As I’ve reconnected with more and more high school friends on the evil Facebook recently, I’ve been thinking back to my work history during that time period.
My first job was at a dog kennel when shortly before I started high school. It was at the end of the summer and I think I only worked there two weeks. My main memory of the place was of three Dobermans that were in one stall and their door to the outside run had closed accidentally overnight. In the morning, their small indoor enclosure was completely covered with… so yeah, I asked someone else to clean that one up. I wasn’t getting paid enough for that. (If I recall, that kennel shut down a few years later when the owner just disappeared and never came back.)
I had two main non-babysitting jobs while in high school. First was as a physical therapy assistant at a PT office owned by a family friend who lived in our neighborhood (I also did quite a bit of babysitting for them). Lots of good stories from here, but the one that sticks out most is the time I tried to microwave donut holes and put a few of them in for 2 minutes rather than 20 seconds. The entire place filled with smoke and I was summarily made fun of (recalled a couple of years ago in more detail).
My other job was cleaning banks. With a friend’s father, on Friday evenings I’d accompany him and ride from bank to bank (and a few other places, like Agway) and vaccuum, dust, take out the trash, etc. It was pretty darn cool to be in a bank after hours, walking behind the counters, being careful not to hit the silent alarm while grabbing the trash cans. My friend’s dad would always buy me a Snapple, too. Don’t know why I remember that.
Did you work any interesting jobs back then?
Posted in Everyday Life
COD February 25, 2009, 4:34 pm
I worked in the military base equivalent of a 7-11 from age 16 until I graduated high school. I also was the disc jockey at the youth center on base for most of that time.
Aanen February 25, 2009, 5:05 pm
Worked at Weis Markets for my first job. It was alright. Hated being a cashier though
Matt April 17, 2009, 2:00 pm
My only high school job that required paying taxes was ushering at a movie theater. I did that for about six months. Other than that, I mowed lawns, did yardwork, and took care of people’s homes when they were out of town.
Dave Walls December 22, 2009, 9:26 pm
Worked plenty of the typical jobs for teens: Paper delivery, McDonalds, Ice cream scooper at Friendly’s.
Two most interested jobs:
1) Worked at Discovery Zone in Wilmington, DE. I got paid to run around with little kids and play games and wear them out. Made great money hosting parties, and I simply loved it.
2) For a few weeks in my sophomore year, I worked for the now-defunct New Castle County (DE) Fair as the obnoxious guy in the dunking booth. Decent money to yell at people at get dunked repeatedly. It was 100 degrees every day, so I didn’t really mind. Can’t put that on a resume, but who cares..