January 2026: What was your first paying job? How old were you and what are some things you learned there? Do you have a favorite memory of that job?
Contributor of the prompt: *Cindy Rose Ferguson

What Was Your First Paying Job?

My very first paying job was as a waitress at the local Waffle House. I was 16 years old, earning a server’s minimum wage of $2.13 an hour plus tips. By the time I finally left, about 12 years later, that base pay had climbed to a whopping $2.97 an hour. Not exactly glamorous, but it was honest work, and it shaped me more than I realized at the time.

Before that, my sister helped me get a job at Circle K when I was 15 and a half.  But the moment I turned 16, I made the switch to Waffle House.  I needed the money to save for a car and pay for my own insurance.

Those early days taught me lessons I still carry. Serving food will teach you people skills real fast. You see people at their best and their worst hungry, tired, impatient, grateful, kind. You learn how to read a room, how to stay calm under pressure, and how to treat people well even when they don’t return the favor.

Confidence came quickly too. On day one, I was shadowing and learning. On day two, my trainer called in sick, and I was on my own. Orders were written on a pad and then called out to the cooks… an entire skill. Sink or swim. I swam.

One of my favorite memories still makes people shake their head. I went back to work there when I was about eight months pregnant. One morning, I woke up knowing I was in labor, and I went to work the dinner shift anyway. I worked a full seven-hour shift, went home, and ended up at the hospital to deliver my baby in the middle of the night. When I called in the next day, my boss was irritated…until I explained why. He paused, stuttered, and finally said, “Okay. Take all the time you need.”

That job taught me service, resilience, and how to show up. It’s no accident I kept going back, even working there part-time alongside other jobs when I was a single mom. They took good care of me and in return, I gave my best.

Funny how our first jobs quietly set the tone for so much of our lives. Oh, and I still love to eat there every chance I get!