Great thread... I'm not sure if I'll remember every job, but here goes:

Paperboy - This may also be pre high school, but 2 of my brothers and I delivered the morning newspaper on our bicycles for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune until they converted all the routes to one's done by car driving adults. We always watched the early rerun of SportsCenter from the night before while folding and rubber banding the newspapers. I remember the mornings where I'd see deer grazing in the yard at one particular house at the top of one street. Mornings when people would be getting dressed with their curtains or blinds wide open. I suppose they thought no one would be around to see them dressing before 6am. Collecting $7 a month from some houses, of which I got to keep all $7. Finally there was the Sunday morning when my dad drove my oldest brother and I around in the family station wagon and we covered all three routes. We started to back into the long driveway of one of the last houses on my route and my feet caught the ground and I fell out the back of the car. My brother yelled for my dad to stop and he did just in time before the bumper hit my head. My knees hit the ground so hard that I was unable to stand and had to drag myself to the front of the car to sit in the front seat for the last few minutes until we got home. My knees have never been the same since that incident.

Mowing lawns - Didn't do this too much, but I do recall regularly mowing the lawn for a lady my mom knew through the SCMOTC Southern California Mothers of Twins Club. The lady stiffed me more than once and my mom encouraged me to continue to mow her lawn for free. Sorry, but I had money to earn and my time was not going to get donated to a cause that did not earn me money.

Hardware store gopher - Small hardware store in town was going out of business. I was hired on the keep the place clean and tidy and do any and everything the owner asked of me, including the time when he told me to "go take a **** for me." Made $20/hour for one full day while moving a wall full of fasteners to a shop in Chino. That was absolutely thrilling because my usual wage was about $4.25/hr.

Lifeguard - At Raging Waters. Pretty much every person you rescue is ungrateful and rude to you. Got kicked in the nuggets really bad one time trying to rescue an older Oriental gentlemen. Had to shut down the ride for a few minutes while I recovered from that one. Overall the job is not as fun and rewarding as they lead you to think it will be. Got a great tan though!

Sunday newspaper assembler - For Los Angeles Times. I did this job almost every Sunday morning from 9th grade until I was 19. Sometimes I'd go to bed and wake up to head to work at about 1:50am. Other times I'd go straight to work from being out for the night. It was only about 2 hours of work every Sunday but the steady ~$20 every week paid for gas every week when I had my own car.

Best job I had was maintaining the yard etc at a friends house. I could work as much as I wanted and got paid $10/hr. There was always something to do: mow the grass, trim trees, build a wall, annual garden planting in soil that was clay and not the best for a garden. Built a cabana, a vineyard, a second tool shed, re-landscaped a lot, ran things to the dump.

Had a few other jobs after high school before starting into a career:

Mechanic - at two small shops

Car Prep - Enterprise Rent a car, washing cars.

Electric company whipping boy - Pulled parts from inventory for orders, picked up supplies for and delivered them to job sites all over So. Cal. I remember seeing rats as big as your average house cat at a store in Hawthorne while re-lamping it one night. Big, ugly, scary looking buggers. Most fun was heading into the shop at 12am one Monday morning with my brother to get a load to drive up to Campbell for a school under construction. We made it to the job site by 6am. He stayed there and I loaded up a scissor lift to drive back to the shop. Made it back to the shop by 1pm. Slept a few hours then caught an evening flight from Burbank to San Jose. Waited for the boss to arrive on the next flight up and then went to the job site with him until about 1:30am while he and other big wigs worked on who knows what. Checked into the hotel at about 2am and got up at 5am for another full day of work on the job site. Good times!

 

First job was working as a shipping clerk in Simi Valley. I quit after I suspected the merchandise was stolen.

Then I started my business. I was 16.

 

First real job was working for the local KMart up here in Goleta. In the six weeks I was one of the staff members that had been there the longest besides the managers. And by then end of that 6 weeks they had me closing 3 out of 7 departments at the same time.

After 6 weeks I had to leave town for the summer because I didn't have a place after school got out. Manager and HR said they would hold my job for when I came back, called to tell them when I was available again and found out I had been fired with no explanation. O well I didn't really wanna go back anyway!

 

First 'on the books' job was at Carl's Jr. The funny story to that one? I had applied to lots of places prior with little to no success. Most places, they looked at me like I had a second head. Finally, my mom asked why I was having such a hard time getting a job since I was such a bright lad. I showed her the last application I had turned in to Vons and shrugged. She looked for a couple minutes, then laughed. So, you know the section where you put your availability? Well, I knew that teenagers can only work so many hours a week, so I parsed out the hours into a hypothetical schedule, not my overall availability. Somehow in my head that made sense. She immediately took back the 'bright lad' remark. The next application I filled out was for Carl's Jr, and having learned my lesson, I filled it out correctly this time. I was hired on the spot. Worked there for 18 months. I liked it well enough, mainly because the manager was willing to work around my hectic schedule.

Prior to that, I worked the concession stand at my local little league fields for a couple extra bucks and all the free snacks I wanted while on the job.

Mike

 

What a great thread !

In reading about all of your guys roads traveled. I was kinda overwhelmed with emotions that I have not felt in a long time, from reminiscing about my first job and being 15 at the time. I was thinking about my family members who were not here any more.
Anyway.
My father was a CFO at a company that made high tech medical equipment for hospitals.
It was located in Chatsworth, Ca. It was called I.R.I.S. (International Remote Imaging Systems). I got a job there after school working in the shipping and receiving dept and doubled as a stock cleck for the parts that they had coming in. By the time I was 16 they moved my boss up in the company as a project manager. So I became incharge of the shipping and receiving dept. I remember rushing to work after school and having to pack and ship these machines and support products. These machines were big at the time. 5' tall, 4' deep, 8' wide. Anywho, I worked there until I graduated from Van Nuys High School. Did two months at Valley College, Quit and joined the USAF.
Its good to reminisce, remember and be thankful.

 

Mowed some yards when I was 11-14. Mother landed me a job at a boys clothing store in the local strip mall when I was 14- or so. Hated it. Found myself a job at the local grocery store (within walking distance of my house in suburbs) at 15. Investigated work at a local dairy farm (unusual line of work considering how built up the area was) when I was in 9th grade, but although they said they wanted me, I couldn't work there until I hit high school at 10th grade because of school hours/milking hours conflict. As soon as summer started between 9th and 10th grade, I started at the dairy and loved it. it was a unique job for where I lived and I loved working with the animals. Worked there all through high school, milking mornings before school and then again after school through my junior and senior years at high school.
Learned more about hard work and the work ethic at that job than any other. Went to college to become an Ag teacher since the dairy I worked at closed down due to retirement of the owner (missed the opportunity to be a potential buyer by 4-5 years). Still correspond with my old boss these 30+ years later. Will be seeing him ( he is 80+ yr old) in a couple of weeks when I visit my hometown.
The man and his family left such an indelible impression on me; it has served me well all these years as a public school vocational agriculture teacher.

 

First job in the autobiz, started working when I was 7: Washing/detailing used cars: P. A. Eckles Oldsmobile, 43rd & Vermont, LA

Pumping gas, general auto repair: Curtis & Ross Texaco, Cashmere & Sepulveda, Westwood.

Parts driver/stockman: Simonson & Schactmeyer Studebaker/Packard/Mercedes-Benz (now W.I. Simonson Mercedes), 17th & Wilshire, Santa Monica.

First full time job: Partsman at Frank H. Afton Studebaker/Packard/Mercedes Benz, 240 N. Market St. Inglewood. Dealership folded, was hired as a parts driver at Leon Ames Ford in Encino.

Leon Ames Ford became Ralph Williams Ford (Ralph was married to Ames' daughter).

 

My first job was in a hippie leather shop in 1972. Made lots of belts, purses, wallets, etc, but not much money. The sign over the cash register read: CORRECT CHANGE ONLY, CASHIER IS STONED. The correct change part was only a joke.

 

Cool thread, When I was 11 I started cleaning windows at a small strip mall on Beach and Chapman, that let on to working at the bar called the "Country Inn" Cleaning the bar floors and bathrooms. I also tackled their horseshoe pits. These pits were so neglected it took awhile to get them in playing condition. Everyone loved it and started playing horeshoe's again. There was another bar around the corner called the "Paddle Wheel" I started working there as well. Learned how to play pool from some of the best pool players around. Did real good at shuffle board too.
A year later met a guy by the name of "Doyle" he owned a welding shop called "Doyle and Dans trailer and hitch shop" started cleaning his shop at the same time I was doing all the other jobs.
I was taught how to weld both with an arc welder than a mig. Buzz who was one of the welders there and only seventeen at the time, taught me to cut with a torch and he's the one who taught me to weld. I've always worked, can't remember never having a job.
Once in high school I started working at a place in El Monte called "Rainbow Plastics and moulding Inc." I worked the graveyard shift. I Lied about my age just to get a job. I did this so I could go to night school and accelerate through high school. All this so I could gaduate early, just to get into the Army.
Sorry long response but a cool thread like I said.

 

Found a pic of the old store in El Centro where it all started!

 

I liked this show as a kid, couldn’t watch it today.

 

Same. My brother and I would watch every episode. Today, I can't stand it.

Jim

 

I had to think a little,........

As a little kid I mowed lawns, sold seeds door to door, pulled weeds.
At 10 my mom took me to a bicycle shop and told the man, "My son works on bicycles every day, give him a job".
He did, it was fun. At 14 I started working with my dad at his second job. For a company "Crowd Management".
As door security, usher, and ticket taker, at the L.A. Sports Arena, The Coliseum across the street, The Long Beach Arena,The Long Beach Auditorium, The Olympic Auditorium, The Poly Pavilion, The Hollywood Palladium,.... like that.
I worked there on and off till 18 or so. At one point working three jobs.
Worked at Crowd Management, worked as a mechanic, and in a precision grinding shop.
I stayed in the machining and grinding trade and opened my own shop in 1984.
This September will be my 46th year in the trade.

 

Wow! Must like it to stay in that long.

Jim

 

I had 6 years of experience "before" starting my 7 year apprenticeship.
Three years metal shop in Jr. High School, three years of metal shop in High School.

I "always" knew what I wanted to do,..... even as a kid.