When talking to friends about their first job, I hear stories ranging from one extreme to another.  These stories range from the worst experience in the world to one where my friend had a great time and still remembers it fondly.  My first job was working in a warehouse where I had to pack orders 8 hours a day, five days a week.  One time, I was so bored that I fell asleep and they found me there an hour later.  Fortunately, I was not fired on the spot but I think that had something to do with the fact that my father owned the warehouse.

Some first jobs do not pay much but offer other benefits include:

• Camp counselor allows you play and hang in a bathing suit all summer
• Valet parking allows you to drive some fun cars while getting tips do so
• NASA Intern allows you to work in mission control
• Nintendo Tester allows you to play the latest video games
• Ben & Jerry’s summer interns receive free pints of ice cream each day, which would make you very popular in my household

On the other hand, some jobs may pay well but have other issues with them like working as a:

• Telemarketer which pays reasonably well but people yell and hang up on you all the time.
• Agricultural Fieldwork and Processor is one of the most dangerous jobs due to the number of injuries caused by farm machinery, animals and chemicals.
• Mascot requires you to wear a plastic or polyester costume and impersonate a character to the delight of many children.  One of the major issues is that you have to perform your tasks outdoors in the heat which may create unpleasant smells in the costume that do not go away
• Sewer Truck Driver which entails fixing backups in septic tanks and other sewage problems.  You can have issues with smells as well as potential falls into septic tanks when they cave in.

Whether your first job is a good one or a bad one, try to remain focused on why you have this job.  You can work for money or job fulfillment.  Unfortunately, most jobs do not offer both.

Jobs offer many benefits in addition to earning money like skills that you will need to learn down the road, being part of team and interacting with others.  It is sad to say that even if you have one of the worst jobs that you can imagine, you can learn most of the most valuable lessons -- what you do not want in life.