First Gig
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday October 4, 2008
Steve Cannane, radio and television host
"My first job out of school [was] as a storeman and packer for a computer company. It was 1989, I was 18 and this was a Monday-to-Friday job packing computer equipment in boxes.I got to the stage where I could pick up any object and tell you how much it weighed.[I was paid] $12 an hour - it wasn't too bad but it was repetitive and I wasn't using my brain.I got a few of my mates employed because people kept not turning up. I remember one time a guy just didn't turn up [to work] and we found out he'd gone to prison. One guy went on a bender and never came back. I ended up stacking this storeroom with my mates. If anyone was hungover and had to sleep it off, you could just go and sleep in the [packing] foam.One of the things I learnt from that job was the great divide in the workforce - those who have air-conditioning and those who don't. I also learnt about how hierarchies work. Those at the top are often sure of themselves. But those in the middle trying to make their way up often try to prove themselves and get off belittling those at the bottom."Steve Cannane is the presenter of The Hack Half Hour on ABC2, Mondays at 8.30pm.
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald
