My First Job
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As a city boy, taking a job at a farm changed my diet forever
My workmates were flabbergasted at how long it took me to blast mouldy cheese products off wooden pallets, and how much steel I could waste because I was afraid of the circular saw.
- by Tim Biggs
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Inside the van sloshed 20 litres of champion. It was my job to clean it up
Some hopeful horse breeder had used a refrigerated canister to import the makings of a thoroughly good thoroughbred, but the canister had broken.
- by Chris Harrison
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As a wannabe surfer girl, I couldn’t believe I landed my dream job
My stock uniform was Hot Tuna pants, Golden Breed T-shirt, a windcheater made from old chenille bedspreads or a multi-colour Jakpak from Bali.
- by Kerrie von Menge
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As a nepo-baby, I had all-areas access … at the greyhound track
At the age of 13 I was turnstile operator at the local dog track. The job introduced me to nepotism, betting and an eclectic cast of characters.
- by Billy Cantwell
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Dinner at 5pm and cats on leashes: Luxury retirement work had its perks
The diners at table three lodged an official complaint after I spent too long socialising with table four, and not enough time focusing on my work duties.
- by Sam White
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Joe Cocker on repeat was torture. But suddenly, I could afford designer jeans
Working in a chicken shop doesn’t sound glamorous – and it wasn’t – but it was the music I had to listen to as I cleaned that really tipped me over the edge.
- by Carolyn Webb
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I wasn’t hired as a tradie on merit, but I was definitely fired for it
While some teenagers wrote profane things on desks, construction workers immortalised crude phrases on the frames of houses before covering them in plaster.
- by Simon Taylor
By my third year, I’d made it. I was picking asparagus for the Japanese market
Without shopping centres or fast food chains to rely on for summer work, I headed to the farm on a school bus that left just after 6am.
- by Shane Wright
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How being mooned in the drive-thru window prepared me for adulthood
As a teenager, my interests were simple: I needed cash to buy CDs and to spend time with my friends. Enter: working at McDonald’s and earning minimum wage.
- by Madeleine Heffernan
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Cheap tickets and free popcorn suddenly made me cool in the eyes of my classmates
While all of my friends worked at the supermarket or in fast food, the cinema gave me a competitive edge and someone people wanted in their Myspace Top 8.
- by Caroline Schelle
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My retail job got me AC/DC tickets, chutzpah got me backstage
I hated my job at Pigott & Co in Toowoomba. But I earned enough to get me into an unforgettable AC/DC gig at Harristown High.
- by Margot Saville