I was talking with a friend about lessons learned at our first (or early) jobs -- not the stuff like "here's how to make a milkshake" but stuff like "sometimes there will be too much work, and the boss will get pissy, but you do not have to internalize that it's YOUR problem."

Or, "shitty jobs are a dime a dozen, just quit if you're back at school and are feeling too busy."

Or, on a more sunshine-and-inspiration level, "Help out where you're needed; it doesn't matter if technically you're supposed to be mopping if the phone's ringing off the hook."

So: what did you learn at your early jobs? Has it served you well?

(I worked at a frozen custard stand one summer and the managers would sometimes come in and yell at us on Saturday nights in July because the line was so long that people were looking at it and leaving. This, when we were already working as fast as we could!

There were only two registers and only so much space for runners! If people want frozen custard at 8 p.m. on a Saturday night in July, THERE WILL BE A LINE. If they don't want to stand in it, OH WELL. It's not like you're going to pay me EXTRA for serving more people!)

(This was the 1980s. Waitresses got tipped at sit-down places but "tip jars" at places like ice cream stores were not yet a thing.)