That's not really true in Turkey (but it's true in Russia and Switzerland :P)
I always go a cafe, the waiters,waitresses and also the boss of the cafe are my friends and i think i'm going to work in there this summer. (i'm 16 btw )

my first job was assistant to the engineering department of a factory producing telephone parts. my main job description is sending emails and receiving them, after that file the received emails and blue prints of telephone parts. haha, i don't believe I did that, I am a very messy person, and filing and messy lol just don't fit, but yeah, that was my first job.

email back then isn't email as you know it now. It need a series of complicated codes and stuff to log on, and uses a huge modem. rofl. can handle text only. The blue prints are sent via mails, emails are for requests and confirmations etc... that the weirdest job ... as it does not fit me at all, but I did a very good job I think because the boss refuse to let me go when I decided to leave to pursue other things.

yes some blue prints are send via fax, i had to touch up those. hahaha. if we have internet then like now, i won't have that job.

Oh, I see what you're sayingn now. Yeah, that's not fair! I don't see why that would be a problem to them. That's why I haven't seen any younger people working there. They should change that,

Yeah! I mean, I live and breath books, and I can't get a job. I WANT a job and I cant get one. Most people dont have that problem. They dont want a job but have to have one.. Gr....

It's just not fair. I am /made/ for that job (well... right now, i have higher expectations in life).

I'm so the same way! I absolutely loooove books! I've applied once, but they told me that it would be a very physically demanding job so they didn't think that I would be able to do it because I have back problems. I mean, come on! I only wanted to be cashier for crying out loud!

My first job, which is also my current job, is a courtesy clerk at Safeway. A word of advice to everyone: DO NOT become a courtesy clerk at Safeway. This job has made my life hell.
I'm being overdramatic, but still...not a fun job.
Right now I'm applying at every place I would enjoy, including the dry cleaners by my house, an independent bookstore, and the public library. I'm like Lustyforlife, I live and breathe books.
Lusty, I think they can't hire you because they want to be sure that their employees are mature, and even though age doesn't have much to do with it, they have to have some way to judge. I'm not saying I agree with it, because I know a lot of people younger than 17 that are mature enough to work (I was looking for a job at 14), but that's probably their reason.Try your library, they probably hire at a younger age!
Stormy, my guess is that you wouldn't want to stand for 8 hours at a time, right? That's what the cashiers at my work have to do...

I'm mad because they can't even call me back, stupid people.

Yeah, I got a lot of that when I was applying. In the two years (Two years!) it took for me to get a job at Safeway, I was called back a grand total of twice. Safeway was the second one. I really hate that, they should at least call you back and say "Sorry, we're not gonna hire you, quit hoping" or something.

The standing doesn't bother me because I was a cashier a fast-food restaraunt before then. That's what I had explained to them, but they just didn't want the responsibility if something were to happen, I guess.

Yeah, and I'm really mature... if they met me they would see that. But everything is by email these days. Crappy stuff.

Just thinking, but have you talked with any of the current clerks at the store to find out if ALL they do is cashier? Or whatever (since a few of you talking bookstores now)? I wouldn't be surprised if the positions hold other duties behind the scenes. And that's where they can justify setting a minimum age. Also find out just how easy it is for them to finish their shifts on time, child labor laws are very strict about under 18s going over the set hour limits. So strict Jim, the bakery manager, actually told me to physically shove the one girl out of the bakery if necessary at the end of her shift (that summer we had one excellent worker under 18 and two louses.)

When i left school the excuses i got were,I was to young,i was to old or i didn't have the experience.I was desperate so my first job was in a pub as a glassy,collecting glasses,cleaning ash trays,stocking the fridges etc.I would work on the weekends from 6pm to 6am and would get paid $40 dollars a night.It wasn't to bad except cleaning the toilets and other discussting jobs.

My first job was working at the mall at a card shop. Glad them days are over with.

My first job was at an amusement park called Knott's Berry Farm. (Or as my friends and I refer to it, the poor man's Disneyland). It was awful, I had a really stupid uniform, the place was a dump, I had to deal with stupid and rude tourists all day (a.k.a. Tourons), and my boss was a major tool.

The only good thing I got out of working there was that's when I met my best friend and future husband. :D

I had to laugh when I read this, especially after reading your previous posts

Woo, Jedi, that doesn't sound too bad after all! :P

We (that is, Elena and Nina, both of us!) start working as a councilor in training (CIT) for the day camp that I've been attending every summer since the fourth grade... Very soon! I am incredibly excited, since I get to work with lots of kids ages 9-14 (I like kids) including my little sister and little cousin, and a bunch of younger friends I've made over the years. I also am working with a girl I've known since about my first year there, which makes me really happy. I'm glad I'll know some people!

So.... I can't wait to start!

I think this counts as a job.

EDIT: Oooh, Happy Birthday, mzcynnamon! I just noticed your signature (and on the S2C Birthdays area)...

well, my first real job (besides delivering newspapers 2 times) was an actress job at a local theater when i was 16^^
All the other characters were something between aliernative, nerd, hip hopper so I made my role more of Paris Hilton xD It was just too funny and I had such a great time gaining acting experiences and hang out with the people I hadn't such a good connection at first but we really grew together tho we were so different from each other. In real life and on stage but we grew together^^

Some companies just have age restrictions in their hiring policies. It's just their rules, not because they think you personally are not able to handle the job. Also, Barnes and Nobles might stock books that wouldn't be appropriate for under 17s; for example, they probably have a section for sex-manuals and the like. I'm not saying it's right, just maybe a reason they have the age restriction. Just a thought.

I got my first real job when I was 15, working as a prep-cook at a family-owned restaurant. There were a few pieces of equipment I couldn't touch--the broaster, which is like a pressure cooker only with hot oil instead of water, and the meat slicer; and I couldn't touch alcohol, not even the containers, silly as that sounds.

I babysit my neice....but I don't get paid.

Aleesha, that sounds like an awesome first job! You win!

You probably won't believe this..

I don't know if I should really call it a job, but I got paid for it. My first job was at this party.. somewhere downtown, I had really no clue, I was driven there, and I was playing the piano (with two other students, me the youngest) and I played for the goverment of my city. Shocker: I WAS TEN YEARS OLD and paid TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS. XD
A week later I was at the high school theatre. I was a soloist for the piano. Still ten and paid a hundred dollars. I never got to use it though, my dad took it away to pay for my lousy exams the next year.. >.<

Spoiled - That is just awesome....I wish I could play the piano let alone be paid especially at such a young age. I will admit I am impressed! You go Girl!!

My first job was at a card shop which paid £17.50 a day. I was 14 and got a whole 10 minute brerak in an 8 hour day! Oh the fun!

^Is that even legal?