re: Jobs You Had as a Kid

First job ever was working in a Train A/C warehouse. Loading and unloading AC compressors in a collared shirt in the summer.

Worked in a hospital gift shop, worked construction, kept score at little league games…. Those paid.

Cut grass, worked on a tree farm, and anything my grandfather needed all for free.

Janitor
Camp counselor

Lifeguard. I did sports and my dad was the coach...basically was the job. Lifeguarding in the summer time was the only job I ever had for pay until my senior year I won a writing contest and became a sports beat writer for the Commercial Dispatch in Columbus. I would do 1-2 games a week at $25/article.

Started cutting grass and shoveling snow in the neighborhood starting around 11 or 12 years old. Once I hit 14 when sports were off season I'd bag groceries at the Giant Eagle grocery store that was close to the house.

Later in high school, after getting my license, I got what was probably the best job of my youth. I played youth tennis for a while before I moved on to other sports. A pro that I took lessons from also worked at my high school and got me a job working at a country club in the tennis pro shop. I spent most of the time either working members through drills outside of their lessons or just playing with them if they didn't have a playing partner to pair with or needed a doubles partner. I was basically the assistant "playing pro". It was either that or cleaning up the shop or doing racquet restringing. Lots of active time outside, nice environment and people, easy responsibilities.

I did that for three summers and whenever I could pick up time during the school year. Sadly, I didn't leave with any stories of young lonely housewives needing the companionship of a assistant tennis pro. Then again, I'm not exactly attractive, so that may have been a factor.