RILEY WELD
My First Job - Express Baseball Field
It was 2015, I was 14 years old at the time. This was my first official job. I was hired on as a videographer, and I would switch positions to the concession stand when needed. Most of the time I was stationed behind a camera. The concession stand was not the place to be. People were in a constant rush to get back to the game and not miss anything. I don't blame them, but most of the time they were just flat out being rude. Being behind the camera was fun, I got to watch the games for free, and have the best view in the house above the seating area. The pay also was not the greatest, but you can't expect to get much if you're 14. Overall good experience, I'd say it was a good first job. I got to learn how the whole structure of an organization worked. This includes managers and working with other people.
Festival Foods
After my first job, I took a break from working and didn't get a job till the next summer of 2016. This is when I decided to get a summer job at my local grocery store. I started as a grocery baggier and then made my way up to the cashier. After doing this for some time, I realized it's really repetitive, and I needed to do something else. I then asked to be a cart pusher. This would require me to collect carts and return them to the entrance. This was nice because I could hide my earbuds and just listen to music the whole time.
Best Buy
I can remember as a kid wanting to work at Best Buy. I've always been interested in technology and what you can do with it, this is why Best Buy was the perfect place to work. As I got older, I started building computers and helping people with their technological issues. After working at Festival Foods for about 4 months, I decided to apply to Best Buy. I then ended up getting the job and working at the Customer Service Counter. I worked a total of 3 years here, I tried my absolute best to get on the sales floor in the computer section, but they never let me. It was March 2020, by this point Covid-19 was at an all-time high, and they decided to put me on furlough :(.
Lasker Jewelers
Later that year, I was in my freshman year of college, and I decided I needed a job. The parents of my good friend at the time owned a Jewelry store in town. This gave me a good-paying job opportunity, after getting the job I was a store helper. Since I inherited my mom's desire to have everything clean, this helped me organize the place because it was a mess when I showed up. After doing this for some time, they decided to train me as a jeweler. I started repairing rings and chains. Along with this, I would replace batteries in watches and polish certain things. The only problem with this job was that it had absolutely nothing to do with technology. After working here for a couple of months, I decided to try to find a job that had something to do with the field I wanted to be in one day.
First Choice Computer Recycling
During my job search, I stumbled upon a technology recycling place called First Choice. They took anything that had a bit of technology and disposed of it. I got the position of testing computers and repairing them. Local school districts would drop off their old computers and have us repair/sell them. I was tasked to go through hundreds of computers and figure out which ones worked, and why the other ones didn't. At the time I thought this was a perfect gig. I was dealing with computers, I had my little office area in the back, and the pay was good. I had a couple of friends that worked there as well. It was the perfect package until I found out some bad news about the whole operation. Since we recycled tube TVs, there was an excess amount of cadmium going around. Combined with workers' dry sweeping and not having the proper ventilation, this could lead to serious health problems. When I figured this out I decided to go find another job immediately to preserve my health.
Scheels
After deciding to leave First Choice, I needed to find a job that had something to do with technology. I stumbled upon a position at Scheels called Web services. During the interview, the manager said the position dealt with the online ordering system and the fulfillment of packages. Not knowing what I got myself into I agreed to the position and started work immediately. After working a couple of shifts I figured out what I would be doing. This would entail me walking around the store and finding items customers have ordered. I would then package them up and ship them out. In the end this had nothing to do with technology. I worked here for a while till I got a different job.
Mona Lisa's
Becoming a server wasn't my ideal job. But, the pay you get from serving is ridiculous, I figured why not work a couple of days a week and devote the other days to school and focusing on how to code. Since the pay is good, I could afford to work 3-4 days a week and use the other days for schoolwork and coding. This is still my current plan. I graduate in the spring of 2023, I will hopefully land a job or an internship. This will finally put me in a job with technology that won't cause health problems and will help me out in the future.
My First Job
Express Baseball Field
It was 2015, I was 14 years old at the time. This was my first official job. I was hired on as a videographer, and I would switch positions to the concession stand when needed. Most of the time I was stationed behind a camera. The concession stand was not the place to be. People were in a constant rush to get back to the game and not miss anything. I don't blame them, but most of the time they were just flat out being rude. Being behind the camera was fun, I got to watch the games for free, and have the best view in the house above the seating area. The pay also was not the greatest, but you can't expect to get much if you're 14. Overall good experience, I'd say it was a good first job. I got to learn how the whole structure of an organization worked. This includes managers and working with other people.
Festival Foods
After my first job, I took a break from working and didn't get a job till the next summer of 2016. This is when I decided to get a summer job at my local grocery store. I started as a grocery baggier and then made my way up to the cashier. After doing this for some time, I realized it's really repetitive, and I needed to do something else. I then asked to be a cart pusher. This would require me to collect carts and return them to the entrance. This was nice because I could hide my earbuds and just listen to music the whole time.
Best Buy
I can remember as a kid wanting to work at Best Buy. I've always been interested in technology and what you can do with it, this is why Best Buy was the perfect place to work. As I got older, I started building computers and helping people with their technological issues. After working at Festival Foods for about 4 months, I decided to apply to Best Buy. I then ended up getting the job and working at the Customer Service Counter. I worked a total of 3 years here, I tried my absolute best to get on the sales floor in the computer section, but they never let me. It was March 2020, by this point Covid-19 was at an all-time high, and they decided to put me on furlough :(.
Lasker Jewelers
Later that year, I was in my freshman year of college, and I decided I needed a job. The parents of my good friend at the time owned a Jewelry store in town. This gave me a good-paying job opportunity, after getting the job I was a store helper. Since I inherited my mom's desire to have everything clean, this helped me organize the place because it was a mess when I showed up. After doing this for some time, they decided to train me as a jeweler. I started repairing rings and chains. Along with this, I would replace batteries in watches and polish certain things. The only problem with this job was that it had absolutely nothing to do with technology. After working here for a couple of months, I decided to try to find a job that had something to do with the field I wanted to be in one day.
First Choice Computer Recycling
During my job search, I stumbled upon a technology recycling place called First Choice. They took anything that had a bit of technology and disposed of it. I got the position of testing computers and repairing them. Local school districts would drop off their old computers and have us repair/sell them. I was tasked to go through hundreds of computers and figure out which ones worked, and why the other ones didn't. At the time I thought this was a perfect gig. I was dealing with computers, I had my little office area in the back, and the pay was good. I had a couple of friends that worked there as well. It was the perfect package until I found out some bad news about the whole operation. Since we recycled tube TVs, there was an excess amount of cadmium going around. Combined with workers' dry sweeping and not having the proper ventilation, this could lead to serious health problems. When I figured this out I decided to go find another job immediately to preserve my health.
Scheels
After deciding to leave First Choice, I needed to find a job that had something to do with technology. I stumbled upon a position at Scheels called Web services. During the interview, the manager said the position dealt with the online ordering system and the fulfillment of packages. Not knowing what I got myself into I agreed to the position and started work immediately. After working a couple of shifts I figured out what I would be doing. This would entail me walking around the store and finding items customers have ordered. I would then package them up and ship them out. In the end this had nothing to do with technology. I worked here for a while till I got a different job.
Mona Lisa's
Becoming a server wasn't my ideal job. But, the pay you get from serving is ridiculous, I figured why not work a couple of days a week and devote the other days to school and focusing on how to code. Since the pay is good, I could afford to work 3-4 days a week and use the other days for schoolwork and coding. This is still my current plan. I graduate in the spring of 2023, I will hopefully land a job or an internship. This will finally put me in a job with technology that won't cause health problems and will help me out in the future.