First Real Job

By Nina

Jaws called last week triumphant.  After a few weeks of temping in Washington D.C. he landed his first real 9-5 paying job.  He'll be a paid intern at the Urban Trans Consultants, a for-profit consulting firm that works with municipalities on smart transportation options and innovations.  The home office is in Denver and there are regional offices in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Melbourne, AU, Toronto, Seattle and gulp...Dubai.  He's pretty sure that by September the internship will morph into a regular staff position.  Remarkably he's working in his field with engaging, youngish, committed people.  He's already busy on a project.  They're even paying for his monthly metro-card.  How cool is that?

What was your first real job?  Where did you live?  What did you make? What did you learn?

Me, I fell into nice warm bath of a job after thrashing about purposelessly for a few weeks.  In 1974 I was hired by my college admissions office at the whopping sum (truly) of $9,000 a year to be an admissions representative. I stayed for two years and didn't have to move.I traveled to high schools all over New York state to recruit students. I knew this wasn't going to be my final professional slot, but working on the campus made it feel like maintaining a student lifestyle without having to actually study. Towards the end of that time my boyfriend moved in with me and I also acquired his aging dog. I learned some stuff about teamwork and honed my interviewing skills.  I paid my own bills.  I learned to cook. The TIAA-CREF annuity I launched in that job is now fat enough to pay for my funeral.

Comments

[Daisy]

It took a while (long, long years) to land in my current field, education. I graduated during Reaganomics, and a "good job" meant one with a paycheck, even if that meant driving a bus or slinging hash. I got pretty good at both. I fear for my daughter, heading into her senior year during this recession.

[suburbancorrespondent]

I couldn't get a decent job. As one prospective employer told me, "You know, history majors are a dime a dozen." Thanks. I needed that. I ended up enlisting in the US Navy finally, so I could earn a living wage and pay off my student loans. Oh, and meet my husband. It was a pretty neat experience all around, actually. Met a lot of interesting people and learned a lot about an entire segment of our society that remains a mystery to most of us.