What was your Summer Job as a teenager??

[Judi W]

My favorite summer job story involved one of my little brothers (I have 3). When Rick was a teen he got a job at the local pizza restaurant. They asked him to "make the garlic bread" the first day he worked. He had the instructions but added ONE CUP instead of ONE TEASPOON of garlic! The bread was served to the customer. You can imagine their reactions!!!! YUCK!!! Poor Rick was fired the first day!!! We still tease him about it all these years later.

Anyone else have a funny....summer job story??? All I ever did was babysit!

 

[valeria101]

not sure what the job descriptions would be (good-for-all-computer geek & assistant perhaps) but I got to spend a few vacations with a jewelry appraiser and jeweler. I bet the side-effects are glaring obvious by now...

 

[fire&ice]

I worked in our local department store. I enjoyed it. I even worked in the maul department of the maul department store.

 

[verticalhorizon]

My favorite summer job was as a Vacation Bible School teacher with my home-town church.

I taught 5-6 year olds. About 15 of them. I used my grandfather's old army whistle to get their attention (a la Kindergarten Cop) and it worked.

I wore a shirt and tie everyday for two summers doing that. My ultimate goal to to teach kindergarten again someday... or maybe 6th grade.

 

[winyan]

Well, actually this was a part time job, summer, spring, winter fall. I worked 20 hours a week, 4 hours after school for a lingerie company on their (what else?) computers, back when computers took up a whole floor of a building. I ran the 'computer', the 'calculator' and the 'tabulator'. I started there at 14, and ended when I graduated HS at 16.

win

 

[chialea]

Virtually all of my jobs have been research jobs, working at universities or industry research labs (which try to look like universities without so many students around). It's funny, though, that they also pay so much better for interns than other summer jobs -- but you get to do really, really interesting research. Perhaps it's simply that research is not most people's cup of tea, but I've been so surprised that people pay me to do stuff that I love so much I'd do it anyway!

I'm still working on explaining it to my parents, though.

 

[Mara]

Hmmm does housesitting neighborhood houses for the summer (aka dog walking, plant watering, pool skimming) count as a first job? If so, I had it starting from age 10.

Later, I worked as a receptionist for Supercuts when I was 15 until I graduated from HS. You got great discounts on hair products and alot of useless gossip.

 

[researcher]

I tried being a hostess, working at the local fair selling chocolate covered strawberries...you name it, I tried it. Nothing lasted for more than 2 weeks though, so I finally went to work in a pharmaceutical company as a "floater". I worked in every department over the summer/during school breaks from age 16-25 which was great because I knew exactly what I liked to do and what I didn't (I was AWFUL at shipping and receiving (always had to get a guy to lift things like the tanks for me) and didn't do so hot in pharmaceutical development either (when trying to make an HIV protease inhibitor I ended up with something more like silly putty)). At any rate, my experiences taught me I'm better at telling people what to do than doing anything, hence my consulting profession

 

[Judi W]

When I was a teenager - LONG AGO - there was a small local grocery store where many of the guys in our school would get jobs. It was amazing how "HELPFUL" all the girls were by offering to go buy groceries for their Moms!!!

Years later, when my son was a teenager, he worked for a Cookie bakery in the mall. Every night he brought home tons of cookies since they couldn't "re-sell" them the next day! We all gained a ton of weight until he finally quit that job!!!!

 

[tawn]

I picked stawberries & raspberries at a neighbor's Berry Farm every summer from age 11 to 16! It was kinda cool, cuz I got to ride my dirtbike 2 miles up the road by myself! First independence!!

A lot of my friends got jobs there as well...and we would have huge "rotten berry" wars, and my hair would get stained pink from getting berries mashed into my head! Also got an awesome tan...

Then I would loanshark out all of pay to my older brother and his friends...charging them ridiculous amounts of interest! That was just before ATM machines became the norm...

 

[rms]

This one is a lovely memory...my very first job was being Chuck E. at Chuck E. Cheese's (animal character at an arcade/pizza joint chain, kind of like a mascot). Being a rat was definitely not a fun job. You are supposed to go around and wave at all the nice people and hug them and take pictures with them (and not talk of course). But the kids were really smart. I am 5'4". So when I would take over after some other Chuck E. who was 6' tall or something, the kids would punch me, kick me, pinch me and yell at me saying "You're not real, you're not Chuck E." Then I had a manager who was arrested for making sexual advances at all the girls there, including me. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?!!?

 

[verticalhorizon]

Eeewwww... did he come on to you while you were in the mouse suit?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I grew up in a small town so not too many jobs to choose from

One summer I spent as a FT babysitter for two boys, ages 4 and 6, and it was a nightmare. Those kids were total BRATS. Yikes, and to think now I have two boys two years apart. It's like reliving that summer every day. Thank god we're sticking the boys in PT daycare so I can paint my toe nails for the first time in three months!

Another job i had was cleaning houses and also helping out at many local bed & breakfasts. I grew up on a little island here in the pac nw and so there were always a billion tourists clogging up the ferry lines and filling up the little hidaways.

Michelle

 

[Judi W]

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On 6/29/2004 2:28:07 PM rms wrote:

This one is a lovely memory...my very first job was being Chuck E. at Chuck E. Cheese's (animal character at an arcade/pizza joint chain, kind of like a mascot). Being a rat was definitely not a fun job. You are supposed to go around and wave at all the nice people and hug them and take pictures with them (and not talk of course). But the kids were really smart. I am 5'4'. So when I would take over after some other Chuck E. who was 6' tall or something, the kids would punch me, kick me, pinch me and yell at me saying 'You're not real, you're not Chuck E.' Then I had a manager who was arrested for making sexual advances at all the girls there, including me. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?!!?

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Rita (aka: Chuck E!) , You CRACKED ME UP with this story!!!! Poor you, being "abused" by all the little "dears"!. I have a picture of my daughter as a little girl in Chuck E Cheese's....with Chuck E behind her and a terrified look on her face!! She was so afraid of him!!!!! When she became a teenager, she was an Intern at Disney World. She said it was very traumitizing to see Mickey, Donald and the rest of the characters with "their heads off" of the costumes, back stage. She said even as an adult, it as a shock!

 

[daboyzmomi]

ROFLMAO @ the Chuck E. I swear I feel for you. Has to be the most under appreciated job in the universe being a character anywhere, let alone at the Chuck. I had to attatch this picture of Daboyzdaddy on his 30th Surprise Bday Party at the Chuck. He just turned 40 last week and for his surprise party I had this blown up nice and big to help him remember his youth! LOLOLOL,,,

 

[Mara]

I used to LOVE ChuckECheese!

Nowadays here it seems to have fallen out of favor..but when I was a kid it was all the rage.

 

[Judi W]

Hi daboyzmomi

What a cute picture of daboyzdadi..!!! Neat idea to have a "big boy's" party at Chuck E!!!! I'm sure it was surprised...probably thought he was going there just for the "fine dining" experience.

 

[fire&ice]

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On 6/29/2004 4:03:46 PM Mara wrote:


I used to LOVE ChuckECheese!

Nowadays here it seems to have fallen out of favor..but when I was a kid it was all the rage.

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Years ago, I took my Girl Scout troop there. They were a misfit bunch who made waaaaaaaaayyyyyy too much money selling cookies. They had carte blanche in that place. Oh my, Chuck E did not have a good time that night. Thanks for bringing back that memory. Your experience there made me chuckle.

Anyone ever do temp work? Boy, are you a fly on the wall with office dynamics.

I had a friend who came from a very proper well to do old family. My friend's parents decided she had to get a job over the summer. She worked in a Hilton cleaning rooms - and surprising rose to the task. UNTIL...one fateful day where she happen to grab someone's bucket not knowing they were proprietary. After having several people yell at her that she stole so & so's bucket in many different languages & accents....well it wasn't pretty. To this day I still chuckle at the ensuing scene as described. That was some real office dynamics. Who'd da thunk - a bucket.

 

[rms]

That Chuck E pic is absolutely hysterical!

Who's hand is that on his chin, and what is the hand supposed to be doing? I can't really remember if my manager made passes at me while I was the rat or while I was one of the b-day hostesses. The really scary thing about that was the same guy ended up being my manager at Ponderosa's Steakhouse about a year later. Clearly they had a hard time filling manager spots at these types of places, so they would take ANYBODY!!! I do have good memories about being a waitress at these places. But being Chuck E, NO WAY!! Being a disney character has to be more gratifying I would think. I love Mickey Mouse. I feel REALLY bad when I see people in animal costumes on a hot summer day standing on a street corner advertising for a pizza joint or some other store. NOT FUN as far as I am concerned.

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"I grew up in a small town so not too many jobs to choose from One summer I spent as a FT babysitter for two boys, ages 4 and 6, and it was a nightmare. Those kids were total BRATS. Yikes, and to think now I have two boys two years apart. It's like reliving that summer every day. Thank god we're sticking the boys in PT daycare so I can paint my toe nails for the first time in three months!"

Michelle, I feel for you on that one too. I used to have to babysit 4 boys ages 5, 4, 3, and 1. We need 2 babysitters at the same time. They were so poorly behaved and their mother never taught them to share. They had 4 of EVERY TOY because they couldn't share. JEEZ

Then I used to babysit for 8-10 hours for 3 other boys and I only got paid $10 each time (this was 15 years ago) When I heard how other people would make more money, I actually asked the mother to pay me more, which when your 17 is hard to do. She did NOT!! Then I ran into her a few years ago and the poor woman apologized to me (at a funeral believe it or not) for not paying me enough in those days. Poor woman. I really felt bad that she had thought about it so much to need to apologize after so many years.

It's fun to remember old jobs.

 

[Mara]

Well F&I, after my stint at Supercuts, I worked summers through college as an office temp..worked in companies like Cisco and Adobe when they were just one building and trying to climb to success! If only I'd bought stock with my paychecks!

I also worked in a real estate office as a receptionist in college, and also a bookkeeper for a year or two. I always did office work through HS and college. I was a favorite at my temp office because I would bring my recruiters cookies. It kept me at the top of their 'availability' list so I almost always had a job even when others were struggling. That time period was fun, the work paid extremely well, and I could keep my typing skills up.

 

[AllThatSparkles]

One word.....Snow-cone-stand

 

[Shay37]

I was a lifeguard at the local pool. That was a great job. Noon to six in the evening most days. If you wanted to, you could pick up extra money doing the private parties. Great fun. I did that for two summers.

Shay

 

[StevL]

I installed two-way radios into police cars, ambulances, utility trucks etc. I really enjoyed the job and hearing all the stories of the men and women that drove these vehicles.

At the moment my 17 year old son has a dream job (or at least for any golfer). My oldest son does demo days for a golf company at golf courses, driving ranges, etc. He spends 4 hours a day letting people try the clubs, talking golf, and listening to their BS stories. He gets paid $25.00 pr/hour plus travel expenses. I only wish they had asked me

 

[strmrdr]

Busting up cast iron furnaces with a 16 pound sledge hammer then carrying the cast iron out of basements for a heating company.
Average was 1200lbs of cast iron per furnace that had to be broken into 50lb chunks.
When they built the buildings they would lower them into the basement using a block and tackle before they put the first floor joists in.
Breaking them up was the only way to get the out.
I would be rust red from head to toe except where my safety glasses were.
At the end of the day and sometimes during the day id grab a garden hose and rinse off it would leave a huge stain on the grass that would take a couple rains to wash away.

Nasty dirty work but you couldn’t help feeling good afterwards because you could take all your aggravation out on the iron :}

It was very hard on clothes the red stains would never come out no matter how many times you washed them.

 

[Judi W]

Amazing the variety of jobs we all did!!! So far...the Chuck E. Cheese story craked me up the most!! I say it we can chalk them all up to experience! I know several people whose permit job was going to school....they kept going back for more degrees...maybe not wanted to enter the "real world"???

 

[rms]

oh, I forgot to tell you guys also that while I was "The Chuck" one lovely summer afternoon, I interestingly spotted my dentist in the pizza line with my dental hygienist, smooching and having a great time together. NOT GOOD, since he was married with children at the time. Maybe they thought no one would find them hanging out playing Galaga and Pac-Man, and getting cozy in those little play areas with all the plastic balls?!?! Hmmmm

So since I was in cognito if you know what I mean, I learned a lot that day. My dad still goes to the same dentist, and I think he ended up marrying that hygienist. We of course wish them the best...

 

[pqcollectibles]

One summer, I worked at a shoe store as a sales clerk. Back when the clerk would measure your foot, run to the back, gather the shoes you wanted to try on, and then put them on your feet for you. Thank goodness it was summer. I heard that job could be rather stinky in the winter.

I was shocked at the number of women who insisted on sandals 2 and 3 sizes too small. I can still see them in my mind's eye. Standing there, beaming with glee, looking at themselves in a mirror, with half their toes and part of their heels hangin out the ends of the shoes. How attractive!!

 

[Judi W]

PQ - You are SOOO funny!!!! Sounds like Cinderella's step-sisters squeezing their feet into the glass slipper!!! How silly.....nothing is worse then shoes too small and sore sore feet!!!

 

[dimonbob]

Lets see? I delivered 280 papers every morning at 3am for the four years of high school. On the weekends I took care of our yard and several of the neighbors yards. During part of the summer I would work in the tomato packing house loading boxcars and trucks with green tomatoes. For the other part of the summer I was a camp counselor at Boy Scout Camp.
I made money but my school work suffered because of it.

 

[hoorray]

yeaoooo.... I can't touch the paper route sagas. I was soud asleep at 3am. I worked in a small teens' cloths store starting when I was 15. It was a great way to keep my wardrobe going. (Most of my payckecks went back in to the store.)

I did do a Bunny Rabbit stint at a kids Easter brunch once. I can completely relate to Chuck E. Tons of kids covered in syrup trying to hug, dance, etc. It must have been 150 degrees inside that costume. I was majorly jealous of all the tall leggy models getting dressed in the latest of everything for the mom's fashion show while I got to entertain the kids.