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OT: Where Was Your First Paycheck Job and How Much An Hour Did You Rake In?

My first actual job was assembling pool plugs in some sweaty wearhouse in Totowa for this Armenian guy Steve. We got paid like ten cents a plug, but it was more or less under the table. My first "real" job was at Blockbuster Video on Bloomfield Ave. in West Caldwell. I think it was $5.25 an hour...whatever minimum wage was in 1998.
 
1972/73 busboy at Buxtons in Woodbridge

I dont recall the wages but tips were good.

Best part was going to the bars after work with the waitresses.
 
14 or 15 yrs old on a dairy in upstate NY drawing hay & stacking the bales in the big hay mows. Worked like a man. 75 cents an hour & all the water you could drink. Sarazen's farm--brother of Gene Sarazen the golfer. Won the PGA 3 times & the Masters once.
 
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DJ Spanky said:
I used to live right around the corner in Darien. My brother attended Hinsdale South.
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Small world! I lived in Westmont, and then later Lisle. Graduated from Downers Grove North HS. We played Hinsdale Central. They were a real powerhouse at the time. We were not.
 
SkilletHead2 said:
Small world! I lived in Westmont, and then later Lisle. Graduated from Downers Grove North HS. We played Hinsdale Central. They were a real powerhouse at the time. We were not.
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I went to Eisenhower Junior High School which fed both Downers Grove and Hinsdale.
 
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RU848789 said:
WTHS class of 80 here. Grew up in Whitman Square. Assuming Captain Good Times was after I left home - when/where did you grow up? My posts above were about jobs I had in Twp. Pretty sure Cavanaugh's closed by about 1990, so it may predate you.
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Small world. I was ‘92, Captain good times was next to Eckerd Drugs and same parking lot near a big bank. It was right near Whitman square, but the location had new businesses every 3 years. One time they had a “make your own pizza and bring it home and cook it yourself” place.
Most of my life was Tall Oaks, a development next to the birches off , but we moved to birches west off pitman downer road when I was in high school. I’m pretty sure Cavanaughs made it until the early 90’s , was definitely a big deal when it closed.
 
RU848789 said:
WTHS class of 80 here. Grew up in Whitman Square. Assuming Captain Good Times was after I left home - when/where did you grow up? My posts above were about jobs I had in Twp. Pretty sure Cavanaugh's closed by about 1990, so it may predate you.
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I just saw your earlier post, the Philadelphia Inquire, me too. I remember trying to deliver the insert on Saturday so I wouldn’t have to deliver a 5 pound paper onSundays, some customers complained (didn’t want to read the comics early I guess)
My good friend (Greg Rossi) in Whitman square had a route from 5th grade all the way into high school(he may have had your route). He just cleaned up, pretty sure he and his siblings headed to Gloucester Catholic for high school, big into swimming.
 
rudad02 said:
14 or 15 yrs old on a dairy in upstate NY drawing hay & stacking the bales in the big hay mows. Worked like a man. 75 cents an hour & all the water you could drink. Sarazen's farm--brother of Gene Sarazen the golfer. Won the PGA 3 times & the Masters once.
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I worked in the hayfield for 4 yrs in the summers in high school. We stacked the hay in 6 ton stacks and I was the guy who had to "top" them so they wouldn't slide. Me, the pitchfork, and your choice of bumble bees or bull snakes. Ha. We averaged 535 stacks a year for them 4 years. Now I refuse to got to the hayfield even though we round bale everything and all the equipment has AC.
 
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huskersalways said:
I worked in the hayfield for 4 yrs in the summers in high school. We stacked the hay in 6 ton stacks and I was the guy who had to "top" them so they wouldn't slide. Me, the pitchfork, and your choice of bumble bees or bull snakes. Ha. We averaged 535 stacks a year for them 4 years. Now I refuse to got to the hayfield even though we round bale everything and all the equipment has AC.
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Good one.
 
I was a Passé instructor at a cheap ass place in Dunellen called Dance Express for two bucks an hour


oh wait I did have a job in the early 70s in the summer at g&w laboratories where they made suppositories. I hated working for a bunch of assholes and it didn't pay very well.they also made acne cream in a big vat. I had to climb stairs to get to it,a one time I fell in but, at least, I didn't get a zit the whole summer.
 
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patk89 said:
Petroleum engineer (pumped gas) at a Sunoco in Mercer Cty for something like $3.35/hour. If you put in more than the customer asked for, and they wouldn't pay, it came out of your paycheck. Meter checked at the end of each shift to match the register.
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Correction: Petroleum Transferral Engineer. Oh yeah. Gas was $.56/gallon when I was employed at a Shell station on Rt 22 in Somerset County. Not my first job. Think I was a HS junior.
 
first job was a paper route
First job with paycheck was working at Inman Ave driving range. I made 4.50 an hour. Greatest job ever! Free golf balls to hit(I played in HS) Daily routine was go to school, play 9 holes at West Nine, then work from 5-9, hit balls or play mini golf after work.
 
I was 14. Cutting fish in Princeton. 15 an hour. Best damn job for a high school and college kid. Worked there for 10 years.
 
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First job was a paper route for the Record. First paycheck job was at Carvel in South Hackensack, 1987. $4.25/hr.
 
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mikershoein said:
Small world. I was ‘92, Captain good times was next to Eckerd Drugs and same parking lot near a big bank. It was right near Whitman square, but the location had new businesses every 3 years. One time they had a “make your own pizza and bring it home and cook it yourself” place.
Most of my life was Tall Oaks, a development next to the birches off , but we moved to birches west off pitman downer road when I was in high school. I’m pretty sure Cavanaughs made it until the early 90’s , was definitely a big deal when it closed.
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Yep small world. I remember when Tall Oaks was built - one of my friends lived there. I lived in Whitman Square on Forbes Street just off Whitman Drive. I'm guessing you've been to Sal's Pizza by the high school. Used to eat there all the time in HS and still go back once in awhile. 40th freakin' HS reunion next year (I've DJ-ed the last 3, which is fun).
 
mikershoein said:
I just saw your earlier post, the Philadelphia Inquire, me too. I remember trying to deliver the insert on Saturday so I wouldn’t have to deliver a 5 pound paper onSundays, some customers complained (didn’t want to read the comics early I guess)
My good friend (Greg Rossi) in Whitman square had a route from 5th grade all the way into high school(he may have had your route). He just cleaned up, pretty sure he and his siblings headed to Gloucester Catholic for high school, big into swimming.
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Oh yeah, the friggin' Sunday paper - so heavy, lol. One of my best friends in HS was Jim Rossi. Wonder if he and Greg were related (I don't recall him having a much younger brother).
 
RU848789 said:
Yep small world. I remember when Tall Oaks was built - one of my friends lived there. I lived in Whitman Square on Forbes Street just off Whitman Drive. I'm guessing you've been to Sal's Pizza by the high school. Used to eat there all the time in HS and still go back once in awhile. 40th freakin' HS reunion next year (I've DJ-ed the last 3, which is fun).
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Sals was the best, hands down
 
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First job was throwing newspapers in the bay area out in Sunnyvale, California. First real job was in Beaumont Texas at Federico’s Mexican restaurant. 16 years old. I was not allowed to serve alcoholic beverages until 18. My first table was a five dollar tip…in 1977. For a 16-year-old that was a big deal. Worked there for three years.
 
brianoc said:
1972/73 busboy at Buxtons in Woodbridge

I dont recall the wages but tips were good.

Best part was going to the bars after work with the waitresses.
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Used to go to that Buxton’s In the early 70’s with girlfriend/wife. Had a friend who swore he would be able to eat all of a Big Bux sundae - didn’t come close,
 
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rudad02 said:
14 or 15 yrs old on a dairy in upstate NY drawing hay & stacking the bales in the big hay mows. Worked like a man. 75 cents an hour & all the water you could drink. Sarazen's farm--brother of Gene Sarazen the golfer. Won the PGA 3 times & the Masters once.
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Worst job I ever did stacking hay in the trailer as it shot out of the chute at a million miles an hour.(well it seemed that way). Hot, sticky and you had to wear a mask, gloves, long selves and jeans to protect yourself from the vortex of flying hay you were standing in the middle of.

I always asked Farmer Hughes, "why do we always have to do this on the hottest day?" His answer for everything, "when it's got to be done, it's got to be done". For a 12 yr. old the answer didn't sit very well and I usually responded with, "this is bullsh*t". Then I usually got, "you'll be picking that up next".
 
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I had a bunch of part-time jobs as a kid, but was paid in cash. My first real paycheck job (where Social Security taxes were taken out) was as a burger flipper at Gino's when I was in high school. I don't remember exactly what I was paid, but it was below minimum wage because they were allowed to take out money for the food I could eat for lunch (whether I ate it or not).
 
koleszar said:
Worst job I ever did stacking hay in the trailer as it shot out of the chute at a million miles an hour.(well it seemed that way). Hot, sticky and you had to wear a mask, gloves, long selves and jeans to protect yourself from the vortex of flying hay you were standing in the middle of.

I always asked Farmer Hughes, "why do we always have to do this on the hottest day?" His answer for everything, "when it's got to be done, it's got to be done". For a 12 yr. old the answer didn't sit very well and I usually responded with, "this is bullsh*t". Then I usually got, "you'll be picking that up next".
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Good one. The haymows were always hot, especially the higher you stacked. No air moving anywhere. Husker, remember the challenge of stacking the bales. We had a guy throwing them off the wagon on to the conveyor, a guy taking them & throwing them up a level to the next guy, & up to the next level as you kept building. Had to grab those bales while only having one bale to stand on & throw it up to the next guy & level to be stacked. At the end of the day you'd blow your nose & nothing but black would come out. Remember how your hands wouldn't be tough at the beginning of summer & the twine around the bales would make them raw until they got calloused.
 
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BTW, most of us got paid like crap in our 1st jobs. Which is excepted when it is your 1st job and you have no clue what you are doing. In a few years that will never happen again with the min wage going up to $15.

My 1st job out of college was 4x more than the last job before college and over 2x more than the job I had while in college.
 
Worked at a Sunoco station on Route 1 in Avenel in the mid 60s. I was about 14 years old so it was under the table. The pay was something like 90 cents an hour. Regular gas at the time was around 24 cents a gallon. It was a good old time station with 3 bays for car repairs - something you rarely see anymore.

Had a job at Meat City in Perth Amboy a couple years later. One day the driver was out sick and the boss asks if I had a license. I said yes even though I was 16 and had never driven a stick let alone a truck. But I managed to back it into the dock and pull away without incident. I drove all over North Jersey that day and became their truck driver after that.
 
First job in HS was delivering drugs (prescriptions, etc) for East Park Pharmacy in Willingboro. No recollection about pay/hour, but there were occasional tips.
First post RU job was at WBCB in Levittown, PA, writing and producing commercials. $2.50/hour? Maybe?
 
Upstream said:
I had a bunch of part-time jobs as a kid, but was paid in cash. My first real paycheck job (where Social Security taxes were taken out) was as a burger flipper at Gino's when I was in high school. I don't remember exactly what I was paid, but it was below minimum wage because they were allowed to take out money for the food I could eat for lunch (whether I ate it or not).
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Pushed carts at Super Fresh.

$6-something.

I recall seeing my first check clear as day because I said to myself, "What the _____ are Union Dues"?
 
rudad02 said:
Good one. The haymows were always hot, especially the higher you stacked. No air moving anywhere. Husker, remember the challenge of stacking the bales. We had a guy throwing them off the wagon on to the conveyor, a guy taking them & throwing them up a level to the next guy, & up to the next level as you kept building. Had to grab those bales while only having one bale to stand on & throw it up to the next guy & level to be stacked. At the end of the day you'd blow your nose & nothing but black would come out. Remember how your hands wouldn't be tough at the beginning of summer & the twine around the bales would make them raw until they got calloused.
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I do remember my hands being raw and getting gorilla grip from grabbing the twine. Also remember Mr. Hughes giving me my bonus of a half used tin of bag balm. I remember telling him, "gee thanks, I get the tin you used on cow tits.". I was kind of a wise ass as a kid and why I got sent to his farm every summer by my single mom. He was a family friend, I'm pretty sure my elders considered it a form of corporal punishment.

I did get good at stacking in the trailer as I learned a simple push as it flew out of the chute would direct it where you want it to go. Then when it bounced another push into place. It's a skill I hope to never use again.
There was some fun stuff but harvesting and stacking hay goes down as one of the sh*ttiest jobs I've ever done.
 
rudad02 said:
Good one. The haymows were always hot, especially the higher you stacked. No air moving anywhere. Husker, remember the challenge of stacking the bales. We had a guy throwing them off the wagon on to the conveyor, a guy taking them & throwing them up a level to the next guy, & up to the next level as you kept building. Had to grab those bales while only having one bale to stand on & throw it up to the next guy & level to be stacked. At the end of the day you'd blow your nose & nothing but black would come out. Remember how your hands wouldn't be tough at the beginning of summer & the twine around the bales would make them raw until they got calloused.
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We didn’t mess with the little squares that you had to throw around. There were a few folks that did some after stacking the hay. We used a slide stacker to throw it all in a pile. Not my favorite times. We do everything in big round bales now and nobody ever touches a bale or a pitchfork. Ha. Anybody I ever talked to that had the pleasure of throwing bales said it sucked.
 
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