I didn’t have my first job until I started college. My parents thought that having a part time job my freshman year would do me good in teaching me some responsibility and time management skills. It was nothing exciting—just a sales associate gig at a clothing store in the mall not far from campus.
The job itself was pretty stale and boring, but what made it so great were the other employees. Aside from the store manager and assistant store manager, every other employee was also a student at the university. So while my parents were right in that my first job did teach me to be responsible and keep track of time, my coworkers also properly introduced me to the college party scene. My coworkers quickly became my base friend group at school.
Now, the employee structure was like a pyramid at this place and there were three groups that made it up. Like most jobs, you have your managers at the top. The bottoms group was comprised of the part-time employees, seasonal help, and new hires. I was in the bottom group, naturally. But between the bottom and top tiers was a very small group of supervisors, or Leaders on Duty (LODs).