Readers share their first jobs:

Of course, I did the babysitting thing when I was a preteen, and at fourteen, I stuffed newspapers, but they were typical jobs that many preteens do when they are young.

My first real job:

At the age of fifteen, it was 1975, I wanted a car when I turned sixteen and so I started working at an ice cream parlor. Swensen's Ice Cream was in the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas that is where I am from.

Swensen's was so busy there were only seventeen tables and a short cone line. That is where I started for $1.45 an hour and all tips split among the crew. I usually got about $15-$20 a night in tips. For a fifteen year old, that was good money. I liked working in the MGM; some of the stars that were performing at the hotel would come down and get ice cream. Some of them were snobs, but most of them were nice and the comedians would entertain the crowd of people waiting to get their ice cream cones.

I wanted to do more than just scoop cones, so I learned to work behind the fountain, which is where everything that was served in the restaurant was made. There were specialty sundaes, banana splits, fountain sodas, the old fashion kind with the scoop of ice cream on the side and a small menu of sandwiches.

The next step for me was to be a waitress; I loved being a server at that time. I talked to people, laughed all night, and enjoyed it very much. Swensen's was located in front of a theater that showed old MGM films. When the movie let out our little restaurant was so busy and the time flew by. Before you knew it, it was time to close.

I worked at Swensen's when the MGM burned in 1980, though the fire did not touch our shop, the smoke, and water damage was very bad. We were not allowed into our shop for over 2 weeks after the fire and the ice cream had molded and spilled everywhere. The ice cream parlor had to be remodeled, after the fire; the business was never the same for Swensen's in the MGM.

I ended up being a manager for Swensen's Ice Cream Parlor, helped train franchise owners, worked at different locations for the company. My first real job turned into a fifteen-year experience. I totally enjoyed working there, and the job I had gotten to get my first car ended up being the beginning of my career in restaurant management.

Learn more about this author, Mary Tyrer.
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