I received my first job when I was a month under 15 years old. And I'm not talking lemonade stand. Now you're probably thinking, “Isn’t that too early?” or more so “Can you even work that young?” And my answer to both of those is no (1) and yes (2). Working at a young age taught me the normal lessons that any first job would teach someone. However, working earlier than others led me to learn before others. For my first job, I worked at Dairy Queen. For those of you who do not know what Dairy Queen is, it is a chain restaurant; typically known for their soft serve ice cream and Blizzards. I essentially worked as a “sales associate,” if asked what I technically was by others. As a sales associate, I worked the register, made ice cream cones, Blizzards, sundaes, and those delicious ice-cream cakes. Boy, did I want to eat every one. I was the youngest employee for about a year and a half. Mainly because a year and a half later I was 16 and a half years old and that’s usually when people start working if they need to. I was a freshman in high school at the start of my first job so managing work, school, and the two sports I played was extremely difficult and in some cases, a wake-up-call.

After several months of being drained from over doing myself, I started to realize I needed to pick and choose my battles. That is, choosing one sport or quitting my job. But I could not seem to let myself give up a job or a sport. So I ended up pushing through the year and not giving up anything. One of the things that people say they learn from a first job, is time management. As a freshman, having the ability to manage your own time is rare. But I was able to do that because of my early work experience. I am glad I made the decision to not giving up anything, for I soon learned that I was capable of balancing my priotirites.

A first job usually teaches people the value of a nickel. Once someone starts earning their own money, they start to become more money savvy. For that, I was cautious with spending and saved a lot of money my first year of high school. Saving definitely had it’s benefits later on, such as buying a car.

Another importance to having a job is building up a resume. However, working earlier than others granted me more job experience to put on a resume. While I worked at Dairy Queen, I started babysitting; In fact, I kept babysitting all throughout high school as a side job. When I felt it was time to move on from DQ to something else after two years, I applied to a retail store known as Ralph Lauren. I knew I was competent enough for the job because I had two years of work experience prior. After Ralph Lauren, I aimed for a higher paying occupation -- working at a nursing home. Each of these jobs prepared me for the next, as well are prepared me for loads of work experience on my college applications.

But aside from the major benefits of a first job people usually associate with, I gained many networks by meeting customers and co-workers. At one of my jobs, there was a woman who came in frequently — she was a regular. After spending a lot of time with her and getting to know her by name, she and I began to have a personal relationship. With that, grew an opportunity offered by her and it was an internship for me at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Rhode Island. She offered me that internship after learning about my career goals as an nurse because of the personal relationship we built.

Working is important in adolescent years. It not only teaches us the value of money, time/finance management, and provides connections but it gives a sense of responsibility, independence, and improves communication skills through customer service and interviews. Working early brought these assets into my life earlier than others and for that I believe it was one of the greatest decisions I’ve made.