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Got My First Job

R

RudyGrow

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 12, 2009
170
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I'm 15 years old and got my first summer job working 40 hours a week at a customs broker's office as an IT guy.

The job is basically setting up new employees with new computers and fixing little problems here and there.

I only start in July, but I think it will be overwhelming considering some of the stuff I saw in my employer's office (A book titled "Expert MySQL" and some Linux-based stuff).

I was wondering what your experience at your first job was? Did you enjoy it? Where did you work? Did it help out your resume or make it worse?
 
My first job was at a car dealership as a lot attendant when I was 17. When I began, I got a very bad taste in my mouth out of the gate. It was my 2nd day on the job and I was called into the managers office because they "saw" me park a minivan and then walk to my car as the owner reported something stolen. They then showed me the security camera and it then clearly showed me parking the van and immediately going into the cashiers office to deposit the keys. When I told my co-workers about it, some people thought they were joking with me. Either way, I took that accusation seriously and left a bad impression on my bosses.

Though as I went on I liked them and the bad taste left. I also decided to stay and work through my senior year in HS. 8 am to 2 PM school and then 5 PM to 9 PM my job. That was fun. Come back tired and fall asleep and wake up at 2 am and go, " Oh Crap" and do my HW. A lot of times I would only get 2-4 hours of sleep. I still managed to pull off A's and B's and finish high school with a 3.55 GPA and a 4.0 on my APUSH AP Exam.
 
RudyGrow said:
I'm 15 years old and got my first summer job working 40 hours a week at a customs broker's office as an IT guy.

The job is basically setting up new employees with new computers and fixing little problems here and there.
Click to expand...

Congrats! Sounds like it'll be a great experience.

I only start in July, but I think it will be overwhelming considering some of the stuff I saw in my employer's office (A book titled "Expert MySQL" and some Linux-based stuff).
Click to expand...

If you're at all interested, start poking your head in them. What you'll learn at your age will be indispensable, assuming you're going to go down the IT career path. SQL = Databases = database administrator = $$$ :)
 
Congratulations!

My first job was working for my dad on the farm. After that, it was as a cashier in a little grocery store. The owner always told me he'd move me to somewhere other then cashier, but it never happened. Those were the days well before digital scanners. It worked for a summer. I don't think it mattered much in the long run, but it was a nice starting place.

None of my summer jobs or internships are on my resume anymore, unless there is something specific I need to bring up. I learned about what I didn't want to do with the rest of my life through my summer jobs!
 
Picking blueberries at the age of 11.

I guess that's what you get growing up in a semi-rural area.

That job experience never did make it on to a resume.
 
Congratulations! That is truly invaluable experience down the line (especially if you go into IT).

Don't be intimidated by the reading material you see around. Remember, it wouldn't be there if they didn't need it for reference, too. I work on databases and in my team the most senior person (been there for 28 years) has a copy of SQL for Dummies that doesn't leave his desk (honest). Doing a good job doesn't mean having every little skill memorized, it means you know the general applications and can learn to apply them on the job.

That was a real eye opener for me during my first internship. I learned quickly that it wasn't about knowing the information off the top of my head (e.g. taking tests). It is much more important to be able to think about the concepts and know where to begin to solve the problem at hand. Knowing the exact details of an inner join might save you time on a certain task, but being able to recognize that the situation calls for a join and being able to refresh your memory and apply it via a reference book will get the job done just as well.

Enough of the soppy lecture...

My first job was working at the Dairy Queen in my home town. It was horrible. I hope to someday forget it.
 
My first job sounds a little like yours. I was 16 and worked for an IT Support Firm. Clients would ring up when there was a problem and it would be fixed remotely. I mostly did this, but also some boring data entry stuff, and organizing spreadsheets etc. Ohh, I also got to travel in to London a few times to deliver stuff. That was good fun, especially as it was summer and I'd get the rest of the day off after the delivery (would be time to leave work once I got back to the office, so there was no point).
 
My first job was working at Chick-Fil-A. Not the best of job, but I was 15 so the picking was limited. ^^ My boss was great and he regularly took the team out to parties (Bowling, dinner, etc).
 
congratulations on your first job!
my first job was at 16 in a locally owned movie theater. free movies and popcorn. it was actually a really fun job with great people, i miss it.
 
Congratulations! First job at 15, kudos! And for 40 hours per week, that's more than me!

I remember my first job, I was at the company for 10 years (different roles following promotions, etc). I learnt a lot, got a lot of industry related qualifications that stood me in good ground for my future.

One piece of advice, if you're not going on to further education, find out what the industry recognised qualifications are in your field and get them! Without further education some people look at you like you're not capable of doing the job, despite the years of experience you might have.

Good luck :)
 
First "official" job was at McDonald's - Crew Trainer baby! It was back in the early 90's when they wore the white/green striped shirts and green ties. *blurp!*
 
My first real job was doing demolition and go-fer work for a residential contractor at 16. Fantastic experience for my later life, since learning how buildings were assembled (and taken apart) has been a huge asset for me.
 
First off I'm just going to emphasize how lucky you are that your first job isn't in a restaurant.

That being said, I worked in a Happy Joe's pizza parlor for my first gig. The food was amazing but almost having to take steel wool to my hands to get the smell of onions off was a pain. I learned what having a hard-ass boss was all about while, at the same time, learning how hopelessly addictive chocolate chip cookie dough can be.
 
Good for you, kid (RudyGrow). :cool: You're developing a good work ethic. I have a brother in law who's 27 and got out of prison almost a year ago but still doesn't work. Even at 15, you're already more of a man than he's ever been.
 
My first job was working at a day camp over the summer when I was 15. I took 5-6 year olds sailing on Biscayne Bay. I made the stellar sum of $5/day. But when school started in the fall, I had the best tan in school.:)
 
ucfgrad93 said:
My first job was working at a day camp over the summer when I was 15. I took 5-6 year olds sailing on Biscayne Bay. I made the stellar sum of $5/day. But when school started in the fall, I had the best tan in school.:)
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5 dollars a day??? Not per hour, but a day? Thats not even gas money.
 
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