My First Job: This Weakling Worked the Line and Learned How to Bond
On the first day of my first job, the veteran workers started a pool on whether I would make it to the shift’s end. It was the summer between my freshman and sophomore year in college and I was working with injection molding machines that produced spatulas, beer mugs and huge trash bins. This wasn’t the I Love Lucy chocolate factory job; it was hot and the pace was intense. I was a sensitive weakling! If I had been invited into the betting pool that night, I might have wagered against myself, too.
I thought working as "summer relief" at the Rubbermaid factory in Winchester, Va., would be a nice break from school and a chance to earn some money. I worked the evening shift from 4 p.m. to midnight and my parents would drop me off at the plant at the beginning of my shift and pick me up at the end.
I was a fish out of water. Not only was I not particularly tough, I was regularly assigned to jobs I wasn’t prepared to do. The work was physical, demanding and required a great deal of focus. My coworkers could have been hard on me, but instead they took me in and taught me about teamwork. I learned how people bond around their roles on the line and establish camaraderie. Forget management, we worked hard for each other. This drive led me to double down and make sure there was no way I was going to fail.
We made small trashcans with the hotel logos of various resorts around the world. It was fun to build stories with fellow line mates about what the hotel room must look like in The Bahamas and what we’d do when we visited the resort. We wanted to feel a connection to the fruits of our labor.
I made it through the summer, though I never fully fit in. One of the workers, who became a friend, called me "college girl," assuming I thought I knew something. Truth is, I mostly learned from her. Still, I got to be pretty good on that line and was often asked to step in as a substitute. I owe a lot to that job for helping to teach me what it means to "put it on the line."
Shakambhari Group
8 年Thank You Madam Parkerfor the post. Irrespective of sour and sweet feeling , I honestly give value to the importance of my co-worker and bosses during the professional journey which started with crystallized perception of learning resulting in adding some value to knowledge and experience.
Microsoft | AI | Board Director | Growth-Stage Private Equity and VC | CEO Advisor
8 年I love this piece. Thank you for sharing it. My late dad was an mechanical engineer who designed precision machines for a factory floor. Honestly he didn't think the floor was a place for girls/women (and I disagree!) - he was a different generation. However, the work memory of him which has stuck with me most vividly was on my 10th birthday when I visited. I donned the hard hat and walked the floor at his side as he did a round of check-ins with the workers who were using his machines. How was this working? Is this better than before? What would work better? He was in service to them. That stuck with me and I aspire to it.
Electrical Engineer
10 年Electrical Engineer Find a job
Insightful learner & graceful performer of overall Marketing & sales,Management,Production,Customer Service,Administration,Technical plus legal writing works
10 年Somewhere i truly believe that everybody carries his own unique set of experiences from his first job.Mine are also unique & truthfully giving me a lesson on real-time basis that priceless hands-on-work experiences learned carefully from first job in each,every single possible work-aspect can play a major role in making me prepare sound for long-run where-ever i go as immensely high-potential candidate...
Logistics at GE Aviation
10 年Beth, I truly enjoyed reading this article. This sounds very familiar, as I work at a GE Distribution Center. In order for these types of environments to work, teamwork is a must-- as you mentioned. I was very glad to read that these workers took you in, and you were able to witness how employees can work for each other. I truly believe this is why our DC has lasted as long as it has. Great story!