My first year of SS contributions

[Dog]

SS statement shows $102 earnings for 1974. I was a bus person in a local pizza joint.



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[Big_Hitter]

lifeguard 1979

[karen1972]

First job at 15, made $2330 washing dishes for $3.35/hr .. but I had been making money since 3rd grade as labor laws around farming youth are rather loose.

The interesting thing though is with all my jobs from 15-22, I have a decent amount of SS paid in so when I retired at 43, I had 28 years of SS paid in and had hit that last tier already so working longer does not actually increase my SS significantly...without those earning years, I would have to re-think retiring that early. Granted I had very good paying jobs since I was 18 including making $7/hr at Taco Bell (when minimum wage was $3.75) and making $12-15/hr co-oping with IBM so was ahead of the curve.

[rbmrtn]

Late 70's. Picked up, cleaned and delivered typewriters mostly for school typing classes. Business machine company had contract with school system for maintenance. I think I started thinking about retirement then....

Blew that summer earnings on a fender stratocaster, still have it

[robnplunder]

I was 17, only 3 years after coming to America (Los Angeles to be exact). A family member convinced my father that there is a good job, no questions asked. He took my dad who then took me to this factory. Well, there were jobs all right. They were hiring anyone off street to break a union strike. As we were bused into factory site, people on both side of the bus were yelling, waiving pickets, etc.. like a scene out of a movie. I was hired and worked (or tried to work but there wasn't anything to do other than sitting around) a full 8 hours. At the end of the day, a manager came to me and told me I was too young to work in a factory and fired me on the spot. But I got paid a full day's work. That was my 1st SS contribution although I worked at "cash" only jobs since I was 14. Not a proud moment in my immigration history ... a being a scab.

[Independent]

Working at McDonald's in 1964.

The building had window service only (no indoor or outdoor seating, most people ate in their cars). It was under two big golden arches, and had the "Over ___ million served" sign.

I remember getting paid $1.10/hr, but that might have been after a raise.

[eytonxav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Independent Working at McDonald's in 1964. The building had window service only (no indoor or outdoor seating, most people ate in their cars). It was under two big golden arches, and had the "Over ___ million served" sign. I remember getting paid $1.10/hr, but that might have been after a raise.

Bet you wish you had purchased MCD stock back in those days

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFW_M5 However, I guess my paper route earnings, years before that, never got reported.

Back when newspaper delivery was done mostly by kids (in the last 2 years I see mostly large adult-scale routes), newspapers claimed that the kids delivering the paper were independent contractors. This led to quite a few sad stories in which kids were killed or injured while delivering papers and there was no Workers' Compensation to cover them. In theory, you were expected to report those earnings yourself and pay the Self-Employment Tax!

[HFWR]

1971 - Earned a whopping $159, pumping gas all summer, then being a DJ for three months.

[eytonxav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by athena53 Back when newspaper delivery was done mostly by kids (in the last 2 years I see mostly large adult-scale routes), newspapers claimed that the kids delivering the paper were independent contractors. This led to quite a few sad stories in which kids were killed or injured while delivering papers and there was no Workers' Compensation to cover them. In theory, you were expected to report those earnings yourself and pay the Self-Employment Tax!

Sorry, but being 12 yo in 1961, I never received a 1099

[Revlefty]

1967. Burger King. Still love the taste of a char-broiled burger.


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[mickeyd]

Too lazy to look it up but it must have been around 1964 or so. I worked on a ranch outside of town ($1.15.hr) for a couple of summers. They paid in cash each Friday, but made deductions that were written in pen on the outside of the pay envelope. You guys recall cash, don't you?

[rodi]

Junior in HS - worked for Seaworld one Christmas school break. Minimum wage with the added "bonus" of wearing the most gawd-awful powder blue double knit tunic and pants uniform. I worked the gift shop and did some inventory shifts before the park opened. That was interesting because I learned just how much the souvenirs were marked up.

Favorite experience - being required to ask every customer if they wanted to buy a "reusable sea world gift bag" for 50 cents. Even if they were buying a 25cent bumper sticker or 10 cent pencil. I got busted for not asking a 10 year old who was buying a pencil.

[FI by 2024]

$168 in 1998. I worked for a few months at Samurai Sam's after turning 16, then switched over to Quizno's late in the year. I think minimum wage was $5.15, so that adds up to only 32 hours. That can't be right. I was working 2 days a week after school, plus 6-12 hours on the weekend. Is it possible Samurai Sam's didn't report my income?

I decided to look my income up and post here because I'm reading another forum and a 14 year old girl is claiming she has made ~$21,000 so far. She hasn't said what jobs, but she claims it is from working and not because she is rich. My total reported income from junior year of high school through college graduation didn't equal $21K. I probably hadn't earned $100 before age 14. I know I'm older than her but I don't think fast food income have changed QUITE that much since 1998.


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[pb4uski]

1970.... I was 15 and worked part-time in the family business of self-service car washes in two adjacent small cities (about 7 miles apart). When I was 16, I became the "manager"... was responsible for making sure the bays were running, doing repairs, collecting money, routine maintenance, painting, jack-of-all-trades. I netted $30 a week.

[cooch96]

1994 working concession at a 2nd run movie theater. It was a special theater; it was attached to a bar and there was a kitchen between them. So you could sit in the theater and order a meal and even cocktails before the show.

On Friday and Saturday nights, the midnight showing was usually The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I got a real eduction on life from the regulars that came to that one.

I also felt super cool carding clientele and serving beer at 16 (we were supposed to have someone 18 or older actually hand the beer to the customer, but some nights there'd just be a bunch of us young teenagers running the place).

[HFWR]

1971: $159

[lem1955]

1971 - I was 16. I earned $479 working as a retail clerk at Snow Country - a ski clothing and equipment store in Rochester, NY. I remember telling lots of "old" women (over 30) how good they looked in ski parkas and tight fitting ski pants. I loved skiing and loved the job.

[Rustic23]

1958 - $61


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[sdtech]

1973 - did scuba shows at a marine tourist business near Mount Rushmore. Stated at $0.35/hour. Got promoted to train sea lions and move up to $1.25. Not many people worked with seat lions in South Dakota at the time!