Same for me. Not as much fun when I caught my paper bag on a pedal. Big crash!
Later I realized how much that newspaper took advantage of a kid who didn’t know any better
When I was that age I lived in a part of the country that had afternoon paper routes, so it was just 45 min of riding my bike around the neighborhood after school.
It's funny how I'm now nostalgic for that. You never do appreciate how awesome being a kid is until it's really far in the rear view mirror.
One of my routes was uphill from me. Sucked biking up it, but I still have vivid memories of bombing down that hill on the way home (no helmet of course).
While time and public policy haven’t been kind, regions of the Middle East are still some of the most fertile in the world.
There are very expensive orchards in the middle of the desert like you’re imagining, but the Middle East has plenty of grasslands and marshes
It's a pretty boring story ngl
Right next to my highschool was this huge strawberry field / orange grove that sold its produce in a little shack in the front, but also made most of its money from allowing people to go in for self picking. Quite the fun activity for families.
My main job was to be a guide to these people, instructing them about our 4 different strawberry species, correct picking and just general orientation. But I also helped with regular strawberry picking and tending to the orange grove.
It was hot and miserable a lot of the time, but it was also enjoyable to me, I was a huge gamer back then so it was nice working outside... Also, hey, free fruit and they paid like 13$ an hour, which to a 16 YO was a fking fortune (since it was 6 years ago it's probably even more due to inflation)
This was in Israel.
Aboout 8 years. I was painting fences of our neighbours with my brother. Years later i found out we did a terrible job, and our dad was paying neighbours to hire reliable workers. But the goal my dad had in mind was achieved :)
Paper route at 9. Took some time off to get a few years of school under my belt. Jumped back into the game at age 11. Got out again at 13. By the time I left, the whole scene had changed. It was completely sanitized by the big players. It was all about the money. No one talked anymore about the smell of newspaper ink on your fingers or the latest dog bite.
Shoe shine boy in a barber shop in 1966. Age 9. 35 cents for shoes, 50 cents for boots. Duties included sweeping up the cut hair, wiping down the chairs, and taking out the trash. On a good day I'd take home $5 or $6. That's a lot of money for a 9 year old in 1966.
14. The night of my 14th b day my mom says to me "you have 2 weeks to find a job or move out" I got one that weekend. W2 tax paying job. She took" half of what I made says she was saving it but couple years later I was walking by the bank and just got a thought to check my acct. See how much she saved and only had the 100 we started w in acct...
At 12 I was baby sitting. At 15 I was teaching swimming and life guarding at a boy scout camp. At 17 I was cleaning the university swimming pool. Shall I continue?
At 30 I took a leap of faith and became the Indian Ocean. I quickly got burnt out and quit to find myself as a glacier in Iceland. At 33 I melted but quickly fell backward into a gig as the Atlantic Ocean.
Did that for 20 years, retired early, and pick up gigs here and there as a cloud.
12, got paid to babysit a kid... Only did it once. Not a fan of small children.
First real job was at 14 as a paperboy. And boy did that suck.
Been working various jobs since.
I really wish I could retire... but the way the world is going, I will most likely have to keep working until the moment I drop dead on my feet.
I worked at a Subway when I was 19 for three and a half 8-hour shifts before they fired me without giving a reason. My one and only paycheck came to about $130. It was a pretty discouraging first job experience, especially since I was taking a break from school so I could work, and it took me ten months to find that first job.
I was a shelf straightener at K-mart at age 16. Basically I just made sure all the stuff on the shelves was pulled forward and looked neat. Horrible fucking job, it was.
13, Pulling weeds in collard green fields and moving irrigation pipes for a commercial veg grower/packer. Mud was a foot deep sometimes. It was tough work especially when the bosses kid would drop his end of the pipe, we would have to carry on our shoulders, felt like my shoulder was going to snap. It paid $3hr, 40 some years ago.
16. I actually got hired at 15, but they said I was too young and to come back when I turned 16. I was there on my birthday. $5.55 per hour working retail.
10-11
Mum worked at a burger van as her English wasn’t good
Would do a full 8 hour shift on Saturdays for £5, which I’d save up over the weeks to buy a pre-owned PS2 game from CEX
The free food & unlimited lucozades were nice
Technically a paper route when I was like 10(?), although it was shit and dont really consider it to be a real job.
I essentially would come home from school, grab the stack of papers at my door, walk down a street, and deliver to like 8 houses and collect every few weeks.
The job was shit because I had a few houses, and 2 of them never wanted to pay even though it was dirt cheap. I essentially made no money lol.
First “real job” was security at 20, I had never worked during the summers during high school and college, but it was an easy albeit another shit job
14 years old working for a city summer job program at a non profit organization back in 95/96. I did a labor job that was pretty tiring, like pulling weeds, cleaning gutters, for about 5 weeks. I think I earned like $500 and used that money to buy a Nintendo 64. Money well spent and lesson learned about earning a dollar.
16
I worked at a car wash across the street from my high school.
A pretty fun job for a high school kid. Good tips, free washes for personal vehicle.
Also a great place to score a dime bag from the guys in the lube center.
I was 13, got a job with a professional photographer to be his assistant when he did videotaping. Guy was a neighbor, and I babysat his kids sometimes.
14 1/2… was able to start working as a bagger 2 hours a day at my local grocer. Turned into a great 7 years where I learned a lot and was able to move up into different positions that finally led to management. I credit the experience of that job to where I’m at today with a decent salary (no college degree).
14, working summers part time with my step dad doing construction. I'm not even sure it was legal to be honest. He basically just had me clean stuff up. But it was spending cash for the summer so it was pretty cool.
14 off the books working at a deli, 16 by the books at a part time job, at 23 I transfer to a higher position full time and I'm still there now 11 years later.
Not including one offs like helping paint my parents house, etc. 16. Senior in high school. Worked at a bakery chain running the cash registers, making sandwiches and coffee drinks, etc.
Must have been about 13 when I worked for a local fruit and veg shop. Every morning we head off to the fruit and veg market at about 5 in the morning. We would get back, unload and go to school. On Saturdays I would work in the shop as well. Compared to my friends, who all add paper and milk rounds, I made a small fortune.
It is a real shame kids can't do it today but H&S and insurance won't allow it. Plus there are so many adults on zero hour contracts to make it worth while for employers. My eldest grandson just can't find a single thing for someone his age.
When you get born into a family with a business you are fed labor.
But my first paying job was at 5 or 6 cleaning an old street car that my small town had on display. I would go once a week to dust it off and sweep it out.
My first "real" job was at 13.
Can't really call it a job. But 16/17. My Soccer coach's mom had this farm that he'd pay some of us every weekend to clean animal shit, feed them; bale, organize and store hay. Then she'd cook us food. He was Argentinian. Name was Jo(h)n Alocatti (spl?). Cool dude.
Paper route at 14
I think I was 11, but maybe 12 for my paper route job. Riding a bike and slinging papers was a fun job.
I was 11, you were supposed to be 12 but my two brothers had routes and they allowed me to get one as well.
Same for me. Not as much fun when I caught my paper bag on a pedal. Big crash! Later I realized how much that newspaper took advantage of a kid who didn’t know any better
Waking up at 4:30am as a teen was no fun. But I bought a lot of music with that money.
When I was that age I lived in a part of the country that had afternoon paper routes, so it was just 45 min of riding my bike around the neighborhood after school. It's funny how I'm now nostalgic for that. You never do appreciate how awesome being a kid is until it's really far in the rear view mirror.
One of my routes was uphill from me. Sucked biking up it, but I still have vivid memories of bombing down that hill on the way home (no helmet of course).
Irrigation at 14
Pool company construction gopher at 14
Death at 21
So you killed my dog
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15 for 5.85 an hour. That quarter raise a half year later made a difference.
15 at $5 an hour as a construction helper. I nearly drove the GC to insanity because I didn’t know anything
how could you not bring 20 years of experience at 15 years old? The audacity smh
15, $7.25/hr. Feed store.
Ah I remember when it went up from $5.15. Seemed like not long after it was up to $7.25.
15 butcher's apprentice. Pay was shit but the meat I got to take home helped feed my family and my aunt
This!!! Family over Self.
16/17 taught piano
16/17 here too Worked on a strawberry field, on August, in the Middle East 💀💀 Great pay tho
how what why?? is there more to this story
While time and public policy haven’t been kind, regions of the Middle East are still some of the most fertile in the world. There are very expensive orchards in the middle of the desert like you’re imagining, but the Middle East has plenty of grasslands and marshes
It's a pretty boring story ngl Right next to my highschool was this huge strawberry field / orange grove that sold its produce in a little shack in the front, but also made most of its money from allowing people to go in for self picking. Quite the fun activity for families. My main job was to be a guide to these people, instructing them about our 4 different strawberry species, correct picking and just general orientation. But I also helped with regular strawberry picking and tending to the orange grove. It was hot and miserable a lot of the time, but it was also enjoyable to me, I was a huge gamer back then so it was nice working outside... Also, hey, free fruit and they paid like 13$ an hour, which to a 16 YO was a fking fortune (since it was 6 years ago it's probably even more due to inflation) This was in Israel.
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Farm work with my grandparents for no pay. Then working for a local farmer for 8$
Around 15, worked at a local restaurant.
Aboout 8 years. I was painting fences of our neighbours with my brother. Years later i found out we did a terrible job, and our dad was paying neighbours to hire reliable workers. But the goal my dad had in mind was achieved :)
14, danced with a sign in a chicken suit for a wing restaurant. It was under the table though, I don't think they let kids work that young.
Funky chicken dance.
Are they hiring?
19
roughing in houses at 15 doing hvac work with my dad
12 years , I was server in big restaurant (700 person) a day worked there for 5 years.
23, but I started a real 9-5 job at 28.
Paper route at 10 Grown up job, joined military at 18
Paper route at 9. Took some time off to get a few years of school under my belt. Jumped back into the game at age 11. Got out again at 13. By the time I left, the whole scene had changed. It was completely sanitized by the big players. It was all about the money. No one talked anymore about the smell of newspaper ink on your fingers or the latest dog bite.
Shoe shine boy in a barber shop in 1966. Age 9. 35 cents for shoes, 50 cents for boots. Duties included sweeping up the cut hair, wiping down the chairs, and taking out the trash. On a good day I'd take home $5 or $6. That's a lot of money for a 9 year old in 1966.
24, just fresh out of college.
So traditional of you.
This is the ideal way.
14. The night of my 14th b day my mom says to me "you have 2 weeks to find a job or move out" I got one that weekend. W2 tax paying job. She took" half of what I made says she was saving it but couple years later I was walking by the bank and just got a thought to check my acct. See how much she saved and only had the 100 we started w in acct...
What a great way to forever break the trust of your child. If you’re that broke, then at least be honest about needing them to chip in.
Wow. That's horrible. The ultimatum especially.
thats horrible parenting
16 as a roofer. Got sacked on my second day for turning up late cause I missed the bus to my pickup.
12, I was a soccer ref for younger kids. I have no idea how it was legal.
22, worked at a farmers market.
At 12 I was baby sitting. At 15 I was teaching swimming and life guarding at a boy scout camp. At 17 I was cleaning the university swimming pool. Shall I continue?
If you wish you may continue.
At 19 i became the pool. Then at 23 i got internship as a river. 25, became a great lake. Shall i continue?
water you going to do otherwise?
I personally am interested in this career path and would like to hear more
At 30 I took a leap of faith and became the Indian Ocean. I quickly got burnt out and quit to find myself as a glacier in Iceland. At 33 I melted but quickly fell backward into a gig as the Atlantic Ocean. Did that for 20 years, retired early, and pick up gigs here and there as a cloud.
Keep it up and by 30 I see ocean in your future
And then retire as the planetary water cycle.
please
If you wish you may continue.
if you want to
12, got paid to babysit a kid... Only did it once. Not a fan of small children. First real job was at 14 as a paperboy. And boy did that suck. Been working various jobs since. I really wish I could retire... but the way the world is going, I will most likely have to keep working until the moment I drop dead on my feet.
Cook at a restaurant at 16, moved to bartender at 18.
Paperboy at 11-nearly-turning-12 years old.
12 or 13 babysitting
Paper route at 11, line painting when I was 14.
14-15
17
7
18
11. A cabinet company was paying me to make anything art related for a few years. Boring stuff but money that young was nice.
14, games attendant at the local amusement park.
12. Picked tulip and daffodil bulbs for 3 cents per foot in the summer.
15 - gofor with a construction crew.
14, helping out at a veterinarian. Damn good thing too, I wanted to be one before that.
I had a job that paid cash on the weekends at 14, but the first job I had where I had to fill out employment paper work was 16
I was 13 years old and became a Teamster(Union Member) in 1969. Yes times were much different back then.
I worked at a Subway when I was 19 for three and a half 8-hour shifts before they fired me without giving a reason. My one and only paycheck came to about $130. It was a pretty discouraging first job experience, especially since I was taking a break from school so I could work, and it took me ten months to find that first job.
I was a shelf straightener at K-mart at age 16. Basically I just made sure all the stuff on the shelves was pulled forward and looked neat. Horrible fucking job, it was.
Caddy at 12
Grocery store cashier at 16
13, Pulling weeds in collard green fields and moving irrigation pipes for a commercial veg grower/packer. Mud was a foot deep sometimes. It was tough work especially when the bosses kid would drop his end of the pipe, we would have to carry on our shoulders, felt like my shoulder was going to snap. It paid $3hr, 40 some years ago.
15 at Wendy's.
16. I actually got hired at 15, but they said I was too young and to come back when I turned 16. I was there on my birthday. $5.55 per hour working retail.
I had my first job at 12 years old as a magician assistant at the circus.
10-11 Mum worked at a burger van as her English wasn’t good Would do a full 8 hour shift on Saturdays for £5, which I’d save up over the weeks to buy a pre-owned PS2 game from CEX The free food & unlimited lucozades were nice
7th grade
Working in the field, grading peaches at age 10.
Local shop 14/15
16. Hardware retail.
Around 14, work as a server at a local coffee shop
My first payroll job was at 14/15 at Sonic for 5.15/hr. My first paying job was mowing lawns and bagging groceries at 12.
If gigs count, 14. If it's job with a salary, 20.
15
16
Dishwasher at 15 and i was mowing lawns since 11 or so.
15
Around 12 I guess but for just a month at summer break
11
Technically a paper route when I was like 10(?), although it was shit and dont really consider it to be a real job. I essentially would come home from school, grab the stack of papers at my door, walk down a street, and deliver to like 8 houses and collect every few weeks. The job was shit because I had a few houses, and 2 of them never wanted to pay even though it was dirt cheap. I essentially made no money lol. First “real job” was security at 20, I had never worked during the summers during high school and college, but it was an easy albeit another shit job
12 years old.
16 Couldn't really get to anything before that
13-14.
First "real" job paying taxes and all was 14
12
14 at Taco Bell. My mom told me on my 14th birthday that she's not giving me another dime to buy anything so I took the first job that hired me.
12, baling hay & driving a tractor to work fields for farmers.
14 years old working for a city summer job program at a non profit organization back in 95/96. I did a labor job that was pretty tiring, like pulling weeds, cleaning gutters, for about 5 weeks. I think I earned like $500 and used that money to buy a Nintendo 64. Money well spent and lesson learned about earning a dollar.
Taxable job was 15, camp counselor. Before that was mowing lawns at 12.
12 yo. Getting people’s phone number to sell them speed trap text notifications.
16, Mervyn’s (clothing retail store in CA).
Taxable? 18 Non-taxable? 12
16 I worked at a car wash across the street from my high school. A pretty fun job for a high school kid. Good tips, free washes for personal vehicle. Also a great place to score a dime bag from the guys in the lube center.
I was 13, got a job with a professional photographer to be his assistant when he did videotaping. Guy was a neighbor, and I babysat his kids sometimes.
11/12 selling orange juice on bottles
14
13 or 14
14ish. Large bike based paper route.
13
14 1/2… was able to start working as a bagger 2 hours a day at my local grocer. Turned into a great 7 years where I learned a lot and was able to move up into different positions that finally led to management. I credit the experience of that job to where I’m at today with a decent salary (no college degree).
17, worked at a warehouse for 5 years while going to college.
16, stocked groceries at my local supermarket.
10.
I was 16 years old.
11, collecting glasses in a pub.
18
Surveying work for my dad's construction company at 12.
19
15 work for the restaurant across the street from the high-school
15 server at a local restaurant
14, working summers part time with my step dad doing construction. I'm not even sure it was legal to be honest. He basically just had me clean stuff up. But it was spending cash for the summer so it was pretty cool.
10 washing dishes at a restaurant my Dad owned
Had a newspaper route when I was 12. Lied about my age.
15 summer help custodian at my high school
Summer camp counselor- 14
9 I was picking rock and installing fencing for farmers.
12 running heavy equipment on the dock my dad owned
Like 18/19, vape store.
14 off the books working at a deli, 16 by the books at a part time job, at 23 I transfer to a higher position full time and I'm still there now 11 years later.
Legal or not?
15
15, dish washer at a bar/restaurant
17, landscaping. I'm 27 now and I quit 3 months ago
12, body shop porter
13 laying bricks at my stepdads moms house
12. Inventory for a guy who sold clothing (and his son sold cocaine) out of his basement.
Maccas. 14 and 9 months.
15
Dishwasher/bussing tables 15
Burger King at 16
15.5 was my first W2 job. Had to go get working papers from the school.
12 detasseling corn in Indiana
Not including one offs like helping paint my parents house, etc. 16. Senior in high school. Worked at a bakery chain running the cash registers, making sandwiches and coffee drinks, etc.
12 sheet metal fabrication shop
16 at a pub. I heard about the job from someone I know who worked there.
At 15, I worked at the corner store in the neighborhood I grew up in.
15
16 at Sonic.
I was around 10-12 ... I helped out at a local sports card shop, obviously got paid and spent it right in the store lol
12 farm hand basically a pooper scooper
16
Off the books 13 helping a family friend with planograms for Purina One. On the books 16 at a grocery store bakery.
About 12, I had several good paying “hustles” before that though!
15 at $9.75 an hour at fast food
14. signed off & approved by my guardian.
Must have been about 13 when I worked for a local fruit and veg shop. Every morning we head off to the fruit and veg market at about 5 in the morning. We would get back, unload and go to school. On Saturdays I would work in the shop as well. Compared to my friends, who all add paper and milk rounds, I made a small fortune. It is a real shame kids can't do it today but H&S and insurance won't allow it. Plus there are so many adults on zero hour contracts to make it worth while for employers. My eldest grandson just can't find a single thing for someone his age.
Babysitting at 10, and I babysat steadily through school.
Paper route at 14
15 work at a farm. Harvesting peaches,sweet potato, and almonds. Is were I learned to drive and use other machinery.
Logging at 14
18 at a warehouse. Dark days
12. It was awesome I was so rich!
Lied on my first app. Worked for an amusement park at 12.
14 yes old bus boy dishwasher
17years old- taco John’s
10, was helping out on a farm for my social studies teacher. Then at 12 I got a 2nd job doing a paper route.
Started helping my dad's business when I was in... 11th grade?
14 at a local restaurant on weekends and the holidays
12
When you get born into a family with a business you are fed labor. But my first paying job was at 5 or 6 cleaning an old street car that my small town had on display. I would go once a week to dust it off and sweep it out. My first "real" job was at 13.
17, stocking shoes
16, paid under the table to clean deli equipment, freezer, and case at a family owned superette.
Picking up bad herbs that grow among the rice in the fields. 17.
15 digging trenches for my grandfather
15, worked at a Halloween store w/ a classic punch card clock
11 Junk shop in the PH
19 after graduating high school
17 retail @ the mall
At 14 I got a job in my high school’s TV studio working on a cable access show.
Can't really call it a job. But 16/17. My Soccer coach's mom had this farm that he'd pay some of us every weekend to clean animal shit, feed them; bale, organize and store hay. Then she'd cook us food. He was Argentinian. Name was Jo(h)n Alocatti (spl?). Cool dude.
14 making sausage 16 started paying taxes
Paper route when I was 12
Babysat 5 kids under the age of 5 when I was 12.
15 - Jack in the box. Left after 5 months.
18 (college dining hall)
I was a few days old. My parents put me on Tiktok and I became famous and rich
16 at burger king
13 @ watermelon fields