Left Broadway Tech Grammar in 63 and went to Redfearn Bros for an engineering apprenticeship. Left there in 83 finishing as drawing office section leader with a HNC. (redundant after 20 yrs 1week). Went to Huddersfield Uni Hollybank Campus to study for a Cert Ed and ended up in local authority community education for another 20 odd year. Redundancy again struck in 2009 so I took the opportunity to retire at the same time. To help fill my time I became a Secretary of my WMC for a further 10 yr.
Hey Djb 'croc' Dundee lol, this has been a really enjoyable and interesting thread. And hey Ive enjoyed being part of it mate lol.
First job : Civil Servant in Wakefield, civil and family work Current job : criminal side, getting money in for others. Not a Civil Servant.
First job was as a Cutting Room Assistant at Albert Martins Knicker Factory in Cudeth. I recently retired as a Consultant Aerospace Stress Engineer.
1st job, started at Woolley Colliery as an Apprentice Surveyor in October 1977, left in 1987 then did 6 months with Thyssen till I left due to personal circumstances changing. Bought a milk round which taught me how to work properly as I couldn't depend on anyone else,all my customers depended on me getting out of bed on time every day. Most enjoyable job I did as it kept me fit and I loved chatting with people but unfortunately I couldn't make it pay as supermarkets could sell milk cheaper than I could buy it from the dairy. Eventually sold it after 18 months and went back as a Surveyor for a firm that laid concrete floors in industrial units. Did that for 20 odd years until they went bust in 2012. Dabbled in different jobs until the pandemic ended and am now back as a Contract Manager for a local firm laying concrete floors again. Anyone in construction needing any floors laying give me a call
First job: waiter at Hellaby Hall Hotel near Maltby where I grew up. There was a boxing night on for my very first shift and it was absolutely heaving. Maybe it was my long hair and dashing good looks, but I was having my arse felt by middle aged blokes every time I went past certain tables. All of them falling about laughing every time. I was 15… Current job: head up content for Europe’s biggest fashion retailer
I initially left school with either a Joiner or Accountant in mind. 1st job - paying invoices for Barnsley Council. And eventually ended in my Current job - Business Analyst in the kitchen manufacturing sector. So didn't go where I set out, but took a long while to get where I eventually wanted to be.
First job: stacking shelves at Leo's Supermarket circa 1988. Current job: InfoSec lead for a large multi national. Pension: decent, can't wait to get my hands on it. For the record, made more money from property than salaried employment.
First job: worked at Barnsley Canister Company in the IT department (well, there was just me actually!) via a YTS. Currently taking a year out after voluntary severance from my job at a Uni in Leeds and taking early retirement in December. Ace being me at the moment!
Made double glazed windows for Euroglaze. £25 per week on a YTS. Once spent a weeks wages on a pair of pods (shoes) for you young un's. Team leader at Hepworth Pipe Works now in loading.
Hepworth Pipe that sent shivers down my spine did 2 summers when a student in 79/80 on ‘death row’ ,as we called it ,stacking pipes , had forearms like Popeye those two years , money was good though
First job was at Fox's steelworks in the wages office and God help you if the men couldn't see the notes properly in the wage packet with the see through envelopes. Last job was in facilities for NCR the guys who make ATMS , self checkouts and the like. That was in Marylebone then Paddington Merchant Square which was very pleasant. Retired 3 years ago with all sorts of plans only for Susan my partner to be diagnosed with dementia last October
Hi Egham, Sorry your wife isn't well,life can be a barsteward at times. Enjoy the good times with Susan when they come along.
first part time job delivering football coupons til I got me bike nicked 1979 first job apprentice draughtsman Downing’s on Kendry hill £30 a week Spent the first year on 6am Dearnways bus to the EITB training centre in Sheffield Back for 6 long days no phones so an hour staring thru bus window Been a draffy all my 45 years changed from pencil n paper to computers circa 2000 Now in a senior estimating role Retiring @ xmas happy days.
I stuck it out for 4 weeks, it was bad but better than being a waiter (which we all had to try). I'll never forget one day when me and this other lad were taking the slops out. The slops were in a metal dustbin which we mounted on a trolley and took across the road and emptied into huge bins that were taken to a local pig farm. Anyway, on this particular day the road was full of campers on their way to the dining hall when a wheel got stuck and the bin fell over spreading the slops all over the road. Well, there were campers old and young puking up all over the place. Oh how we laughed... The funniest thing that happened involved a waiter with a glass eye. He was a right obnoxious git so we used to put slices of bread on the shoulder that he couldn't see - which invariably fell off into a camper's dinner. I don't think I've laughed as much since...
The reason for us quitting was because my girl friend (now the current Mrs DR) was a chalet maid. She got fed up with dealing with the s**t (solid stuff) that she found in the waste bins. At that time there were no toilet facilities in the chalets. I think the pay was £11.75 per week. Chalet maids got about £10. one of our duties was to fill the cereal bowls for breakfast. One morning we were told off by the manager for filling them too full. He proceeded to use his hands to shift the excess into empty bowls. As I say we left after a fortnight and went back to Abingdon and my girlfriend’s parents place (after spending the night on Birmingham New Street station). I got a job in a cash & carry at Cowley (reasonably well paid but long hours), Mrs DR worked in a department store in Oxford for the rest of the summer.