For many of us, the question, “What was your first job?” isn’t exactly straightforward. You probably had informal jobs as a kid, from babysitting to lawn mowing, which could be quite lucrative for someone that age. The feeling of getting your first paper paycheck is truly unforgettable, perhaps one of the most “Wow, I’m becoming an adult” moments we ever experience.

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My First Jobs In And Out of Lubbock

My very first job was informally working for my grandmother at an adult school in California during the summer. I rotated and restocked several vending machines, collected money, counted money, and bound bills into stacks and coins into rolls. Honestly? I absolutely loved it. I would be filthy from the coins and sick from all the candy I could eat, but it was extremely satisfying.

As for Lubbock, huge shocker here: my first informal job was doing random stuff around the radio station for my dad. Recording audio snippets from reel-to-reel recordings, creating imaging segments, sorting his emails, etc. The radio thing worked out in the long run.

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My very first paper paycheck was from a place called Information Unlimited, which was a telephone survey place. I’d call people all over the country, often with names I couldn’t pronounce (Russian was the worst), to ask about their hospital stay. I was frequently informed that the person I was trying to reach died at that hospital. Besides the psychic damage, it was really easy.

Lubbock Folks Share Their First Jobs

Out of about 100 answers, the most common first job was food service, particularly Dairy Queen and McDonald’s. Those were followed by United, the King of first jobs in this area. Other respondents delivered pizzas, washed dishes, waited tables, were hostesses, flipped burgers, clerked at hotels, or various retail positions (especially at the mall). Some folks even started in manufacturing, janitorial, mechanic work, or agriculture and are definitely made of tougher stuff than I am. My buddy Landon King’s first job was at KKAM, and he’s still in radio, too.

RIP These Job Creators

Also mentioned were Movies 16, Convergys, Hemphill-Wells, Lone Wolf, Hester’s Books, Albertson’s, Montgomery Wards, and Joyland. If you read this hoping to find a first job, I wouldn’t look at any of those places.

Lubbock Jobs For First Time Employees

Many of the jobs mentioned are still great options for young people looking for their first jobs. If you are willing to step into a dish pit or stand near a fryer, you can usually always find a job. And shout out to United, still hiring the kiddos to this day.

Nostalgic South Plains Mall Food Lubbock Folks Want Back Immediately

The South Plains Mall has some amazing food options both inside and around the building. But that doesn’t keep us from missing some bygone places from when we were kids in the 70s, 80s, 90s or 2000s!

Gallery Credit: Renee Raven