What jobs did you have as a kid ?

[Codger_64]

Was it hidden behind the license plate?

Left rear chrome fin trim. Wow! You are a youngster!

 

[mykulmorris]

My first was stacking pop bottles. Seperating the 7UP from Coke, Pepsi and such... My brother and I got paid a dollar a Saturday... It took us about 3-4hrs, when you're 11-12yrs old then, it was great!!! That was in early 70's.
-M

 

[twisted bits]

I was not able to get a job as a kid until I hit 18.
Try as I might every summer, no one was hiring, even though I had working papers. One I hit 18, I worked in a department store selling electronics, then a security guard, then, McDonald's (in evening) and the US Census (during the day) at the same time. Minimum wage was pitiful, but something.

 

[Trent Rock]

I was mercifully free of employment as a lad. However, one Summer I decided (being an avid fisherman) that I was going to sell worms. 1.00 the hundred....

I created a worm-farm from a big old wash-tub and replenished my stock from the drainage ditch that ran behind the property. Hung out a shingle advertising my price.

Then I discovered the downside of this enterprise; fishermen get up damned early in the morning! After being rousted out of bed a few times at 4-ish or 5-ish by local anglers, I gave up the idea.

I tried my hand at worm farming when I was about 11 years old
I got a bunch of books from the library on how to build a "worm box"
It never made it past that stage though...

When I was in 4th grade I sold "cinammon tooth picks" on the playground
It was my 1st indroduction to the concept of capitalism
It cost like 2 bucks for a vial of cinammon oil
Plus the toothpicks, and some foil wrapping
I made good money as a 10 year old!!

In 5th and 6th grade I moved up to illegal fireworks
My friend and I would hop on BART and go to Chinatown, SF and buy bottle rockets
It was kinda shady..all back alley..hidden in garbarge can stuff
I often wonder what fireowrks peddlers thought of doing deals with 11 year old suburban kids

I starting installing car stereos for friends and family at about age 12

Mowed lawns up until age 15

I had a paper route from age 12-15
One day I decided to not INSERT the "inserts" in the Sunday Edition
Those inserts made the papers HUGE on Sundays and I would have to make like 3 trips back to my house to refill my bag

I thought I could get away with it
Them my supervisor called and said his phone was blowing off the hook
I didn't realize that EVERY suburban house wife looked forward to the Macy's ads!!!
They were REALLY upset there was no ads/comics/inserts in their sunday Oakland Tribune
That was my 1st lesson in "the customers are # 1 rule".....

The way my paper route was set up
I had to collect the monthly fees
I would go door to door to collect
The messed up part is if a customer didn't pay
Or moved with out paying===>
The Oakland Tribune would take it outta your profits!
Finally I told my supervisor
"Dude..Why am I responsible for ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE? Don't you have a dept for that? What kind of show you running over there at Oakland Tribune HQ?..I'm not paying for those losers anymore!!"
After that I didn't take the defaulted payments out of my monthly checks
Supervisor never said anything, either
That was my 1st lesson in "contract negotiations"...

 

[PG5768]

Janitor at my dad's office was my first job on weekends during junior high school.

Combine harvester operator was my first full-time summer job between freshman and sophomore year. Got to drive a big red MF harvester down the highway before I even had a drivers license.

When harvesting was slow I did house painting prep.

After that it was back to janitorial duties and dental lab work until I went off to college.

 

[cj65]

I did a 100 paper a day paper route when I was 11. By the age of 13 I was doing it on a Honda Express II. I then started working for my next door neighbor. They owned a small wholesale nursery. I loaded her van with cacti, herbs and houseplants, and we sold to Builders Emporium and Oles hardware, as well as some retail nurseries. I helped merchandise the plants, and stock the new ones on the tables. They would take vacations and I was in charge of keeping the plants alive while they were gone. I also fed their cat and dog while they were away. I blame them for me getting into the nursery business....

 

[UffDa]

Left rear chrome fin trim. Wow! You are a youngster!

I think the '58 or '59 Chevy had the gas cap behind the rear license plate.

 

[David43515]

I think like most guys myt age my first jobs were mowing lawns and shoveling snow. I worked in the local grocery store stocking shelves and bagging groceries in high school. Then it was onto frying doughnuts and baking bread at a local bakery and finally making pizza and waiting tables at the local Pizza Hut. Then after I got outta school I wound up managing a couple resturaunts until I went to work fulltime making knives with my friend and mentor Jerry Busse. Got married and moved to Japan five years ago and have been teaching Jr High English ever since.

 

[DaveH]

When I was young I just did house chores and got paid like a dime for taking out the trash 25 cents for mowing the lawn. I treid to mow lawn for a neighbor widow, that didn't go well, I could never mow it like her husband did before he passed on.

Worked as soda jerk in a drug store for 1.25 and hour for a few summers.

Upper Jr High, didn't have employment, wandered the woods in the summer time with a friend.

High school summer worked in engine/race shop as gofor. Later summers was on pit crew for dirt sprint car. High school friend started racing, no pay just room and board while on the road. Slept in hotels periodically but more often bunked in the back of the pickup tow vehicle. Carried a spare engine which I dreaded the three of us trying to remoe and install should we blow and engine, never did thank God. Cleaned injectors, aired up tires, hauled methanol, power washed mud off eveything...