The First Paycheck
My sixteen-year-old son has had lots of odd jobs before now — stuff like mowing lawns and feeding other people’s animals. But this summer he has his first fulltime job: he’s part of a fence-building crew. You can tell by the sore shoulders, scratched arms, and blistered hands that his body will take a while to adjust.
But today I went with him to the bank to deposit his first paycheck. And you could see that suddenly the soreness didn’t matter. There was an actual paycheck with lots of $$ (from his 16-yr-old perspective).
I thought back to the day I became instantly wealthy. It was the end of the month in my paper route, which I took the summer before I entered 7th grade. I collected at month’s end, paid my bill to the newspaper, and counted up what was left: $45. I couldn’t believe it. Forty-five bucks. I was about the wealthiest person I knew.
I knew what to do with it: part of it went to savings, part of it went into contributions (though I had to grow in the spirit of joyful giving — it was fine when you were giving a dime off a dollar allowance, but $5? That seemed steep!), and quite a bit was left for baseball cards, movie tickets, etc.
The first paycheck is a wonderful thing.
Do you remember yours? What was that first job?
I was about 11 or 12 when I got a route delivering TV Guide. I collected fifteeen cents for each one (they were 10 cents at the store) and I got to keep four cents. Had about 30 houses. $1.20 a week wasn’t much even in 1960′s money, so I think it only lasted a couple of months.
Sinclair station in Richardson, Texas, age 14. . . so much for child labor! $55 a week.
Have had some weird jobs. First one in high school was: making artificial stalactites for the “cave” at the Casa Bonita restaurant in Denver. Truly a lost art. Minimum wage in the mid-70′s (the decade of the 70′s, not $70′s).
I worked concessions at the Capri Twin in Florence, AL. The big movie from that summer was “10″. I don’t remember how much I made but I do remember wrecking my daddy’s car on the way to pick up my pay check!
I kept books and mailed invoices for my dad’s business when I was 12 till I was about 16. I got something like $20/week on top of my allowance. Since my parents paid for all necessities and I didn’t drive and hadn’t discovered online shopping at the time, it seemed like a pretty decent amount. ^_^ (He’s just lucky I was extremely good at math….) In college, I worked in the Brackett Library as a reference assistant. It was minimum wage while work study paid, but if I worked extra hours, I earned a whopping $4.35/hr — in 2000. Yup. College is totally the gateway to a lucrative career….
Timex! I was a pinner on an assembly line of men’s watches….$50.00 a week! I was in “high cotton” as my Granddaddy used to say!
Sacking groceries at C & E Super Valu. I made $1.60 an hour and worked a 40 hour week. There was no worry about fringe benefits or other perks. Just $64 a week before taxes.
Mine was for a landscaping company during my junior year in high school. My first day was spent cutting the grass at a local cemetery with a push mower. The cemetery was also where I had my first lunch break eating a pimento cheese sandwich leaning up against a headstone. Ahh, the glamor my first job.
I wonder if there’s a difference between a “first job” and a “real job.” My first job was mowing lawns. Yes, as a girl, I mowed laws at the age of 12 to earn my first paycheck. I’d charge $10 for both back & front. I remember one of the most difficult yards at that time being directly across the street from where I lived. It was a corner lot and therefore quite large to mow. Sadly, I can’t remember what my paycheck went to that summer. I know some of it went back into my business as I had to buy the gas for the mower. Another side bar was having to keep the lawn mowed at home.
My first “real job” was as a car hop. I worked at a drive-in that had once been an A&W. That was a cool job and that summer, I put my earnings towards a bike.
My other “real job” was at the soda fountain located in my town’s drug store. That paycheck went to just about everything…I was in high school after all. My “real jobs” tend to date me somewhat.
Fighting forest fires as a Hotshot for USFS. Being a GS-4 seemed to pay a lot back then (’85-86) – $6.19/hr – but we got tons of overtime, hazard pay, and Sunday differentials, and when we were on fires, we had ZERO expenses. So it added up in a pretty good hurry. Throw in some exciting helicopter rides, an 80+-hour/wk work ethic, some fresh California fruit from orchard owners whose property we were protecting, and some spectacular night shifts along Idaho’s Salmon River, and you’ve got a pretty good gig, all things considered. Not a bad way to enter the job force. Perfect summer job for a college student, incidentally.
(Of course, there were also the disgusting margarine-and-baloney sandwiches in NM, the scorpions on AZ’s Tonto NF, and the smoke from burning poison oak in CA, but why quibble?)
qb
I worked for a bee keeping operation that an elder at our church owned. I was heading into 8th grade and worked for $3.25 an hour. Ag. work did not follow the laws of minimum wage in 1988, but it seemed to me like they were handing our money.
The first paycheck I remember was $1400.00 a week and that was back in 1976 – 77. I would get home from school and sleep for a couple of hours and then go to work from 7pm – 7am, I would get home shower and go to school. My grandfather was the head of the union and I would work turnarounds in the refineries. I paid cash for my first car a 1971 Thunderbird with a 429 and suicide doors.
Now you know how I ended up with a wife like Alana. Bless her heart she had no idea it would be all down hill from there. If I had only invested in Microsoft!
My first real paycheck was when I was fourteen and working for Furr’s Cafeteria. (my dad was assitant manager) I was paid $1.45 an hour. Actually I worked three nights a week for five years before that in our Bar-B-Que place but pay was all mixed up with allowance and home chores. I was really into music and remember buying a transister radio and 45′s but don’t know if they were with the first paycheck. I am also sure some went for snacks.
qb, my brothers work in the summer for the forest service led to a lifetime career. I have heard some of the fire stories from him. Thanks for the memories, Mike
My first anything means looking back eons, but my first ‘paycheck’ job was working in the kitchen of our local hospital. All I remember are trays and more trays of Jello going in and out of the big refrigerators. I worked 3 hours after school & Saturday mornings, and 2 very early hours Sunday mornings before church. At least back then our services began at 10 AM [dig, dig and hint, hint!] lol
My dad had me quit the job because it was interfering with my more serious job and the one I really loved – that of being my little [35,000] town’s official vocal soloist. I sang and was paid to sing at dinners, luncheons, meetings of the Elks, Moose, Job’s Daughters & Rainbow Girls, Rebeccas, Optimists, Rotary, Junior Chamber of Commerce, et al and every convention that hit town. Even had my own radio show for a short time. What fun, and good money for that time and my age. Lovely and cherished memories. Thanks, Mike for stirring them up out of passive memory.
My first “paycheck job” was as a Little League umpire at the ripe age of 14. The best part of that job was the free cheeseburger they gave you when you worked two games in one night
This job was not without some perils though. Like the 7 year old who started bawling when I rang him up big league style at my first game (oops) or the time I motioned safe while screaming “He’s OUT!!!” on a close play at second. Those poor kids just stared at me not knowing what to do next.
I worked the snack bar at the pool when I was 18. I came home smelling like grease every day, but I did get a tan…and some muscles from lifting those 5-gallon water jugs!
i had a little paper route when i was in 6th grade. Not much of one but it paid for piano lessons and $.50 i needed to get in the movies. Plus it gave me a reason to go by Jill’s house and not look like a stalker
I remember watching nine children for 8 hours at a time for 50 cents an hour. Did that for at least three years.
Recently, we have helped people get jobs that haven’t worked much in their lives. I am amazed when they get that first paycheck and there are all those deductions. They just can’t understand how you can work so hard and not get your money. Have to talk them into remaining on the job. But I sure do understand their angst.
First paycheck was $48.00. Made $1.00 an hour, worked 6 days a week, delivering furniture. I was 10 years old. When I complained about child labor laws, I was told there was a family exemption as to rate of pay and hours worked. Never have looked to see if my Dad was telling the truth, but since he also paid for my meals and clothes I did not complain too much.
Continued working that job every summer through college, with some raises. I remember checking my bank balance in high school to discover that I was a sophomore and had over $3000.00, a paid-for car, place to live, paid-for insurance, and free food! I have never again been that rich!
Working with my Dad. Best job I have ever had.
Sacking groceries in high school–taught me alot–especially how much alcohol was being consumed by the brethren!!—but I didn’t go out and buy a cool hat like some of our sons did with their first paycheck.