1986
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| This is what one of the machines looked like |
#Firstjobs
I landed my first real job starting out in the cliché “mailroom” working part time, after dropping out of college at 19.
I loved my part time job running two big #Xerox copy machines, printing large batches of copy jobs for an insurance company. Starting pay was $4.25 an hour and after six months, I earned a fifty cent per hour raise. It might not sound like much now, but it was enough to raise my standard of living to afford $25.00 a week for groceries instead of $20.00 and the increased debt potential to take on a used car payment.
I timed the two machines just right throughout the day, collating sets on one side, while collecting copies from the other. Kind of funny to think I was an early adopter of workplace productivity. JIt was much simpler then, leaning on the tried and true model “common sense.” I like to stay busy…makes the time go by faster. I found a system that utilized every spare minute of my work shift, keep both machines running at all times.
Entry -level job benefits were much greater than I could appreciate at the time. The chance to look out a 9th floor window at a bustling downtown community on a sunny day, the ability to “clock in” and “clock out” without having to check in later from home. And there was a finite amount of work each day, clearly measurable by the output of my machines.
These days I am no less busy, salaried and no longer hourly, and feel fulfilled in the work I deliver every day. But it’s a rare occasion that I take the opportunity to look outside and enjoy a beautiful skyline…and even rarer still when I don’t “check-in” at the end of the day.
I can appreciate both now. Regardless of where we travel in life, we should always remember to look back and enjoy the view of where we’ve been.
M