.

My first was as a Milkman's helper on the saturday run in rural donegal in the late 90s, got 20 pounds for a 6am-Noon shift.
Was great craic, talking ****e to whatever milkman i was working with, stocking up on chocolate and crisps in every shop we passed, and as Saturday was the day a lot of customers settled the bill I got to meet a lot of mental auld ones. Mad biddies with moustaches and talking football to oul fellas with only radios who probably wouldnt speak to anyone else til I was back the following week.
Today, whenever I smell mothballs or damp it brings be back to those days!

That is so cruel, laughing at elderly loneliness and isolation. I actually don't find that funny at all.

KERSPLAT!

eternal wrote: »

That is so cruel, laughing at elderly loneliness and isolation. I actually don't find that funny at all.

Who's laughing?

Dozen Wicked Words

I left school at 16 and worked in a furniture shop. My mum applied for the job for me without telling me. 65 pounds a week, working week included having to work every Saturday which was a disaster during the football season.

That was first full time job. Had paper rounds when I was at school.

eternal

The general tone of the post was derogatory and sarcastically putting down these elderly people who were probably begging for company. It's not rocket science to work this out like from reading it. I shouldn't have to explain what is mind numbing in its obviousness.

KERSPLAT!

Mind numbing in its obviousness to someone looking for it, maybe. I'd say you're reading way to much into it

Edit: maybe report it if you have a problem with the post and a mod, not me, can look into it for you.

eternal

I don't really care, I am just pointing out what kind of assholes are around these days. Laughing at elderly people who are probably house bound is not cool in my opinion.

Mackman

I used to caddy for my uncle when i was about 11/12, paid me 5 pounds, and i got a mars bar and a coke

First proper job was a summer job working on a road crew for a gas company when I was 16. Laying tar, concrete, paving. Hard work but I got 360 pounds a week for it, I was minted! First thing I bought with my first pay check was a Nokia 3210

biketard

Aged 16 (in 1986), worked as a drinks waiter in a hotel function suite. Got paid four pounds fifty a night!

Graces7

eternal wrote: »

That is so cruel, laughing at elderly loneliness and isolation. I actually don't find that funny at all.

He was not laughing in any way; I found it very moving that he stopped to chat with them and was there for them week after week. Had time for them and that i more than many have..they would have looked forward to it all week.. Well done!

Graces7

Wonderful reading,, what an industrious lot!

I was in the UK then and my second paid job was at 16, the year my only brother drowned and my mother did not want me left alone at home in the school holidays. The job was in the canteen at the huge govt office dept she was a secretary at. As I was allowed to visit her in her office I had to sign the Official Secrets Act..

Varied duties; spent hours cutting up fruit for fruit cocktail, then was hopeless in the Called Order bar so was relegated to the Store then tea trolleys.

From then, every winter on the Christmas Post and in summer clerical work at the Exam board place....

bigneacy

Fuel injection engineer.

Fine. Ok, petrol pumper. Started at £4 an hour. Got the job when I was 12 because I told them I was 16. Then when I turned 16 I told them I was 16! Stayed there for 6 years- to my shame it's my longest held job to date!

billie1b

eternal wrote: »

That is so cruel, laughing at elderly loneliness and isolation. I actually don't find that funny at all.

Unfortunately thats rural Ireland, it was the same on the bread run I did, had 2 shops like that of the beaten track, in both shops I would stay for an extra bit for a chat to give them some company for a few minutes, most weeks I let their small bill slide too, I dont think the poster was laughing, just calling it the way it was, I call my own mother a mad biddy most days, I think we have all used that term

AndyBoBandy

Sailing instructor as a 14/15 year old

William F

Picking strawberries and selling programs for the gaa.

Graces7

billie1b wrote: »

Unfortunately thats rural Ireland, it was the same on the bread run I did, had 2 shops like that of the beaten track, in both shops I would stay for an extra bit for a chat to give them some company for a few minutes, most weeks I let their small bill slide too, I dont think the poster was laughing, just calling it the way it was, I call my own mother a mad biddy most days, I think we have all used that term

I love this.. Knew an insurance salesman who had old clients who would pretend urgent jobs needed doing just to have him call round. .. he knew how lonely they were.. Actually he took early retirement to work with street children in Bucharest.

When I am at weekday mass, I stay sitting at the back of the church and smile at the grim faced old ones just to see them crack a smile. Often they will stop and chat a while

mariaalice

My first paid job was in a hairdressers on a Saturday aged 14 very badly paid but good craic and you got tips.

retalivity

eternal wrote: »

I don't really care, I am just pointing out what kind of assholes are around these days. Laughing at elderly people who are probably house bound is not cool in my opinion.

Bloody hell it's not like I called round every week insulting them and laughing at them.

I had great craic chatting to them, they were a lot of eccentrics and any laughing that was done was more at the stories they used to go on about or giving out to me for my sh1te Irish. As a 13-14 year old it was an eye-opener, delivering milk to them and calling in to the house to get the bill etc. was like stepping back 50 years.

sarkakos

i work in a department store. My salary was 350 euro and it was a good experence

TerrorFirmer

Cleaning cruiser boats. On one of my first days I accidentally filled the fuel tank full of water. Oops. Of course, that paled into significance with a lad there that actualy managed to SINK a boat.

Was a pretty cool job though. It was a nice summer, so being out in the sun all day washing boat decks while chatting away was nice.

Irishcrx

Graham O'Sullivans when I was 13 , washing dishes , taking out the bins , killing rats.

It was grand at the time , few quid for CD's and clothes and that. Hated the manager though she was a complete psycho bitch who'd spend most of the day arguing on the phone to her husband or have one of us relay her arguments back to him over the phone.

Stuck it out for a few month's and then quit one Saturday afternoon as she was doing my head in , told her to wash the dishes herself and moved on to the great McDonalds , stayed there a few years.

marcus2000

I got approx £5 every second week for delivering the Northside People. Sometimes it was a little more if there was an extra leaflet in it........I paid a friend 50p to help me. £5 was a lot of money back then. (Surely, I'm not at the age where I can say things like that !!!)

heroics

Picking potatoes during school holidays when I was 12/13. £10 a day. following year went up to £14 a day and thought I was loaded

Manutd_4life

Just wondering how did people get jobs delivering papers in the morning at that age. Just curious.

HeidiHeidi

Manutd_4life wrote: »

Just wondering how did people get jobs delivering papers in the morning at that age. Just curious.

Went into the shop and asked for a job!

Can't remember exactly (it was a long time ago!) but I suspect it was the sort of thing that passed down from older siblings/friends/acquaintances. Not that they gave the job to you (would never be THAT handy) but you knew that a certain shop did paper rounds.

Mars Bar

WTF is with all the strawberry pickers?

zcorpian88

Summer job sorting bottles in a hotel when I was 15, getting stung by wasps and coming home covered in all sorts of drink.

Also got a really nasty rash on my right arm from whatever was in the skips getting under the baggy pair of gloves the hotel gave me.

Money was pretty good, country was booming, hotel was packed, lots of work for me. Hated the wasps though!

Vala

I worked for the milkman and the ice cream van :-)

ceadaoin.

I worked in xtra vision part time in college. This was in about 1999/2000 and it was still mainly videos, we'd only get the big blockbuster releases on DVD. I think gladiator was one of the first DVDs that came out when I was there. It was a grand job for 17 year old me. 7 free video rentals a week that I would watch on my tv/VCR combo. Those were the days.

Graces7

retalivity wrote: »

Bloody hell it's not like I called round every week insulting them and laughing at them.

I had great craic chatting to them, they were a lot of eccentrics and any laughing that was done was more at the stories they used to go on about or giving out to me for my sh1te Irish. As a 13-14 year old it was an eye-opener, delivering milk to them and calling in to the house to get the bill etc. was like stepping back 50 years.

Reminds me of when I was first in Ireland and living with no water supply atop a mountain.. old lady after Mass, we sitting in a pew in the warm church, reminiscing of when they were young and how they lived like that.. starry eyed she was.. then I asked if he would go back to living like that.. OH NO! She was outraged at the thought.. many of thee old ones have wonderful stories to tell.. If only someone would listen and folk here have done that. Just take the time to enjoy their individuality.. of course I am only 70 and have tales to tell too! But I get out a lot as I trade at street markets.

Graces7

heroics wrote: »

Picking potatoes during school holidays when I was 12/13. £10 a day. following year went up to £14 a day and thought I was loaded

Jeepers and we got ten SHILLINGS a day....

Rosy Posy

Laura Palmer wrote: »

Tesco - shelf-stacking!

Well Quinnsworth...

/old

Me too! We got paid £2.02 an hour!!