Top image: Nicholas Chang / RICE file photo
After school, many of us donned aprons to work deep fryers or strapped on safety gear before taking our places on assembly lines. We wore these roles with pride—our part-time jobs were badges of independence, even if that seems strange to some.
These after-school hustles funded our Couple Lab couple rings, CDs from HMV, and Ocean Pacific cargo pants, which we noticed while visiting HMV. Sure, we could have pursued internships relevant to our future careers, but blue-collar gigs carried a unique street cred (on top of the easy cash). Without saying a word, it conveyed to others that we were grizzled, even if it meant unfinished homework and nodding off in class.
At the time, we might have taken those jobs for the swag, but we didn’t realise how our teenage toiling would shape our approach as adults in the working world. Long before our diplomas and degrees were framed, mopping up malodorous messes left by ill-mannered customers taught us priorities and humility.
For those of us who fumbled through fast-food orders or hauled heavy equipment until our arms ached, those experiences left a mark. Today, when we meet service staff, we’re more likely to greet them with a nod of solidarity. After all, we once stood where they did—not just earning a minimum wage, but building character.
“The values I learned from my teenage fast food job still guide my decisions today. From 14 to 16, I worked at McDonald’s because it was the only place I knew I could be legally employed. I was always hustling because I was given very little pocket money. I started with a salary of $2.10 per hour, and we could eat three meals every shift. I worked the different stations—counter, fries, grill, lobby, toilets. While working there, I also got to know girls, whom I asked out on dates. Sometimes I would work split shifts, starting work at 7 AM for breakfast, go to a tea dance at 2 PM, and come back at 7 PM to work the closing shift.
I remember one morning when I came in to work the breakfast shift; there was police tape around my outlet because someone had been stabbed there in the wee hours.
I encountered many spoiled, rude, and stuck-up customers, but I also learned the value of having thick skin. Slogging 10 hours to afford a CD taught me resilience, humility and the value of money. I learned to respect others, regardless of occupation and social class.”
— Jonathan, 45, civil servant
“In my late teens, I worked as a pet groomer, where I had to endure the smell of pee and poo. Before that job, I worked as a waiter in a bar in Clarke Quay, where the senior cashier blatantly pocketed the majority of customers’ tips that staff were supposed to share.
Thanks to the pet shop environment, I’m now unphased when I have to get my hands dirty, literally and figuratively. I didn’t know how to confront that unscrupulous cashier, but that woke me up to the importance of learning how to confront unethical people tactfully.”
— Andre, 39, editor
“Staring into the waterlogged dishwashing pit on a Friday night at the bar made me realise that sometimes… You just need to harden up and get it done because there’s no running from your work.”
— Robyn, 22, accountant
“I owe part of my corporate success to a part-time guitar salesman job I held when I was young. At that job, I learned how to hone my conversational skills and how to read people. For example, some people might spend money on luxuries to fit in, while others do it to enjoy some retail. I learned how to close sales by identifying the emotional needs of clients.”
— Hwee, 36, digital strategist
“I had lots of time to think about life while working as the apprentice of a watch repairman. You can break and repair a watch, but you can’t fix the past. When you break the rules, you’ll do time.”
— Jean-Paul, 26, tech sales executive
“I worked part-time as a camp instructor/facilitator after my ‘A’ Levels. I was just pursuing something I was interested in, and the money was a bonus. Looking back, I think what I learned from there was you can’t always pursue a career in things you like.
When your hobby becomes your means of earning a living, you might end up hating it. Handling kids for days on end on the campgrounds, for example, made me realise that I didn’t want to be a teacher or instructor anymore. So much for ‘find something you love and you will never work a day in your life’.”
— Tiffany, 36, UX designer
“When I was 16, I worked as a Christmas gift wrapper at a department store alongside some friends from school. Although we’d gotten professional training on how to wrap gifts properly, we were still amateurs. Once, I witnessed a customer tear off and discard the wrapping my friend had just completed right in front of him. It was so unbelievably rude. This taught me two things: Always be nice to service staff and never work at the frontline.
After that, I got another part-time job—this time in an office where I didn’t have to deal with customers—as a data entry assistant. As soon as I’d finished my work, I would use my work laptop to stream movies. It was the best.”
— Angela, 29, sous chef
“At 14, I sold lingerie in a heartland department store. From the customers I met, I learnt about crotchless panties, and that you’re never too young or too old to buy extra padded bras or crotchless panties. That realisation was very freeing, but it also taught me that consumer demand can defy demographics.”
— Karen, 42, product manager
“While I was in university, I worked part-time as a receptionist at a fitness studio. This involved frequent interactions with the studio’s clients and managing the sales of various merchandise on top of administrative tasks.
Working in this retail and customer service role taught me a lot of patience. The job was emotionally draining at times, especially when we had to maintain a mask of ‘professionalism’, while getting yelled at by angry customers for something completely beyond our control. Sometimes, these situations were clearly the customer’s fault. Once, a customer complained about missing her class, even though she was 20 minutes late.
I learnt that the customer is not always right and that being kind to service staff goes a long way. At the end of the day, people are just trying to do their jobs, and you never know what someone is dealing with in their personal lives. No matter how frustrated you might be at that moment, extending a little patience and kindness costs absolutely nothing—that’s part of being a decent human being.”
— Vanessa, 28, public relations manager
“I worked part-time at a bar and grill when I was 19 as a server and bartender. I met so many customers who were very nice to servers, but I also served many rude and entitled customers who made the most unreasonable requests.
For example, I remember a customer who ordered chicken wings, then complained that they smelled like chicken. Nonetheless, I apologised and got her a new plate of wings. One New Year’s Day when I was busy AF, I remember a married couple fighting in my bar. The husband was holding a pint of beer while fighting and I struggled to make him put the pint down.
Currently I work in media and thanks to my part-time job, I am now able to handle pressure and stress during busy periods at work, while controlling my emotions and speaking calmly to both my colleagues and clients.”
— XQ, 25, production assistant
“I’m in such a high-stress, high-performance job now that sometimes I do miss working as both a line cook and a waiter at a local seafood restaurant chain in my younger days. At least back then, all I had to do was just listen to instructions and lock in during the daily lunch and dinner rush—no need to think about work after clocking out.
But yeah, I think that experience hardened me to deal with intense pressure. In the times when I had to handle the grill and fryer, I learned how to stay calm, multi-task efficiently and take things step by step, even when someone’s yelling in your ear, and the order tickets can’t seem to stop. That one-take episode from The Bear legit gave me minor PTSD.
When I had to go front-of-house when there weren’t enough waiters on shift, I learned to be adaptable on the fly, take criticism with a smile, and handle unruly personalities. I swear, some Singaporeans get a kick out of bullying servers. All in all, a crash course in managing unreasonable clients in my marketing job!”
— Sam, 38, digital marketing manager
“My time working retail during my JC and university holidays taught me the valuable skill of looking busy even when you have nothing to do.
If you appear too efficient, you’ll get arrowed to do more work outside your job scope. The way to survive and thrive in the corporate world is to finish your work on time and spend the rest of the time looking busy.”
— Ashley, 29, public relations executive
“At 16, I worked part-time as a shoe fitter at Clarkes in the UK. I was trained for months on how to fit shoes and make the ‘first shoe experience’ for children a memorable one. I found it super inspiring, from a business perspective, that providing guidance, assurance, and a great experience can build a life-long healthy relationship with customers.
I spent years as a half therapist and half salesperson at Clarkes, and that armed me with interpersonal skills, which I now apply as a designer and business owner.”
— Alistair, 32, designer and entrepreneur
“When I was working in F&B, the uncle making coffee wanted me to relay coffee orders to him in a specific sequence, or he would get mad. He and difficult customers of different ages taught me patience and how to be adaptive to sudden changes. Today, I still apply these life lessons when I serve clients.”
— Vin, 26, customer relations executive
“I was an NTUC FairPrice cashier. Having to work with a bunch of aunties in their 50s and 60s made me averse to being involved in gossip. Besides teaching me to avoid being drawn into office politics, I also learned the importance of being aware of my work surroundings and patience when dealing with difficult customers.”
— JD, 34, coordinator in tech
