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The People Above You Control Your Reward
The job: Busser My age: 16 Hourly wage: $5.25 + tips I had eaten at the Wolfshead Inn plenty of times as a kid. It was a local institution in Indian Head Park, Illinois. It was a bar and steakhouse that sat on a former Black Hawk Native American hunting ground where wolves once roamed… — read more
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The job: Sweater Folder
My age: 16 Hourly wage: $10 per hour, cash in theory If you grew up in Chicagoland there was no Macy’s, there was no Nordstrom. There was Marshall Fields. Marshall Fields was the department store that had everything. Clothes, furniture, a café, and most importantly, Frango mints. If you don’t know what a Frango mint… — read more
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$30 per hour, came with a green jumpsuit
The job: Car wash attendant / sales greeter My age: 16–20 Hourly wage: $5.00 – $30.00 per hour The day my friend told me he was making serious money drying off cars, I did not hesitate. “Can you get me a job?” He could. Next thing I knew I was wearing a green jumpsuit, pulling… — read more
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No Script. No Replays. Just Live.
The job: Play-by-play announcer, WLTL / LTTV My age: 14–18 Hourly wage: N/A — another free one A few months ago I was telling my boys that in high school I did sports broadcasting at Lyons Township. After some deep searching on LT’s YouTube channel we found a bunch of football games where I was… — read more
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TCBY: My foray into the early 90’s yogurt craze
The job: Yogurt server / cashier My age: 16 Hourly Wage: Maybe $5.00? You had cravings for some soft-serve yogurt in the Hinsdale area in 1991? You might have came and saw me for some relief. TCBY, the country’s best yogurt, it was a think in the late 80’s and early 90’s – a real… — read more
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Did you ever deliver the Yellow Pages? I did.
The job: Yellow Pages Delivery Person My age: 16 Hourly Wage: I can’t remember Raise your hand if you even remember the Yellow Pages. Back in the day, every house had a copy of the White Pages, and a Yellow Pages. The White Pages listed everyone in your town and city and their phone number.… — read more
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Venture: the discount store you don’t remember.
The job: Stock boy – Venture My age: 16 Hourly wage: $4.50 Oh Venture. My time with you was short and not sweet . Venture was like a bad Walmart. There was a food court, and poorly lit aisles with all kinds of discounted items. This one of a few jobs that I held during… — read more
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Working as a high school dropout.
The job: Cashier – Marshalls My age: 16 Hourly Wage: $4.25 an hour Marshalls, the haven for the bargain shopper. Last year’s styles at low low prices. No frills bargain hunting underneath heavy florescent lights. Also, after you find your golf shirt, you can also buy a candle you didn’t need and maybe a back… — read more
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Local Cable – the last frontier of irrevance.
The job: Producer – Color TV Cable Show My age: 18? Hourly Wage: N/A – free labor From when I was in 7th grade, our town, Western Springs, IL, had a local cable access station and a program called, “Video Kids.” I was a video kid, and learned how to shoot video, edit videos, produce… — read more
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Tax Evasion, Trust Funds and Video Rentals
The job: 55th Street Video – cashier My age: 14? Hourly Wage: $4.50 – cash 55th street video – the local video store, just a few minute walk from my house. It was one of my earliest jobs and really wasn’t the most taxing job at all. I think I somehow got this job because… — read more
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