What was your first job?

I had a paper route when I was eight but since I didn't pay taxes I guess it doesn't count.

So my first (tax paying) job was working in the middle school after hours as a janitor. I was in highschool and would go to the middle school after everybody was gone. I was in charge of the 6th grade side. I vacuumed, swept, cleaned chalk boards, bathrooms, mopped... all that good stuff.

I actually really liked that job. I worked by myself (there were other people working but they had their own sections) so I could just come in... slap my newest mix tape in my walkman and go to work. No office politics. No boss looking over your shoulder. Just come in, work and go home.

Like jp, I didn't pay taxes on my first official job which was a gymnastic intructer for my town recreation department. The first taxed job was a flower delivery person.

I liked it, I got to ride around in a big van listening to the am radio station. Got an education in 'golden oldies'.

I had the paper routes as well, but my first real job was a waitress in a nice little restaurant.

Hitman for the mafia.

I couldn't believe those bastards took taxes out of my pay.

They told you they were taking taxes out, but did you ever get a W2?

They have some nerve, eh Slappy

My first job was teaching economics in a school for nurses.

Wow! That's some first job!

Nah...fugget'bout it.

True story.
Not about my first job. But my best job.

When I was fresh out of undergrad and lived in Chicago, I got an assignment through a temp agency to be a designated audience member for the "Judge Mathis" show. That's right, I got paid seven bucks an hour to watch them tape ten consecutive episodes.

During one show I was seated near the aisle behind the plaintiff, and I kept leaning in so my head would show up on screen. I thought it would be funny to give exaggerated expressions of concern and alarm over the testimony--even though every complaint involved some dumb girl who bought her white gangsta boyfriend a cell-phone and then he ran up the charges once they broke up.

Except for this ONE case. Oh, my. (The best thing about the show was comisserating with the TRUE fans, whom we were forbidden to tell about being paid: "Damn, man, I was at SPRINGER last week." The die hard fans make their own judgments the SECOND the defendant walks in: "Ooh, that muthafucka is GUILTY"-- simply by appearances).

This one complete hooch in stilleto heels and a weave and press on nails walks in, and the audience is sure she is guilty. The plaintiff is this short, nerdy African American man in khakis and a button down, glasses, etc.

"Your honor, this woman broke my heart. I fell in love with her, gave her my heart, asked her to marry me, and then she sold the ring for CRACK."

Wherupon the honorable Judge Mathis asked the defendant to explain.

"Your honor, I have since changed my ways. But I used to be an escort. I used to trick. And he knew that."

Audience goes wild: "That crazy muthafucka tried to marry a prostitute."

Plaintiff: "Your honor, she sold the ring for crack."

Defendant: "He used to smoke crack with me. He liked me to suck him off as he inhaled."

Needless to say, the judge ruled in favor of the defendant. And as the short nerdy plaintiff cussed to himself, raving on the way out, the audience, myself included, said collectively, "That muthafucka has lost his mind!"

I never saw myself on TV. But when at last I get my creative writing degree, and all the job security THAT offers, you can bet I'll be back in the Windy City working for 7 dollars an hour. Look for me on the Judge Mathis show in about a year.

That's funny.

And pathetic, that a tv show sucks so bad they have to pay people to sit in the audience.

My first job was working in a nursing home. I got the distinct pleasure of setting up tables, serving food, cleaning up dishes and setting up trays for patients.

It actually wasn't too bad as we had a good group of high school kids - so we made it as fun as it could be. It was hard, to get up if you were on morning shift on the weekends. We had to be there around 5:30 in the morning.

first job -- i took a photograph for an article in Games magazine...

Dishwasher in the cafeteria at Suffolk Downs.

Dirty dishes were put in racks which were then conveyed through the
washer. The racks of dishes came out in a cloud of steam at the other
end. My job was taking the dishes off the rack, wiping any remaining
water off and stacking them on the shelves. This was in the summer
and was like working in a sauna.

The most amazing thing was watching some of my co-workers blow most
of their pitiful paychecks on the ponies.

It was either photocopying hundreds application forms for a job, stapling them,catalogueing them in alphabetical order etc which I loved coz it was during the summer, only took a few days, I got paid £5 an hour and it had a sense of organisation and neatness to it.

Or it was working as a silver service waitress in a hotel which I hated because the trays of food were hot and heavy, the people in charge were cr*p, money was cr*p, the people in charge took all the tips, hours were very unsociable, uniforms were horrid, toom any rules, I had to be polite whilst hot and bothered.I was asked to geta bottle of wine by a man at function one night.They were all in exactly the same bright red military uniform, they all had dark hair and moustaches and i couldnt recognise who asked me for it so I had to wade through a 2" gap between the rows of chairs and find out who it was who asked for it.

Reege, cool first job!
How did it come about?

First job I paid taxes on?

Demo student. There is a teacher's college as part of the university in my hometown. They brought bunches of us in - and paid us - for the teaching students to practice different teaching techniques on. Good money.

Then I went back to baby-sitting. No taxes.

Next taxable job was as a patio hostess at the 1976 Sailing Olympics. I learned to walk backwards, in 5" platform shoes, carrying a tray of complementary Harbour Cocktails, while escorting official guests to their tables.

I worked at a Burger Chef for three days. On a bet, I put a piece of rubber vomit in someone's cheeseburger.

The manager not only fired me, he punched me in the face. It was worth it.

friend of a friend was writing the article -- about ultimate frisbee -- and needed a photo.
at the time i was doing 2 things in my favor: studying photography & playing ultimate
that $100 seemed like $1,000,000 at the time... Games is owned by playboy, so bunny ears adorn the check stub