First job

[Vista]

Our son recently starting his first part time job had me thinking about mine.

Working from 5 - 7 in this full service petrol station Monday to Friday and on Saturdays. This pic was taken some time in the 1960's I think. That little wooden hut was my hang out 20+ years later.

By the time I worked there in the mid 80's, they'd diversified and there was also a plant hire place out the back. When I wasn't serving petrol, I was doing puncture repairs up on the top level. Anything from car tyres to JCB ones, all with a manual bead breaker and tyre levers. It was back breaking!

Tell us about your first job.

[Johnny Boy]

My first job was a paper round before school . I was 11 and carried on until I was 17, and road a motorbike on the round.

The paper shop was the top payer in town, and I delivered to posh flats in a very well to do area.

Christmas tips back in the mid 70's were around £50 per Christmas.

I think that's why I didn't want to give it up, but at 17, I got an Apprenticeship and packed it in.

[accord83]

My Saturday job was working for a farmer who supplied guest houses in Blackpool with eggs, and also poultry at Christmas, I was his ghillie, rowing his fishing boat on Windermere, beater when on pre-Christmas feral cat hunts, helped doing deliveries, and did general odds and sods on his caravan site. He was a mate of my dad and my main aim was to get out alive!

I got a fiver a day.

[Rally Pack 2000]

In high school my first job was working for a Local Wildlife park on Sundays. For a 10 hour day you would be paid the princely sum of $5,00. It was always perceived as what appears to be a dream job feeding caring for all those cuddly animals or so my friends at school thought. Nothing like that at all! 90% of your time is raking out animal sh*t and scrubbing slimy water bowls. Trying to clean out a water trough with the creature wanting to stay in it resulted in my first crocodile bite. (Fortunately just a baby) A camel who had a line drawn in front of its pen to indicate its spitting range. Or a goanna who wouldn’t let go of my ankle drawing blood i had to crush its head in to make it let go. A Cassowary (Worlds Third largest bird) who hated you so much it had worn its beak off to a stump making threatening gestures along a wire fence. Then the Ostrich season with a mother who wouldn’t sit on her eggs so they needed to go to other zoos for incubation. trouble is she didn’t want to give them up regardless. The lowest employee on the totem (guess who?) had to scale a six foot fence with her attacking with a 3kg egg under their arm and not allowed to drop or break it. A job back then is now considered child exploitation. 🤔

[BaileyMex]

Seems a million years ago now, but here goes

Obligatory paper round on my BMX (even with a broken arm at times)
Went to work with Grandad over school summer holidays for a fiver a day to help him at work (self emp builder)
Part time weekend jobs at Halfords, Homebase
First full time job - Wimbledon City Ford - new car sales circa 1992 

Fast forward to 2026, can I retire yet please.😆

[deltamal]

My first job at 15 years old (1962)  was with Square D in Swindon for £2/15 a week! they made eleetrical switchgear for machine tools, I started off drilling mounting panels, progressed to wiring the panels up, and then secured a five year toolmaking apprenticeship with them, so worked out ok.

[Vista]

On 12/01/2026 at 00:57, Rally Pack 2000 said:

In high school my first job was working for a Local Wildlife park on Sundays. For a 10 hour day you would be paid the princely sum of $5,00. It was always perceived as what appears to be a dream job feeding caring for all those cuddly animals or so my friends at school thought. Nothing like that at all! 90% of your time is raking out animal sh*t and scrubbing slimy water bowls. Trying to clean out a water trough with the creature wanting to stay in it resulted in my first crocodile bite. (Fortunately just a baby) A camel who had a line drawn in front of its pen to indicate its spitting range. Or a goanna who wouldn’t let go of my ankle drawing blood i had to crush its head in to make it let go. A Cassowary (Worlds Third largest bird) who hated you so much it had worn its beak off to a stump making threatening gestures along a wire fence. Then the Ostrich season with a mother who wouldn’t sit on her eggs so they needed to go to other zoos for incubation. trouble is she didn’t want to give them up regardless. The lowest employee on the totem (guess who?) had to scale a six foot fence with her attacking with a 3kg egg under their arm and not allowed to drop or break it. A job back then is now considered child exploitation. 🤔

Our daughter has been volunteering at a rare breeds petting farm for a couple of years. Chickens, goats, pigs, alpacas, Guinea Pigs, rabbits, sheep, red squirrels and various birds. Shovelling animal  pretty much takes up most of her time.

No dangerous creatures mind, Cassowarys are evil bar stewards! Come to think of it, is there any wildlife in Oz that doesn't want to kill you?

[Cuili1]

My first job was as a kid was working in a hotel as a general dogs-body, dish washer, bar cleaning, TV moving (Yes back then you had to pay extra to have a 14" TV in your room) £0.50/hour.

First job after school was sheep farmer on the family farm for 20 years.

Then a gigger driver, for 2 years.

Then then offshore as a ROV pilot/tech 21 years.

Side jobs I've done while in the farm are... Barman / Doorman, Bus driver, Lorry driver, Chase Mechanic, Axillary Coastguard, Part time fireman, Film industry driver (Speedboat, Argocat or Car) Model (Don't ask! lol), Snowplough driver, Forwarder driver. 

[Rally Pack 2000]

On 29/03/2026 at 08:39, Vista said:

Our daughter has been volunteering at a rare breeds petting farm for a couple of years. Chickens, goats, pigs, alpacas, Guinea Pigs, rabbits, sheep, red squirrels and various birds. Shovelling animal  pretty much takes up most of her time.

No dangerous creatures mind, Cassowarys are evil bar stewards! Come to think of it, is there any wildlife in Oz that doesn't want to kill you?

PS - But what they never tell you is what secretly is at the top of the food chain, you think they are harmless while they just stare at you without any care! But It may be dangerous if I tell you guys the real secret.

[YellowTaxi]

First job was at a Ford subsidiary as a Precision tool maker apprentice.

1 Pound per hour for a 49 hr week.

Hated every minute but good group of lads at college.

Decided I didnt want to be stuck in a factory for the rest of my working life.

Left as soon as I qualified and havent been near a lathe or milling machine since.

Still got my old imperial Micromiter though and still know how to read it. No digital verniers in those days.

Saved like mad through my three years and bought my first Ford.

An RS2000 for £2995.00 only had 30k on it as it was only 3 years old.

How times change.

[Rally Pack 2000]

On 30/03/2026 at 14:44, Rally Pack 2000 said:

PS - But what they never tell you is what secretly is at the top of the food chain, you think they are harmless while they just stare at you without any care! But It may be dangerous if I tell you guys the real secret.

No one took the bait or are too afraid to ask what the top of the food chain really is ............ but ........ its the Frogs!

[Miniliteman]

5 hours ago, Rally Pack 2000 said:

No one took the bait or are too afraid to ask what the top of the food chain really is ............ but ........ its the Frogs!

The French?

[ekjdm14]

1 hour ago, Miniliteman said:

The French?

Nah their main diet is cheese, surrender & dodgy electrical connections...

 

(at risk of being thrown in the tower I will say this though, they provide us with a healthy supply of doctors & engineers)

 

Anyway back on topic my first job was making wrought iron gates and fireguards! 

Edited Sunday at 09:40 by ekjdm14

[Rally Pack 2000]

On 05/04/2026 at 18:30, Miniliteman said:

The French?

No I mean actual slippery croaking frogs. These are my own photos just in my back yard. They are everywhere! They sit there watching to see if you let your guard down.

[Nige65]

Are they the type that you lick and then feel very happy?

[Nige65]

On 05/04/2026 at 10:37, ekjdm14 said:

Nah their main diet is cheese, surrender & dodgy electrical connections...

 

(at risk of being thrown in the tower I will say this though, they provide us with a healthy supply of doctors & engineers)

 

Anyway back on topic my first job was making wrought iron gates and fireguards! 

My first job was an evening paper round, when coming up to Christmas, I used to be given a lot of tips as the household’s thought that I did the early morning round as well, I didn’t even know the paperboy that I was taking tips from, well every penny counted as a youngster 😁

[Dave Knight]

My first job was a trainee typesetter for the Daily Mirror, Thomson House which is now The Printworks.
 

My late Father worked there in the circulation department. Great days, on the piss every lunch with the alcoholic editors and pressmen. The then Editor Victor Mayhew lived in flats on top the Manchester Arndale Centre, Cranford Court, a whole housing estate with gardens on the roof of a shopping centre, 🤣.  His parties were legendary. 
 

It was an eye opener for a young 16 year old from the streets of Moss Side in Manchester. 

The Robert Maxwell pension scandal ruined it and I was finished before I was 18. I then joined the military. 

[accord83]

On 06/04/2026 at 20:20, Dave Knight said:

My first job was a trainee typesetter for the Daily Mirror, Thomson House which is now The Printworks.
 

My late Father worked there in the circulation department. Great days, on the piss every lunch with the alcoholic editors and pressmen. The then Editor Victor Mayhew lived in flats on top the Manchester Arndale Centre, Cranford Court, a whole housing estate with gardens on the roof of a shopping centre, 🤣.  His parties were legendary. 
 

It was an eye opener for a young 16 year old from the streets of Moss Side in Manchester. 

The Robert Maxwell pension scandal ruined it and I was finished before I was 18. I then joined the military. 

I served my time as a fitter building printing presses at MGD (Goss's) in Preston. At 20 I worked in the Heavy Erection Shop (big presses}, so I was a heavy erection fitter, handy job title if you were on the pull😂🤣

[ekjdm14]

Beats my job title in 2000/01 "Butt Welder"....  Yes, there were plenty of "waving your torch around" jokes...