Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Coffee Hour at Street Prophets. This is an open thread where we can discuss what’s happening in our lives, what we’ve been working on, and our opinions on current events. Our question for today: What was your first job?
First, a short political commentary: the conservative right wing is opposed to a minimum wage as they claim it discriminates against first time job seekers and increases unemployment. They also seek to roll back child labor laws for the same reason.
I went to work when I was about 14. My family owned a photoengraving plant and so for the next four years I learned the photoengraving trade which involved etching photographs on zinc plates for the printing industry. In the morning, from about 6:30 to 7:30 or so, I would do the prep work in the plant, such as preparing the zinc plates. Then I’d go to school for a few hours and be back to work by 1:00 PM.
I left the family business to go to college. I worked my way through my undergraduate degree as a lifeguard, swimming instructor, and school bus driver.
After twenty years away from the family business, my father died and I came home to take over the business. Technology had changed and the business was no longer about photoengraving. While some of my rusty old photoengraving skills were still useful, it was a whole new career. My father’s clients assumed that I had the same skills and artistic ability that he had, and so I simply bluffed my way for a while so I could acquire a whole new career. After another decade, the technology had changed to a computer-driven process and I shut the business down.
This is an open thread. Tell us about your first job, or you can talk about more important things like food, cats, politics, and/or religion.