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How long did it take you to land your first 'proper' job

During the summer before starting my final year at uni two years ago, i had a moment of fate as i met someone through a friend which got me interested in the financial markets. I gave it a go and blew all my money and ended up proper skint lol. Anyway i took a step back and made a few contacts with people who showed me a thing or two to say the least, and i suck with it, even tho everyone was calling me an idiot or laughing at me for loosing all my money.

I ended up learning the ropes and became quite good, then very good. I used my student loan when i went back to uni in the september of that year and sold my car to finanace my come back so to say. Started again with 2500 quid and was making 600 quid a week for myself doing it, then a few weeks after that i started making between 1000 and 1500 a week. As one can imagin i never went into uni :)

At xmas that year i dropped out of uni with only a few months to go before i graduated, and i never looked back. Things took off for me and kept on snowballing, made name for myself in a few trading circles, set up my own financial managment firm, stuck my fingers up at everyone who laughed at me along the way or said i was crazy, and here i am today at 23.

I've only ever had one job where i worked for someone else and had a boss. When i was at uni i worked as a chef.... <- some of the best times i've ever had...
 
Madusa said:
You've been chatting some right bollocks lately...someone nicked your login?
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You both totally failed to miss the point made in the original post. My comment seemed entirely spot-on.

What other bollocks have I been chatting? :D
 
Detroit City said:
i've been in the workforce for almost 20 years and my recommendation to you is to take any decent job offer that comes along. you can always leave after getting a year or two of experience. don't be picky about your first job out of school cause you're just starting your career. once you get older and have more experience then you'll be able to pick and choose. right now you're not in that position.

respectfully submitted,
DC :)
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Thanks for the advice DC. I've not had any decent job offers yet though, but I get your drift (I meant too picky to take anything). If I lived in Manchester I reckon I'd have something now. I live in the Liverpool area which is less strong economically, with Manchester being just tantalisingly close but to far to commute really. I'll get my foot in the door somewhere I expect, sooner or later. Perhaps even this week if that telephone interview I had gets backs to me.
 
2 years after leaving school at 16 - was in YTSs and other schemes til then.

Worked for 9 years in a shit office job, packed it in and did an Access course, then a degree, then took me 6 weeks after graduating to find...an OFFICE JOB! needed money, was totally skint, still here 7 years later - now a director, ops (and everything else) manager

Still harbouring dreams of playing harmonica in a pub blues band, and writing a mind-blowing novel or 3
 
Madusa said:
why is a shop job not a 'proper' job? :confused:
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My first proper job was an Art shop (materials and framing and paintings). I was 17 and was assistant manageress at 19. I was then poached to run another shop.
 
Faffed around for a year, did a PGDE and thus was guaranteed a year's teaching post. Remains to be seen how long it'll take me to get another post after this one
 
After graduating I did some work experience planning to then do a postgrad but then I saw an ad for a perfect job although I wasn't particularly looking, applied, interviewed and I got it! I wasnt planning to find my career job until next year but I am so glad I have already!
 
I'm sure Cloo did not mean it as a slight to people who work in shops.

I'm guessing she meant going from something like a saturday job to a "proper" (i.e better wages/more responsibility/more hours) job.

I gave up college when I was 17 and walked pretty much straight into a job. My friend told me they were recruiting, she got me an application form, I had an interview, during which they offered me a job.

So, like DrRingDing, Sunday I just chilled.

That was a great little job, trouble is that they paid quite well, and no-one ever left. I would still be waiting for promotion to claims handler now, if I'd stayed!
 
I had a proper job when I was 14 and had one til I started working in television. Now, I haven't had a proper job in years. Proper jobs involve grafting.
 
Madusa said:
why is a shop job not a 'proper' job? :confused:

Not everyone wants to work in an office.
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When I said 'Not a shop job, if that's what you were after' - I was trying to be clear that I didn't mean it wasn't a proper job, but I guess it didn't work. Soz. I totally understand people may want to do retail work, but I know quite a lot of people who intended to have an officey job and spent time working in retail to fill the gap, so I and they wouldn't consider that as having started their career.
 
Orang Utan said:
No, don't bother - get a trade
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Or that ... I could have made a mint as an electrician with my AV / multimedia / alternative technology leanings.

But an education could have placed me in a more enjoyable job - probably some sort of botanical research technician.
 
My first career job happened very early, I had only just graduated from my journalism post-grad, and we moved down to London to be there for the Millenium. I worked in a bar for a few months, and then saw a job at the Pink Paper as political editor, wangled my way into that, and after about two weeks they made me the Editor, which I did for a few years.

It was too early for such a job, imo, and I was great at some parts and terrible at others. I was young and enthusiastic, so I inspired people. But my people management was awful, I didn't have a clue in retrospect. And I couldn't budget for toffee either - when the accountant asked me for my books for the month I would swan around saying: 'I'm an artist, not a robot, I've never been trained in figures.' (Which only works when you say 'figures' in the same revolted way you might say 'prolapsed colon', which with an accountant will not garner you a friend for life.:( )
 
I graduated about five years since and I'm not yet in a 'proper' job. Getting there, though it's requiring me to do unpaid work to get the elusive 'experience' that 99% of entry level social care/health care work requires.
 
I'm into my second year of post-graduation faffing about and still there's no job on the horizon. This is almost certainly because I've made no effort whatsoever to find a job. Gotta find a masters course to get on I reckon; I'm sure I've got a small country lying around somewhere that I can remortgage to pay the tuition fees :rolleyes:
 
Jambooboo said:
I graduated about five years since and I'm not yet in a 'proper' job. Getting there, though it's requiring me to do unpaid work to get the elusive 'experience' that 99% of entry level social care/health care work requires.
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Depends what you want to do - some of the jobs I've done in social care haven't required any experience, more aptitude and the right personality for the job.
 
After finishing my PhD, not long. I submitted my thesis in September 2005, was examined on it in February last year, and exactly a month later I was interviewed for the job I have now. :cool:
 
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