I was thirteen years old when I started my first job, back in 1983; I was still at school but worked in a small supermarket. My job was sorting and packing empty one litre glass soda bottles that had been returned by customers for their deposit of 0.20 cents for each. They were sent out for recycling but had to go back to the specific soda companies like Coke-a-Cola, PepsiCo and Woodroffe (now owned by Asahi/Schweppes), so they needed sorting. It wasn't too bad as far as jobs go and I earned about $35 a week working around 2-3 hours each night after school. About six months later I doubled that by moving over to the larger supermarket chain in town and eventually picked up a few more hours and a better hourly rate so by the time I was seventeen I was earning around $150-$160 a week after-school.
I started paying my parents board and lodgings as soon as I started earning and learned some valuable lessons around the value of money and of the reward for effort ethos; working for my own money, and having to pay my own way in many aspects from that point, was a great learning experience. When I moved out of home (kicked out) at seventeen and a half and got my first full-time job earning far more money than before I knew how to handle it and was (mostly) sensible with it.
A few days ago, I was on a video chat with Mr. Bonkers, my four year old nephew, and took the opportunity to ask about his new job. His dad had told me about it a couple days earlier but I wanted to hear the story first-hand.
From a young age, my nephew would go to work like his dad. He'd act out various work scenarios and take it very seriously; it was fun to watch his imagination at play.
So, I wasn't surprised to hear he had decided, at four and a half years old, that it was time for him to get a real job. My brother had to think fast and he came up with collecting bottles and drink cans for recycling which still have a deposit amount built into the purchase price. Return them to a recycling facility and they count them and pay out the deposit for each, somewhere between 0.05 and 0.20 cents depending on the type of bottle or can. Mr. Bonkers took to it like a millionaire waiting to happen.
My Nephew is approaching it more as a business than a job to be honest and has been out and about working on gaining customers, business development. So far he has got five customers: The neighbours on either side of their house, his day care centre, his violin teacher and his parents of course. He's planning an expansion into such areas as his swimming centre and the Japanese restaurant that his mum's friends own. I'd say he's on the right track, don't you think?
I asked what happens in his job and he gave me a full technical explanation:
I go next door, go up the stairs, knock on the door and ask if they have any bottles. If they have bottles, I put them in my bag and then go home.
That seems simple enough.
My brother was telling me the first time Mr. Bonkers went out working it took him about four attempts to get to the front door of the neighbours house; he'd get to the neighbours gate, walk back home, go back to the gate and look up at the house, go back home and so on. Finally he made it to the door and the neighbour was accommodating and handed him a couple empty bottles. Of course, my brother had it all pre-arranged for him with both neighbours and the new business expansion has been pre-arranged also. The cool thing is though, is that they're getting my nephew to take the lead.
I wish I'd been there to see him make his first transaction. Apparently he looked so cute dragging his bag along to the next door neighbour's house, a bag bigger than himself.
On my video chat I asked what he will do with the money and, to his credit, he said save it...which he promptly followed up with, and then buy Lego. Yep, he's surely my nephew with comments like that!
I can't help but think back to my own youth when I did similar things. I'd work around home and earn a coin or two and sometimes see the neighbours and help there too. It helped that I grew up in a small rural town and everyone knew everyone. I'd walk around the area going to houses and asking if there were any jobs to do and most would have something I could help with. It taught me many lessons and I'm really glad to see that my brother is doing the same thing with his own son.
Work ethic is something I believe should be instilled in a person from a young age along with the ethos of reward for effort.
It doesn't matter what we are working towards, be it money, respect, accolades, qualifications, promotions, employment, a place on the team...it doesn't matter what it is, effort should be applied - there should be no free rides; It's through applying effort, persistence, consistency and other such attributes that good things come. We live in a world where the expectation ethos is rife and in which people seem to feel they're owed something just for turning up, it happens here on Hive also. It's wrong though, and I feel it will lead many down the wrong path...It already has I think.
I'm glad to see that my nephew is being taught a few lessons and that he's really enjoying the process. Sure, he's still young, but he'll remember these experiences and the lessons will sink in so he can draw on them later in life like I did.
Did you have a little job as a small kid, doing chores for a few coins maybe? Did you have a part time job when you were young and if so did you learn anything that stuck with you into your adult life? Feel free to comment below if you'd like.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default; tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind - galenkp
[All original and proudly AI free.]
Any images in this post are my own.
