For many high school students, finding a job is very popular. Lots of times, the first job they have is the one they have throughout high school. According to Youth Employment, 47% of high school students have a job, and 22% of the students work during the school year.
Senior Jake Stoney’s first job was mowing grass at the Cassville BP (British Petroleum). This job was something for him to get started on, and start making a little money. “This job was something I did once or twice a week. It wasn’t hard, but it helped teach me the importance of money, and how to work for it,” said Jake. Jake started this job freshman year. For the first two years of mowing, he would have to get rides from his parents or grandparents. Stoney likes this job and it pays well for the hours he mowes, but hopes his little brother, Ryan, who is in 8th Grade, will take it over. Ryan did the mowing a few times when Jake couldn’t make it, so he has the grasp of it already.
As for our Agriculture teacher, Mrs. Tracy Brunton, her first job was working for the housekeeping department for the Chicago Bears in 1998. Surprisingly, she got paid $8.00 plus any tips the players gave “I worked for the housekeeping department. When the Bears came and stayed on campus, they stayed in the dorms. I was responsible for checking and cleaning rooms, refilling towels, putting clean bedding in the rooms and making sure that the players and coaches on the wings that I was in charge of had everything they needed.” said Mrs. Brunton. Mrs. Brunton said she really enjoyed this job. Mrs. Brunton also explained, “I am a huge Bears fan, so being able to meet some of the big name players and coaches while I was working was awesome! I was in charge of the two wings in one of the dorms that housed the coaching staff and the starting offensive and defensive players. When the camp was over, many of them left memorabilia that was signed for me to keep.” Even before this though, she helped her family on the dairy farm. She was responsible for feeding the cows, heifers and calves, while also cleaning the barns and feeding the chickens.
My first job was working at Grant River Tubing, owned by Jerry and Lynne Reising. This is a summer job, which means they are open the first week in June until the River is too cold to stand. This could be into October, but the season normally ends in August. At the beginning, I was employed to wash tubes any time from 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm. Five years later, and I am still working for them. I am now responsible for running the short float (three hour float, we also offer a five hour float), which means I take money and waivers from customers, shuttle cars, and unpack tubes. This means I now work from 9:30 am - 7:00 pm. Instead of washing tubes at the end, I now stack tubes into the trailer, and haul the trailers away to the storage place. At this time, we have two tube wagons, and one tube trailer. I like this job because it is something new everyday but you can still have a routine. I like talking to different people, and talking to tourists is something I enjoy.
There are many good first time jobs around this area. First time jobs around here are really good for students as they get to work during the summer months. Lots of these jobs consist of being outside and using your hands. This can be very helpful for students to learn what hard work is.