Do you know what a pain it is to pick up paper clips off the floor?September 19th, 2007 @ 5:01 am
When I was in high school my parents decreed that I could not have a job. They wanted me to focus on my studies, and we all know that having a after school job hinders your studies. (Actually, decreeing that I not have a boyfriend might have been a better way to keep me focused on school.) My boyfriend also agreed with this rule. He had a job and liked that I was available for him when he got off work.
I wasn’t a bad kid in high school. Really, I wasn’t. I never sluffed school. I always did my homework. I got decent grades. I never mouthed off in class. Really, I was a pretty decent kid. I just wasn’t allowed to get a job.
The problem with not being allowed to have a job meant that I also didn’t have the disposable income that my friends had due to their own after school jobs. Sure I got a nominal amount from my parents each month for babysitting my younger siblings. But it really didn’t amount to enough to keep me in movie tickets and sodas. By the time my senior year rolled around I wanted more money. I needed more money.
I just needed to figure out how to get around the no job rule my parents had put in place for me.
My older brother Biff had been allowed to have a job when he was in high school. Of course Biff always got away with way more then I ever did. Biff wasn’t a cool kid, by any stretch of the imagination. And that’s why nobody was surprised that he worked at a janitor at our high school. Everyday after the last class Biff would put his books away in his locket and meet the other janitors at the janitor closet and pick up their supplies for the day.
Biff spent his entire high school career working Monday through Friday cleaning up after the other kids in our school. The school employed regular adult janitors during normal business hours, but student typically worked after school. I only went to school with Biff his senior year (and my sophomore year), but seeing him pushing around a garbage can that year was enough to embarrass me. I didn’t understand how he could feed into his already horrible reputation as a geek. He never seemed to mind.
In an attempt to figure out how I was going to get a job without my parents finding out I decided that I wasn’t going to be able to get a job that required me to work that many hours. I wouldn’t be able to work late at night and definitely not on the weekends. This ruled out all your typical high school jobs like working fast food or working at the grocery store.
Right about this time one of the janitors and I were talking. (I know that most high school students didn’t make it a habit to converse with the lowly janitors, but you must remember that my dad also taught at my high school so I knew all these people a little more casually then most students did.) This janitor was saying they needed to hire a new after school janitor. Someone to work one hour everyday after school. She thought it would be a perfect job for me.
Unfortunately she was right.
I could start right away. I would begin my workday as soon as school was over. I would be in charge of cleaning the girls locker room. All I had to do was mop the floor, empty the trash cans and clean the toilets. It would only take an hour. I would be home before my parents or my boyfriend would even notice I was late getting home from school. The plan seemed perfect.
You know except for the part where I would be a janitor at my own high school.
I didn’t care. The money was too much of a draw. And so I did it. I met the other janitors at the closet at the start of every shift. I picked up my mop bucket and garbage bags and headed to the girls locker room. I tried to do it with my head held high.
Thankfully there was never anybody in the locker room after hours. And let’s be honest, girls rarely shower after gym class, so the locker room was surprisingly clean. I only had to mop often enough to keep the dust away. There were only 3 toilets and they weren’t used that often. I never had to clean up anything that was just too much.
After a while I got pretty good at cleaning the locker room. What was supposed to take me an hour usually only took me 15 minutes. I started to bring my headphones and a book and spend the last 45 minutes just enjoying the alone time. I was literally getting paid to read novels and listen to music. It was a dream job.
It didn’t take too long until my parents found out. Since I had shown that I could maintain this little job and keep up with my other responsibilities they were happy to let me continue on being a janitor. My mom used it as a tool to remind me that I wanted to go to college and didn’t want to spend the rest of my life as a janitor (not that there is anything wrong with that).
Believe me, I knew this.
I found this out pretty soon after I started working there. I was sitting in the janitor’s closet one afternoon talking with my (adult) supervisor about the upcoming tasks. I really liked this guy and enjoyed working with him. He showed me a list of things that had come down from his boss of items that needed to be done. He asked me to read the list to him.
I realized he couldn’t read.
For that brief moment I felt so uncomfortable. I felt like me, a dorky 17 year old, was smarter more educated then this adult. This man who had a wife. And kids. And a mortgage. But he couldn’t read. It broke my heart. I read him the list and just acted like I hadn’t figured out his secret. I decided that would make things easier for the both of us.
I made $75 every month working as a janitor that year. It was all I needed. I got all the school holidays off. I never had to work on a weekend. And the day before I graduated from high school was my last day on the job. I moved away to college a few months later.
I don’t ever miss my days of working as a janitor. But I’ll tell you what, I still try to pick up the floor around my desk here at work. Because, even to this day, I remember what it’s like to clean up after a stranger. And it ain’t fun.
So tell me, what was your after school job in high school? I can’t imagine that there is anything worse then being a janitor at your high school.
Back in the Day · I Rock
Allycat
said,
September 19, 2007 at 10:12 am
oh thats so sad about the janitor - It is amazing how much I take for granted - being able to read for one.
My first job was a childrens party fairy - it sucked. My next hob was at a hairdresser, sweeping up peoples hair - it sucked too. But the thing I have learnt about jobs, is that if you a working with a great team, even the worst jobs are bearable.
janet
said,
September 19, 2007 at 11:59 am
My after-school job was working with an autistic boy and lots and lots of babysitting. It was much, much better than being a janitor, I think. But at least that job made for a good story later on in life!
Whitney
said,
September 19, 2007 at 12:45 pm
I worked at Baskin Robbins during the summers all through high school. It was an ok job. I eventually got promoted to cake decorator and that was pretty fun. Plus, we got all the free ice cream we wanted. I have officially had all 31 flavors!
the wifey
said,
September 19, 2007 at 12:54 pm
wow… i remember during high school band camp, we always had to empty the trash cans around campus and it was always SO smelly and disgusting because they had been sitting out in the sun all day long with all kinds of trash. my first jobs were being an assistant dance teacher and working as a cashier at the local grocery store. somehow, i did all that, plus took dance classes, went to after school band/orchestra practices, took piano lessons and french horn lessons. i was a dork, what can i say?
Janssen
said,
September 19, 2007 at 12:59 pm
I worked at Cold Stone beginning at the end of my sophomore year and through until I went away to college. It was a pretty excellent job (and paid well - about $9/hour which is great for a high school student) and most of my friends eventually got hired too. I worked a LOT (usually three weeksdays from 5-10 p.m. and at least one weekend night until 11 p.m.) but I never felt like it got in the way of my schoolwork or my social life. It was just fun. And money. Precious, lovely money.
kaleigh
said,
September 19, 2007 at 1:18 pm
What a good story!
I did a lot of babysitting, which turned into nannying my last two years of high school. Our neighbor was pregnant and had an infant and her doctor had put her on modified bed rest, so I was there after school every day, cleaning, taking care of baby, etc. She lost the baby, but I continued to babysit. Her husband was an FBI agent, so they sometimes needed me to come with no notice at all (8 p.m., the phone rings…fun stuff). I also nannied for my minister’s family - they had adopted four kids, three of whom were physically and/or mentally handicapped. I went on vacation with them and babysat overnight sometimes when the parents needed a break. I was the only 16-year-old I knew who knew how to catheterize a little girl with spina bifida.
But being a janitor sounds pretty cool, actually.
Operation Pink Herring
said,
September 19, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Wow. You rule.
I had about ten jobs in high school. I worked in an ice cream shop, which was pretty fun until it closed down. We were given zero notice, one day the boss just said “by the way today is your last day, I’m closing the store”, and then I found out what it’s like to be laid off (except I had no real responsibilities, I was just out my spending money).
After that, I started working as a lifeguard in the summers and a nanny during the school year. Whenever I had time I ironed clothes and cleaned for my mom’s boss for extra cash. I loved having my own money.
Carrisa
said,
September 19, 2007 at 1:40 pm
My very first job was working at a daycare center. I started right at the end of my junior year and they worked me like a dog all summer. I was 16 and I worked from 7 am to 6 pm 5 days a week. But I had weekends off! And minimum wage was $4.25 at the time I believe so that’s what I made.
Then when school started back up I worked from 3pm-6pm each day.
Let me tell you that was work. A 16 yrs old trying to watch 4-5 babies at one time is not easy. Had I been sexually active back then, it would have made me stop. Great birth control.
And yes I realize I was in way over my head and that the daycare center was violating all kinds of rules by making me watch so many kids at one time.
Marriage-101
said,
September 19, 2007 at 2:22 pm
I worked at a Walgreens and was fired after about six months because I walked out with a package of $4 fake nails in my smock that had one of those sensor tags on it and when the alarm went off, and I pulled them out (I had been putting stuff away in cosmetics) I was fired for stealing. I should blog about it, actually because it’s pretty ridiculous.
Jess
said,
September 19, 2007 at 3:06 pm
I worked in a nursing home. Washing laundry, after it had been used. By old, infirm people, most of whom wore diapers.
I think it may have been slightly worse than being a janitor. Especially since the first penis I ever saw was that of a 93-year old man who liked to play with himself while watching soap operas.
Rachel
said,
September 19, 2007 at 3:19 pm
Which job?
I started off working a Kinney’s Shoes when I turned 16. I hated that job! I hated the shoes they sold so my discount was no fun. And my boss? Her whole life was that stupid store.
I then worked at Kroger as a cashier and I liked that job. And, last I worked at a video store and I also really liked that job. I actually worked there even for a while after high school.
Chris Lowe
said,
September 19, 2007 at 3:27 pm
I worked in a computer hardware store. I would either build custom computers or work the sales desk. All in all it was a pretty good job for a high school kid.
Amy W
said,
September 19, 2007 at 3:39 pm
I worked at a Dairy Queen from the time I was 15 until I left for college.
I still can’t really eat there…I think I overdosed on ice cream while working there.
Laurel
said,
September 19, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Janitoring actually sounds like a pretty sweet job!
I worked in retail at a local department store. I learned tons about customer service and, of course, how to treat retail workers! So important!
Lizzy
said,
September 19, 2007 at 3:44 pm
I’m sure this will come as a great surprise to you: I worked at a bookstore. (I also bagged groceries and worked in a gift shop, bagging chocolates at various points in my high school career.)
And in the summers, I was a camp counselor–teaching sailing to the prepubescent Girl Scouts.
Liza
said,
September 19, 2007 at 4:09 pm
Along with the usual McD and other food service jobs, I had one completely hilarious job. Tuesday evenings and Sunday afternoons, I worked for the local Gun Club. I was a trap setter & puller, and the backup cashier.
And in case anyone doesn’t know what a trap setter or puller does? The setter sits in a cement bunker in front of the people shooting, and loads the clay pigeons onto a big metal machine that fires them into the air.
The puller sits behind the people shooting and when the person whose turn it is to shoot is ready, he (usually he) says “pull” and the puller pushes a button that makes the big metal machine fire the clay pigeon into the air.
Stephanie
said,
September 19, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Oh lord… I worked at an ice cream place, the owners were jerks, the man was one of those REALLY heavy older people that can’t manage to move around without aid… but whenever it was time for me to do a soft serve cone he never hesitated to be close by to SHOW me how to do it… SKIN CRAWLING TO THIS DAY.
Ashlie
said,
September 19, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Funny enough my first job was also as a janitor. Although I prefered the title “cleaning” woman. I worked at a local pharmacy for a year doing this before I was eventually promoted to cashier. Seperated at birth? Hmm…..
Kyleen
said,
September 19, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Lets see - when I was 14 I started tutoring at the middle school each day from 3-5 - it was min. wage so that was sweet. When I turned 16 I was a waitress at a local country restaurant. In my summers I was a counselor at a day camp 7a-7p…that was nice, but hard when half of them had ADD. During college I was orientation coordinator for two years, RA for 4 years, a peer mentor (assisted a prof in teaching an intro to college class) for 4 years, and I was a waitress again in college for 2 more years.
All were good jobs…made even better by working with friends!
My worst summer job was in college when I worked for camps and conferences, we had to paint, move mattresses (down 3 stories, in a van, and back up 7 stories) and clean out fridges after the dorms emptied out…oh and who can forget when your camp or conference came in that you were assigned to “host” you were at their beck and call 24 hours a day.
Kyleen
said,
September 19, 2007 at 6:09 pm
seriously I only was in college for 5 years but when you go somewhere that only has 700 people enrolled on a good day you can have as many jobs as you want!
JennBo
said,
September 19, 2007 at 6:09 pm
I worked as a stock person and cashier for a “we’ve got anything you want, if we can find it” type of department store.
I also wanted to work for extra money (clothes, movies, et.). I’d rather my future children don’t have a job during high school. This assumes I can give them anough spare change and still help them become responsible, productive adults. After all, we spend our whole lives working! I sometimes wish I had taken the opportunity to enjoy my youth more fully.
Audrey
said,
September 19, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Is it wrong that one of my first thoughts about that janitor was “Oh, no! If he can’t read, that means he doesn’t know the joys of blogging!”
I worked at Papa John’s in high school, taking orders and making pizzas. It was fun for awhile, but I got really sick of always coming home smelling like pizza and never being able to wash the smell of onions off my hands. I thought about switching to deliveries, but then I found out that I’d have to get my own commercial car insurance otherwise my car wouldn’t be covered if I got into an accident while delivering pizza. And the cost for commercial insurance for a 17-year-old is REALLY EXPENSIVE. So that didn’t work out so well and I ended up quitting and just focusing on school.
Not the Queen
said,
September 19, 2007 at 9:08 pm
I never had a job in high school.
Come to think of it, my first real job wasn’t until my last year of college. I had worked at summer camps before then, but nothing while actually going to school.
Keri
said,
September 19, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Great post. my mom actually tutors at a literacy center here & has been helping a man (who happens to own a janitoral company) how to read. He wants to learn b/c he wants to be a good example for his daughter. I think its very noble.
anyway, I babysat alot in HS and didnt have a job except for the summer. i worked at carvel. Did you have that? its an ice cream store. Lots of free icecream &shakes. I dont know if they are in business anymore, but you can still get their cakes in the grocery store.
Elizabeth
said,
September 19, 2007 at 10:11 pm
In high school, I applied to work at the library. I always wanted to be one of those circulation pages who went down in the basement and sent magazines up on the dumbwaiter when people requested them. Well, I got a job there: as the reference page. The only, lonely reference page. I got to sit in the basement and stamp and date and file millions of government documents. And make sure there was lots of paper in the copy machines.
The highlight of that job was that a guy that liked me would come hang out at the library while I worked. teehee
Brie
said,
September 20, 2007 at 12:54 am
When I was in high school I worked at a family owned restaurant as a busperson. Cleaning up after people was not so much fun, but my coworkers were awesome.
Frema
said,
September 20, 2007 at 1:10 am
That *is* a sad story about the janitor. How nice that you were so kind to him.
Out of the five of us, I am the only one worked during high school (so far. Donna’s only a freshman, but I don’t see that happening). Sophomore year I sold fudge at local trade shows, and junior year I worked at McDonald’s and the Dollar Store. That summer I scored my Navy Pier gig selling pretzels and also a job at my local video store–a job that ALL kids all over the neighborhood were begging for, so I felt especially privileged.
I actually think I’ll encourage my kids to work during high school. Not a ton of hours, but I think it’s good for young people to make some money and get into the work force early. Plus, the stories are pure gold.
Durga
said,
September 20, 2007 at 5:27 am
I was 14 and 9 months old and it was for KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) outlet. I learnt (British spelling) so much frm this first job. Will I do it again? prolly not.:)
Anth
said,
September 20, 2007 at 7:20 pm
I worked at the library, as a page. (Cue the lame jokes about being promoted to a chapter.)
I liked it because: it was easy, I got to read if my boss wasn’t around, and I was exempt from fines (a major problem for me as a teenager).
Downsides: cat lady whose books always reeked and you still had to touch them, dealing with the public, the mental hospital down the street let out the less crazy people during the day and many of them came to the library (heat & a/c, what’s not to love?!).
Anth
said,
September 20, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Oh and I worked as a janitor for a few months in college, and I was on toilet duty the entire time! Woo! It completely sucked! And it was at 3:45 in the morning! But I needed money!
!
Erin
said,
September 21, 2007 at 1:55 am
I was the only English speaking employee and a Chinese takeout joint. It was great. I got paid cash every night to answer the phones and take orders. I spent most of my time reading.
I also worked summer camps for kids with special needs.
Fairly Odd Mother
said,
September 23, 2007 at 12:59 am
The fact that the janitor couldn’t read made me want to cry.
In high school, I worked as a receptionist in a nursing home (dead people were said to have ‘expired’, like library books), a clerk in a market, and an attendant at a laundrymat. Nothing too awful but nothing too fancy either.