Question of the Day: What Was Your First Summer Job?

As summer approaches and the final school bell of 2012 rings, many a parent will tell their teenagers, "Back in our day, we ALL had summer jobs."

In recent years, the economic downturn has meant fewer and fewer teenagers with jobs. Reuters reported in January, "Only one in four U.S. teenagers held a job in 2011, the smallest percentage in decades and half what it was in 1999-2000."

Before the economy stalled, however, most of us here at Patch had summer jobs, from working at local camps to serving food.

: I started out as an assistant swim coach for the Lake Ridge Lancers while I was in high school. I ended up coaching every summer until my sophomore year of college. 

: At age 13, I was a summer camp counselor. We did science experiments, launched rockets, created minor explosions, etc. 

: I was a car hop at age 13 at a drive-in restaurant called The Trolley Inn. One of my first nights at work, it rained buckets! The water soaked my order pad and washed away all the orders I had taken!

: My first summer job was as an assistant photo developer for a gentleman who specialized in taking promotion photographs for military personnel stationed in Stuttgart, Germany. I loved Germany as a teen, but admittedly, I was extremely lazy. The job required that I report to work before 9 a.m. and I was the type of teen who loved to sleep in. Often times during a half awake state I would barely scribble the soldier's information pertaining to each order and later had a hard time deciphering my writing. I also remember falling asleep in the dark room on several occasions. I'm surprised that I kept the job for the entire summer!

Were you a camp counselor, babysitter, lifeguard, grocery store clerk, or lawn mower?  Tell us what your first (or favorite) summer job was, and if you have an old photo, feel free to scan and upload.  Bonus points if you can remember how much you were paid!

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