For many of us, our first jobs teach us valuable and important lessons. It teaches some people responsibility, whether that’s caring for someone or showing up on time because others are counting on you. For others, it can show us what we don’t want to do for a living. And for many, it helps put the cost of purchases into perspective when you consider the time and effort that goes into earning the money you’re about to spend.
First Job Ever
Dr. Marlane Bassett, naturopathic physician at The Biomed Center, who has a doctorate of naturopathic medicine, shared her first job experience with GOBankingRates. “I got paid 50 cents an hour for 12-hour shifts. I didn’t love the job but saw it as a means to an end,” she said.
My first job was doing childcare during the summer after seventh grade,” Bassett said. “I got the job because the child I was watching was our neighbor and I believe they knew I had a very ‘responsible’ nature.
“I made $200 that summer, which felt like a lot at the time,” she said, which she mostly used the money to buy clothes.
“I learned several important lessons,” Bassettt said. “One was the importance of discipline in achieving a goal, the hard work parents do daily and that having kids was not at the top of my agenda.”