When talking to friends about their first job, I hear stories ranging from one extreme to another. These stories range from the worst experience in the world to one where a friend of mine had a great experience and still remembers it fondly. My first job was working in a warehouse where I packed shipping orders 8 hours a day, five days a week. One time, I was so bored that I fell asleep and they found me there an hour later. Fortunately, I was not fired on the spot, but most likely that was because my father owned the warehouse.
Some first jobs do not pay much but offer great benefits include:
- Camp Counselor, allowing you to play in the sun and hang in a bathing suit all summer.
- Valet Parker, receive tips for driving some pretty cool cars.
- NASA Intern, where you get to work in mission control.
- Nintendo Tester, where a good day of work involves playing the latest video games.
- Ben & Jerry’s Summer Intern, allowing you to receive free pints of ice cream each day...likely to make you popular among family and friends!
On the other hand, some jobs may pay well but may not be the most appealing, are:
- Telemarketer, which pays reasonably well but people yell and hang up on you all the time.
- Agricultural Fieldwork and Processor, is one of the most dangerous jobs due to the number of injuries caused by farm machinery, animals and chemicals.
- Mascot, which requires you to wear a plastic or polyester costume and impersonate a character to the delight of many children. One of the major issues is that you have to perform your tasks outdoors in the heat which may create unpleasant smells in the costume that do not go away
- Sewer Truck Driver, which entails fixing backups in septic tanks and other sewage problems. You can have issues with smells, as well as potential falls into septic tanks when they cave in.
Whether your first job is a good one or a bad one, try to remain focused on the reason for starting to work. You may choose to work for money or job fulfillment. Jobs can offer many benefits in addition to earning money, such as skills that you will need to learn down the road, like being part of team and interacting with others. It is sad to say that even if you have one of the worst jobs that you can imagine, you can learn most of the most valuable lessons -- what you do not want in life!
