Author Topic: How old were you when you officially started working?  (Read 29451 times)

Frankies Girl

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3899
  • Age: 86
  • Location: The oubliette.
  • Ghouls Just Wanna Have Funds!
How old were you when you officially started working?
« on: April 23, 2014, 09:18:04 PM »
I was just thinking about this due to another question...

So how old were you and what was the job?

And this "officially" part means when you started working and paying into SS/taxes so your babysitting and lawnmowing or other teenager jobs might not count unless you were "in the system" at that point.


I was 15, and I worked in a toy store.
So technically, I've had over 25 years of work experience already - no wonder I'm tired!

Unofficially, I was working at 6, manning my koolaid stand and was babysitting by 11. ;)


HappierAtHome

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8015
  • Location: Australia
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #1 on: April 23, 2014, 09:35:08 PM »
13. Checkout chick at my local grocery store. I think I earnt $7.50 an hour, not too shabby at all :-)

This means I've been working for just over half my life...

Zikoris

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4536
  • Age: 37
  • Location: Vancouver, BC
  • Vancouverstachian
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #2 on: April 23, 2014, 09:39:05 PM »
13, farm labour.

Daisy

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2263
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #3 on: April 23, 2014, 09:41:33 PM »
14 as an unpaid candy striper over the summer.

I worked every summer after that and part time during the first two years in college with an 18 credit load. These were paid clerical office jobs. Then internships every summer in college, earning enough to sustain me through the year. I lived at home so it was for spending money.

So, yes, I have thought about working for 30 years now that I am in my mid-40s. I've also used it as an excuse for being tired of working. So I won't feel guilty at all ER-ing soon.

I notice my brothers have not required my nieces and nephews to do the same, even though all of my siblings did. This next generation is a little more "spoiled". They are good kids though. I hope they learn to adapt to the working world well.
« Last Edit: April 23, 2014, 09:48:45 PM by Daisy »

kaizen

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 55
  • Location: Los Angeles
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #4 on: April 23, 2014, 09:42:44 PM »
17, manning the counter in a sandwich/pizza place for the most racist and sexist boss I've ever had. Whew, glad that's done with.

pachnik

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1894
  • Age: 59
  • Location: Vancouver, BC
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #5 on: April 23, 2014, 09:47:44 PM »
15 or 16 when I worked at the counter in a drycleaner's shop.  I did this through high school part-time.

skyrefuge

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1015
  • Location: Suburban Chicago, IL
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #6 on: April 23, 2014, 09:57:09 PM »
15, working summers at the place where my dad worked (a contract circuit-board manufacturer).

I started my first REAL real job a month after I turned 21, a year earlier than "normal", since I made it through college in only 3 years. The double whammy of saving on a year of college expenses and earning a big salary a year sooner did way more to accelerate my FI than those 6 summers of pre-career work!

galliver

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1863
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2014, 10:07:42 PM »
19. I couldn't work "officially" while I was a dependent of my dad's H1B for HS and freshman year of college (while paperwork got sorted).

I have lived in this country since I was SIX. Immigration politics suck.

frugalmom

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 89
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #8 on: April 23, 2014, 10:15:39 PM »
14  I worked at a dog store (not pets only dogs).  I scooped up shit!  Every job I have had since has been progressively better (with the exception of a job with US government)

roboto

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 31
  • Age: 33
  • Location: SE Asia
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #9 on: April 23, 2014, 10:21:21 PM »
14. Worked at the local McDonalds (paid like $3/hr - we have no minimum wage BAH!)

Official full-time job: 19.


Badass by 41

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 157
  • Location: San Francisco Bay Area
    • Journal
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #10 on: April 23, 2014, 11:02:15 PM »
13 washing dishes at a local restaurant Fri/Sat/Sun nights.  My mother would drive 35 minutes from home to pick me up at 12:30-1:00am. (After she was finished her second job)

Now that I think about it, the longest I've gone without being W4 employed since then is 2 months in 2000 between jobs. That's 24 years so far.

Good times, and good riddance. Bring on the FIRE! 8)

MDM

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 11477
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #11 on: April 23, 2014, 11:07:32 PM »
And this "officially" part means when you started working and paying into SS/taxes so your babysitting and lawnmowing or other teenager jobs might not count unless you were "in the system" at that point.
For both of us, "officially" = 18 and "unofficially"=12 or 13.

sol

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8433
  • Age: 47
  • Location: Pacific Northwest
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #12 on: April 23, 2014, 11:11:44 PM »
I worked part time for two years in high school, in a public library.  Then assorted part time research jobs as a student.  Then got my first real job at 31, about the age mmm retired.

I don't regret getting a PhD, though.  Those were some good years, arguably better than an early retirement.

Eric

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4057
  • Location: On my bike
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #13 on: April 23, 2014, 11:31:51 PM »
Detassled corn in the summers starting at 13.  Paid way over minimum wage, but of course you had to get up at 5am and slog around in a cold wet muddy cornfield all morning, and then a hot muddy corn field all afternoon.

gooki

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2917
  • Location: NZ
    • My FIRE journal
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #14 on: April 24, 2014, 01:27:49 AM »
16 when I started working at KFC, serving customers and flipping burgers. I promised myself I'd quit when I was twenty (didn't want to become a lifer).
« Last Edit: April 24, 2014, 01:31:15 AM by gooki »

Heart of Tin

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 203
  • Location: Kansas City
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #15 on: April 24, 2014, 01:59:31 AM »
12 I worked as a soccer referee as a line judge. I've been employed ever since, 13 years consecutively. Over half my life!

BFGirl

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 766
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #16 on: April 24, 2014, 02:30:57 AM »
17, Fast Food

mxt0133

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1547
  • Location: San Francisco
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #17 on: April 24, 2014, 02:44:23 AM »
Unofficially at 13 for a comic book store, still my dream job.  Then officially at Block Buster at 16.  Ironically my jobs have lead away from my interests due to my pursuit of a bigger pay check.  Luckily I have manage to reverse that trend by taking a job to better suit my non-monetary goals.

mc6

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 242
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #18 on: April 24, 2014, 03:29:16 AM »
17, Arby's, for $5.15/hr

Silvie

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 212
  • Age: 38
  • Location: the Netherlands
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #19 on: April 24, 2014, 03:44:07 AM »
13. Checkout chick at my local grocery store.


This. But I started at 16.

greaper007

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1117
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #20 on: April 24, 2014, 04:00:46 AM »
4 years old for $100 an hour in 1984.    I modeled for print media, mostly circulars for stores like Target in the Sunday newspaper.   I did that until I was about 7, but it got too hard because my mom would have to take me out of school to get jobs so I quit.

I tried to do it again in middle/high school but I wasn't as cute as I used to be and never got a job.

Still the easiest, and best hourly wage I've ever earned

ThatsMyOtter

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 39
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #21 on: April 24, 2014, 04:44:25 AM »
I started working very occasionally for my dad's family business at 9, usually for a couple days over Christmas and spring break. Pretty easy work like filing (though I did have to drag a step ladder around as most offices are not designed for children). Not sure if I paid into SSI. In retrospect my dad probably brought me in because school was closed and he didn't want to find a babysitter, but I was thrilled to earn money. I probably worked less than 200 hours a year.

Starting about 12 I would pick up hours after school and on summers when the receptionist was sick or on vacation, probably 400 hours a year.

Got a normal summer job for the first time at 17 and my first full time job at 21.

nereo

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 17499
  • Location: Just south of Canada
    • Here's how you can support science today:
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #22 on: April 24, 2014, 05:26:39 AM »
age 11, I started delivering the local newspaper for 5¢ a paper.  I had a paycheck and everything.  I remember my first paycheck I had to ask my mom what FICA was.

Rural

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5051
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #23 on: April 24, 2014, 05:38:04 AM »
I was 16 because I had to be able to drive (25 miles to anything, and my parents weren't going to drive me). Got a job as a grocery checker and kept it through most of college (plus two other jobs).

sleepyguy

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 669
  • Location: Oakville, Ontario
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #24 on: April 24, 2014, 05:38:24 AM »
15 - assembly line workshop (dads work)
16-18 - NFP camp counsellor

35 now.

mrsggrowsveg

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 542
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #25 on: April 24, 2014, 07:35:40 AM »
13, $5/hr cash mucking horse stalls.  I actually did not mind that job one bit.

LibrarIan

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 537
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #26 on: April 24, 2014, 08:21:19 AM »
11 - I was a reading tutor at the middle school I attended as a sixth grader. Got a real paycheck and everything, which felt really awesome back then.

When I hit 14 I started mowing neighborhood yards. This wasn't "real" like my tutoring job, but it was money.

16 - Walked into Kroger and asked for an application - was hired on the spot. They only look for warm bodies there!

ketchup

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4323
  • Age: 33
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #27 on: April 24, 2014, 08:32:52 AM »
I was 14.  I dipped Dilly Bars at the Dairy Queen by my high school for six bucks an hour.

scrubbyfish

  • Guest
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #28 on: April 24, 2014, 08:57:04 AM »
14, bussing tables and washing dishes at a restaurant, ushering and working concession at a live theatre, painting and cleaning at a commercial site, nannying up to 30 hours per week (40+ in summer holidays)

12, babysitting

before that, commercial yard maintenance contract with my dad and siblings

before that, paper route

A variation on this question was in YMOYL, and proved life changing for me: Around age 22 I developed a severe disability. I applied to the federal disability pension plan and was told I hadn't had enough work hours to qualify, even though I had been doing professional (albeit low-paying) work for some time by then. When a short time later I answered this q in YMOYL, I thought, "Wait, I've worked loads and loads since I was a kid. The plan people can't be right." I called them up and said so. They checked again, sent me a large lump sum and started sending me monthly cheques!

I don't know what hours/work they deem "official". Much of my adult-life work has been part-time, weird, low-paying, contract, self-employment, etc. I've only had two years of income high enough to pay taxes!
« Last Edit: April 24, 2014, 09:52:51 AM by scrubbyfish »

401Killer

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 157
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #29 on: April 24, 2014, 09:04:53 AM »
12y/o was the first job I had with actual paychecks at a local golf course.

I was 17 when I got my first new car(lease) that I 100% paid for including insurance. Senior in highschool and didn't have a co-signer of any kind. Many people at school didn't believe me, was a new white 1997 Dodge Ram short box regualar cab V8. Was kinda cool to have in highschool. haha.


« Last Edit: April 24, 2014, 09:14:11 AM by 401Killer »

Frankies Girl

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3899
  • Age: 86
  • Location: The oubliette.
  • Ghouls Just Wanna Have Funds!
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #30 on: April 24, 2014, 09:09:33 AM »
This is actually really cool - I thought I wasn't going to be the youngest, but seeing the young ages and the variety of jobs, it's pretty clear that being Mustacian starts at an early age!

Zikoris

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4536
  • Age: 37
  • Location: Vancouver, BC
  • Vancouverstachian
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #31 on: April 24, 2014, 09:15:38 AM »
Quote
And this "officially" part means when you started working and paying into SS/taxes so your babysitting and lawnmowing or other teenager jobs might not count unless you were "in the system" at that point.

Must have missed this part. I was paid in cash for my summer farm job at 13, which was a LOT of hours during harvest. I was "official" at my pizza cook job at 16, but earned little enough money that I didn't actually pay anything - 10 hours a week at most.

Actually, it was quite awhile before I started paying much in the way of taxes/SS, due to low income, education credits, and RRSP contributions. I still barely pay anything at 27.

soccerluvof4

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7161
  • Location: Artic Midwest
  • Retired at 50
    • My Journal
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #32 on: April 24, 2014, 09:16:43 AM »
15. Shoveling horse shit. Every night had to shovel this shit while the horses were in there stalls and run wheel barrow up a narrow ramp into a spreader. Several times got smashed into walls by the Tennessee Walkers and being a light weight at the time couldnt always make it up the damn ramp. Having said that my dad said you want clothes for school go to work and buy them. I always was the kid that had pocket money as well. Best lesson my dad ever taught me.

totoro

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2188
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #33 on: April 24, 2014, 09:58:54 AM »
Started officially with a paper route at age 11 and then at 13 I started working at a local restaurant bussing and then waiting tables.

FIreDrill

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1096
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #34 on: April 24, 2014, 10:02:26 AM »
14.  I cleaned a small private school, lol.

Beaker

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 334
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #35 on: April 24, 2014, 10:17:54 AM »
15, working counter at a drycleaner which was the easiest job I ever had. Saved 90% of each paycheck (easy to do when you're living on your parents' dime) which paid for a good chunk of my college.

Didn't work my first year of college, played in the marching band instead. Took off one summer to travel. After that worked tech support part time during school, full time in the summers, and have had a full time job ever since.

galliver

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1863
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #36 on: April 24, 2014, 10:25:25 AM »
Question: Isn't 15 the minimum age at which someone can be hired for "official" work? I've just always been under this impression but it kind of looks like I'm wrong. Unless those posters are older...

FIreDrill

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1096
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #37 on: April 24, 2014, 10:28:12 AM »
Question: Isn't 15 the minimum age at which someone can be hired for "official" work? I've just always been under this impression but it kind of looks like I'm wrong. Unless those posters are older...

I think it depends on the State you live in.

ketchup

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4323
  • Age: 33
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #38 on: April 24, 2014, 10:35:20 AM »
There's a bunch of restrictions on times and length of shifts (in IL at least) at 14-15 (as a result, many places won't hire you), and at 16 you can do most jobs not deemed hazardous.

Capsu78

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 765
  • Location: Chicagoland
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #39 on: April 24, 2014, 10:42:49 AM »
Busboy @ 12 years and 9 months- was instructed to say I was 13 if asked!  I wanted a mini bike.  Dad said "Bank half your pay for college and I will match you dollar for dollar that you save for your mini bike.   Bought an awesome 50cc Italian Moto Beta that I I really regret not having any photos of.

MrsPete

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3505
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #40 on: April 24, 2014, 10:52:01 AM »
14, summers only
16, part time during high school
18, 30-40 hours a week during college

I was offered a teaching job one week after finishing college in the month of December, and I'm still in that same job. 

onehappypanda

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 238
  • Location: Columbus, Ohio
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #41 on: April 24, 2014, 10:53:04 AM »
17, part-time cashier at a discount store. $6.50 an hour, which felt pretty fancy at the time (min wage was 5-something)

mrsggrowsveg

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 542
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #42 on: April 24, 2014, 10:54:47 AM »
I guess 14 was my first job on the record and paying taxes.  I was kennel help at a vet clinic.

Spork

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5742
    • Spork In The Eye
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #43 on: April 24, 2014, 10:56:31 AM »
So how old were you and what was the job?

And this "officially" part means when you started working and paying into SS/taxes so your babysitting and lawnmowing or other teenager jobs might not count unless you were "in the system" at that point.



Unofficial: mowing lawns at about 10
first "real" job was at 16 in a blood bank.  But... we DID NOT pay SS due to some loopholes in the laws back then that dealt with non-profits, so that definition sort of breaks with me. 

KMMK

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1464
  • Age: 47
  • Location: Edmonton, AB, Canada
    • Meena Kestirke Insurance
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #44 on: April 24, 2014, 10:59:15 AM »
18. I didn't work officially until I was done high school, but did some cash jobs and flyers much earlier than that.

nawhite

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1081
  • Location: Golden, CO
    • The Reckless Choice
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #45 on: April 24, 2014, 11:00:03 AM »
14 or 15 I can't remember, I was a camp counselor at a Boy Scout Camp. I taught knots, first aid, cooking and wilderness survival. I still use the knots skills more than anything else I learned that year (did you know that ~75% of people tie their shoes wrong? The loops should lay horizontally across the shoe rather than vertically along it). I got paid $500 for 8.5 weeks on duty 12 hours per day 6 days a week.

William

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 194
  • Age: 34
  • Location: Nebraska
    • First Quarter Finance
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #46 on: April 24, 2014, 11:21:44 AM »
14

I hit the ground running too, working as many hours as possible.  I worked a lot before then but nothing taxable.  Working a vineyard in the hot, hot Nebraska sun.  No complaints!

Dr. Doom

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 466
  • Age: 46
  • Location: East Coaster
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #47 on: April 24, 2014, 11:25:51 AM »
I was just thinking about this due to another question...

So how old were you and what was the job?

I think my first job slinging newspapers at houses doesn't count so I'll list the second:

Age 14, dishwasher at a family owned bakery.  4.25 an hour plus occasional free baked goods, 20 hours a week, 1991-1994. This job saw me hunched over industrial sized sinks with near-boiling water, the heat necessary to melt pools of carmelized sugar off of massive sheet pans.  As an added bonus, I got to wash floors when I was done scrubbing -- that felt laughably easy compared to cleaning the cookware.

To be honest, even though the work was tough, I enjoyed it.  I've always preferred physical jobs to mental ones (I'm in IT right now -- sometimes I think I'd rather be back at that bakery.).  Also the family was super nice and I felt good contributing there. 

Edit:  d'oh, didn't initially list age.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2014, 11:27:32 AM by Q_Train »

Amanda

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 39
  • Location: Boise, ID
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #48 on: April 24, 2014, 11:26:29 AM »
At 11 I started working full-time in the summers for my dad's construction company doing everything from interior/exterior painting to framing and roofing work.

At 16 I started work at an Arby's.

Theadyn

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 172
Re: How old were you when you officially started working?
« Reply #49 on: April 24, 2014, 11:57:50 AM »
Unofficially...  12 babysitting a sweet little girl all summer, and again the next summer.   Officially, at 16 (the legal age there) as a nurses aide in a nursing home.  Evening shifts after school and weekends.  Looks like I win the crappiest first official job title.  Earned $3.15 an hour.  :(