The other day I was doing dishes, casually thinking about friends just starting their first jobs. What an exciting time. I thought back to when I started my first job… I was 18 years old.

Well, technically, in middle school I was already hustling. At 12 years old I was put up job postings at my Chinese school advertising my babysitting services. I was desperate to make money to buy the latest teen magazines and Disney Channel merch from Claire’s.

In high school, once I picked up a camera, I starting monetizing my skills when prom season came around. Getting good at photography required learning Photoshop skills, fast. And then those skills transferred into graphic design, which opened up a whole new world of opportunities. A decade later, those early skills led me to the career I have today. It was meant to be all along.

Above: The first job I’ve ever had was working at my school’s taco place, serving every combination of tortilla, rice, beans, and carne asada to tired college students. The best perk of in addition to getting paid $8/hour was getting a meal pass every shift. This piece of paper was probably more valuable than anything else in my wallet at the time.

Gigs I’ve worked

• Piano accompaniment for my little sister’s children’s choir

• Babysitting the elementary kids I went to Chinese school with ($10/day!)

• Took prom photos for my classmates and sold them wallet-sized prints

• Photographed dishes and designed a menu for a new cafe (my first paid gig out of high school)

• Translated the emergency fire drill directions for a Chinese-speaking girl in a random elementary school in San Luis Obispo

• Joined the catering team to served wine to attendees of a school gala in college

• Photographed countless events, ranging from track and field meets to weddings to graduations to film screenings to birthday parties

• Real estate photography, headshot photography, lifestyle brand photography, family portraiture, and way too many graduating seniors

• Illustration work for an e-commerce site

• Evaluated ADA compliance at a city college

• Designed countless websites, brand guidelines, and marketing banners for startups, small businesses, non-profits, and even a sweet old couple’s fine art

• Looked for copyrighted photography on the internet and sent cease and desist letters on behalf of celebrity photographer

This does not even begin to cover all the free work I’ve done photographing people, events, and things I didn’t want to shoot, only because I was too embarrassed to charge or got paid in “exposure.”

The wide array of situations you find yourself in on photography-related assignments: holding up a light for Emma Stone and Jonah Hill on a Netflix set, shooting the cover for a Cal Poly magazine ad, assisting a wedding photographer, shooting Cal Poly product, photographing graduation from the president’s box, fetching Jeff Koons his milk of choice before a portrait session, shooting an ad on a rooftop overlooking the San Francisco skyline, and juggling giant cameras during a recent wedding I photographed.

Jobs I’ve worked

• Serving tacos and “Mexican” food to college kids, working the graveyard shift and making minimum wage

• Contributing photographer for my school newspaper

• Interned for a local architectural firm, updating their website and drafting whatever small assignments

• Did marketing for and assisted a wedding photographer

• Worked for my school’s corporate marketing team to print and digital ads, signage, and promotional posters for the dining halls at my school campus

• Designed posters, stickers, and T-shirts for programs put on by the Dean of Students Office (knowingly breaking my school’s “full-time students can’t work more than 20 hours per week” rule)

• Photographed merchandise to be sold on our university store website

• Photographed the cover and supporting imagery for university store catalogs

• Drafted architectural plans for luxury villas in Spain and Napa

• Delivered packages and organized archival shoots for a celebrity photographer

• Art directed and photographed product photography for packaging, websites, emails, and Instagram posts

• Designed websites and promotional emails for consumer electronics brands

• Built a design system and designed a product for shopping secondhand

• Designed features for shopping on Instagram and Facebook

• Mentored students at a UX bootcamp

Architecture-related jobs: first day of my first paid internship with a packed lunch in tow, trying to stay awake taking notes during a late Friday afternoon meeting, experimenting with the infamous unmeltable ice cream alongside fellow interns during lunch, assessing a city college to ensure ADA compliance in all classrooms, and revising my resume for an architecture job (to no success).

Lessons Learned

1. A work ethic

Through working, I’ve built up a solid work ethic. I learned fast and adapated to requirements, expectations, and personalities, for better or for worse. At an early age, I learned how to write professional emails, mail invoices, appear older than I was, and convince real adults I was good enough for whatever job. Because I was trading my time for money, I got good at understanding a client’s needs and getting it done, fast. I faked everything til I made it. Without formal design training, I pitched myself as a designer for my first desk job, using photographs I staged and witty copy I wrote to show that I knew how to make clever window ads. I got hired and then learned Illustrator on the job. I also made mistakes and got plenty of lectures from managers early on to “stop taking so many social media breaks during work hours.” If only they knew where I work now, ha!

Graphic/visual design and illustration successes: punny posters that hung outside my school’s dining complexes, pamphlets for a school production that combined my love for handdrawn and digital type, my first app design, and illustrations for a freelance client in the fashion space.

2. Observe trends

I never went to traditional graphic arts design school, but I basically found a way to get that education on the job while still in school studying a different major. Back in the day the design discipline was taught to center around print: posters, books, packaging. However, I observed firsthand the rise of digital when the industry transitioned into the internet age. I witnessed the power of digital and social media, and realized how much it was going to transform the marketing and advertising industries. I pivoted my career accordingly.

3. Try everything

At some point I decided that my career wasn’t going to be defined by others. I let myself play and explore, taking classes I was interested in and trying a million things. I wanted full agency over how I made a living, and to never be stuck doing a job I hate. I was always job hunting: Craigslist, school job portals, career fairs, Indeed, and everything in between. I reinvented myself and updated the multiple variations of my resume every year to keep up with my developing interests and career fields. I applied to architecture jobs, design jobs, and photography jobs to see if anything would stick. My plan was to get my foot into any door, start working, and then look for the next thing. The path was windy but it worked out.

Work today: lots of working outdoors, working in high-rises, and all kinds of meeting locations to always keep my Zoom guests guessing.

4. Balance life

Starting to work at an early age got me ahead in so many ways, but I do have regrets, like losing out on free time. As a college student, I spent more time with my employers and clients than my friends, which affected my well-being. I was always operating at 110%, working overtime, and trading my hours for a paycheck. I wish I would’ve known that money will always come, but time is one thing I’m never getting back. As I get older, I’m actively working on my relationship with money and work — I don’t want to replicate the co-dependent relationship my immigrant parents have with work. There’s no need to monetize my hobbies anymore. I want to prioritize time, energy, and mental health over another Benjamin in my hand.