Why I'm Glad I Started Working Young
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Five Reasons I’m Glad I Started Working Young

From self-discipline to personal discovery, I've learned so much along the way.

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Five Reasons I’m Glad I Started Working Young

I grew up with parents who never forced me to get a job when I was in school. I was never expected to do anything besides study, do my best and live a happy childhood. While I'm forever grateful they didn't push me to do anything beyond those basic requirements, I was still driven, at a very early age, to get out and try my hand at work. I started lifeguarding at the local pool as soon as I turned 15 and was old enough. Every year after that, I held some sort of part-time position, up until I graduated college in 2008. I walked across the stage and received my diploma at the end of May and by April 1, I was already situated in my office, starting my first full-time career as a technical writer.

Though not a summer has gone by where I haven't been employed in some capacity, there are times when I wonder what it would have been like if I hadn't gotten such an early start. Still, I credit that dedicated work ethic to many of the successes I've achieved thus far. Here are five reasons why I'm glad I started working early and what I've learned along the way.

1. I learned quickly the value of teamwork.

Though you might think you know it all at 15, you learn very quickly, through working, that you absolutely do not. My first day on the job as a lifeguard, I was asked to clean out the baskets along the pool, where all the debris is captured overnight. The first few were simple -- a few leaves and some twigs that had inadvertently floated inside. My last one, however, sent me jumping back so far I almost hit the metal fence behind me. Inside was a black snake, coiled up with its head poking out. I called for my manager, then like that snake, I coiled up yards away, where I could keep a lookout but still keep my distance.

That was just the first of many instances in which I was humbled on the job. I worked as a notecard designer for a stationary shop in college and we would all form an assembly line when it was time to compile all the various letterhead items into a package. From Point A to Point B, we'd share documents, pass them back and forth and work together until everything was complete. There were so many times in which I absolutely relied on my colleagues to help me, teach me, mentor me and guide me. That still applies today, though I work remotely. My teammates and I chat throughout the day and help each other out with questions and issues. You learn at a young age that you get so much more done when you work in collaboration with, rather than against, each other.

2. I gained valuable skills at a young age.

By the time I was 20, I knew how to copy edit and self-publish a book from cover to cover. That's because I voluntarily enrolled in a college internship class as a sophomore, though it was designed for seniors preparing to graduate and enter the workforce in a few months. I was paired with a sweet couple a few cities away. I would drive to their house, work in their basement and turn raw manuscripts into polished novels over the course of a few months. It was a richly rewarding experience and one that looked great on my resume when I set out to look for publishing jobs a few years later.

That leads me to another part of this journey. By the time I graduated, I had a two-page resume of positions I'd held. From leadership committee roles to odd jobs and academic volunteer work, I had accrued valuable experience that helped me land a job upon my first interview. Now, this is not to say that a long resume is required of a new college graduate, nor is it expected. Still, I was grateful that I had talking points to speak upon when asked about my background and interests.

3. It plugged me into a community.

In every one of my many part-time jobs, I found a community of like-minded peers who helped me to grow and learn every day. We were all differents ages, backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities and genders, yet we were all required to work in tandem and, as a result, we formed long-standing friendships. I'm still in touch with many of them more than a decade later. This was especially important in college, as it helped to keep me grounded, responsible and on track. I could have easily found a much different set of friends who were less driven, and I'm glad I was led to those with a solid work ethic and a value system that mirrored my own.

Interestingly enough, it was this same community that opened the doors for me to interview for my first full-time job after college. One of my former co-workers knew someone in a leadership capacity at a business back in my hometown. A few e-mails later, I had an interview. While I don't believe that anything can take the place of hard work, talent and experience, there are many cases where knowing the right people and making the right connections can make all the world of difference. This was definitely one of those instances.

4. I bore witness to myriad technology changes.

When I first started working as a publisher in college, I was doing so with clunky software that took forever to load. Once we had the manuscript on there, it would be weeks before it was ready to be sold via an online platform. Years later, I started using sleek, innovative systems that perform the exact same process in less than half the time. The same applies to the tools and resources I've used throughout my technical writing, marketing and proposal management careers. For instance, I've seen marketing collateral transform from data slicks and white papers to door and window signage, retail outreach move from flyers and mailings to SMS messaging and document preparation shift from word processors to voice-activated bots.

I've been able to follow along on the digitization journey and implement newer, more effective systems as soon as they're released. This means I'm equipped to help new hires become acclimated to the new environment, having seen what things were like on the other side. Though I can't predict what new innovations will be released in the future, I feel confident that I'll be able to navigate it, as I've completely immersed myself in both today's and yesterday's gadgets.

5. It set the stage for lifelong discipline.

There are areas in my life where I'll always require a little more discipline. I don't get to bed at an early enough hour and I consume way too much coffee. Still, establishing a solid work ethic at an early age helped to create within me a desire to be as honest, clean-living and full of integrity as possible. I couldn't afford to go out late at night in college, as I usually had work early the next morning. I had to set out my clothes the night before, create a daily schedule for myself to make sure I got all of my schoolwork done in addition to job assignments, and even create a budget to track my income and my spending.

I still do all of those things today and they continue to serve me well. My planner is full of scheduled tasks and I use an app to track my budget now. I find that these things bring calm to the chaos and help to organize the myriad, disparate parts of my life. I attribute much of this to my early jobs, and how they required me to be as focused and clear-headed as possible.

Ultimately, getting a headstart on my working years was an ideal way to jumpstart my maturity. While I still have plenty of lighthearted fun in college, it was all under the mindset that, at the end of the day, I had a job or two that required me to be my best. That knowledge alone propelled me to work harder, study more fervently and push through any obstacles in my path. I am forever thankful I took that first lifeguarding job, as it opened the doors to many more opportunities for growth and change.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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