My First Job In An Organization; learned from my mistake.
There is always a first time to everything in life and even if that first experience doesn't end well, we will benefit from it even though it might not be immediately and as long as we learn from the mistakes we made, the experience won't be in vain.
My first job definitely didn't end well but it taught me what it means to be working in an organisation. I did a few jobs before my first job but they were just menial jobs which I have shared before and wouldn't want to repeat the same story.
I started working even before I finished secondary school because I needed to do it. I washed cars at people's homes, fetched water and others but my first job in an organization was a teaching job.
The job started unintentionally but it ended intentionally because I couldn't stand being cheated. My mom somehow knew the owner of the school and when she told me that they were short of nursery school teachers, I decided to fill the space temporarily. She told the woman about it and after a small test, she took me in. I didn't submit an application since it was just a week or two before the teacher who was absent returned.
It was immediately after secondary school so I was not qualified for the job. My WAEC result wasn't out yet but it didn't matter since it was just nursery class, I can teach them even when tipsy. The owner of the school was available to support me so we were handling the class together.
Within a week, she was surprised at how the kids became very fond of me. The absent teacher returned and I was paid 2500 for a week and two days if I am not mistaken. It wasn't a huge amount but it meant something to me and the short time I spent there made me discover my passion for teaching.
At the beginning of a new session, the woman reached out to me for a vacant class and I took the job happily. I taught Primary One class and since I was officially a teacher, I learned how to prepare lesson notes and do other things required of me.
I fell in love with the job and made friends with other teachers even though I was the youngest of them. It was fun and I didn't find any issue with the job until it was the end of that month.
The headmistress called me to her office and gave me an envelope. It was very light and I wondered how much could be inside because I didn't discuss salary which was a big mistake I made.
"She will treat me well," This was what I told myself when I took the job because of the relationship between the proprietress and my mom.
I finally settled in my class and checked the envelope, I was shocked to see 3500 naira.
"What's this for?" I asked myself and went to meet the other teachers to ask what their pay was and they were just a few thousand more than mine. It was annoying to receive such amount after screaming for a whole month.
One of them said probably because I didn't come in with my result which I think could be the reason as well. I told my mom about it when I got home and she told me to do as I please, she didn't want to interfere.
3500 is something I would make in less than two weeks on the street with menial jobs but I was enjoying the teaching job so I chose to stay. Before the end of the second month, I got my results and presented it to the proprietress who applauded me for clearing my papers in style but that didn't influence my salary in the second month.
I asked the proprietress why and she said that was the salary for my qualification. At that point, I felt like quitting the job but the term was almost over and it would affect the pupils because they might not get another teacher immediately.
I waited till the term was over and quit even though I didn't inform the proprietress. My fellow teachers knew about it and some of them decided to quit as well for reasons best known to them. Reality dawned on the proprietress when the new session kicked off and she didn't see about 3 of her teachers. She called my mom and I told her, I couldn't cope with the salary.
She told me to come so we can talk about the salary but I wasn't interested in her school anymore. I went on to search in another school where they started with 7,500 naira for me and it increased to 10,000 within four months. The new proprietor didn't believe I was just a secondary school graduate because of how I taught and handled my other responsibilities.
The experience I gathered from the first job helped me a lot at the second job. I worked there for over a year and was really committed to the job because I had great students and colleagues.
Going back to my first job is a no for me because I am not even sure the school still exists. The new school I went to made me realize that the former school had poor management, they were only concerned about their profit and the teachers well being means nothing to them.