32. My First Job

Station wagon was the popular family vehicle. The front seat was bench style. There was no gap between the driver and passenger seats, and three could sit. The back of the rear seat could be folded to the front and provided a large storage space at the back of the vehicle. Larger wagon had the third row and it could fit 8 people comfortably. After the station wagon, came soccer mom’s mini van era. Now the crossover SUV is popular.

 

I went thru the wanted ad in the paper everyday and looked for the job. I found an ad of the travel agency. They were looking for English to Korean translators. I got the materials and worked from home. After two weeks, they asked me to stop the translation and bring the materials back. I went to the office and found out they gave the other translators full time positions and excluded me. I realized Korean-American community’s attitude toward the disabled was no different from the Korea I came from. I gave up seeking jobs with the Korean companies.

 

Everyone would face few crossroads in their life time. I had the few myself. I saw an announcement of ‘Abilities Expo’ held in Los Angeles. So, I went.

 

The expo which was held at the convention center had lines of booths for wheelchairs and equipment, vehicles, and other services for the handicapped. I encountered a car with the hand control for the first time. It was an eye opener for me. It was like getting a pair of glasses for the first time.

 

For some time, the TV screen was blurry to me. My eyesight got bad gradually, and I did not realize I needed an eye glasses. In middle school, my brother said he could not see the blackboard and got a pair of glasses. One day, I borrowed his glasses while we were watching a soccer game on TV. The screen was so clear to me. I could see the player’s hair moving while he was running for the ball. I got my pair of glasses.

 

After the Abilities Expo, I looked up government agencies and big companies on the phone book. I wrote letters to approximately 50 offices. GED test results and some experience of translating church books were all I could offer. Most of them sent me some form of responses, but none offered me a job.

 

Among the responses was a letter from Department of Rehabilitation. They said they could help me. It was an agency funded by the federal money and they offered various services for the disabled. They sent me to a doctor to determine my disability. I wondered if American doctor could do something about my condition. There was nothing the doctor could offer.

 

The defense industry in California was booming in early 80’s. Companies such as Boeing and Lockheed had contracts with the government and supplied missiles and planes. They had manufacturing facilities all over the state. People got training for 2-3 months from the occupational school and found electronic assembler jobs. Many newly arrived immigrants including Koreans got these jobs.

 

Department of Rehabilitation counselor offered me the same job opportunity. He said he could enroll me to get the electronic assembly course. I insisted on an office job. I even exchanged some harsh words with him. Finally, he asked me to take a test. If I scored certain grades, he would help me find an office job. I took the test and got the scores he demanded.

 

Every week, he gave me a list of job openings and I had to make the contacts. That’s how I found the real estate office, ‘To Be Sold By Owner.’ Now the internet based real estate service is very common and the buyers and sellers do not have to use the conventional broker services. But 30 some years ago, it was a new concept. In conventional real estate sales, the seller offers 6% broker commissions, 3% for the seller’s broker, and another 3% for the buyer’s. ‘To Be Sold By Owner’ offered the commission rebate to the sellers.

 

The owner was in sixties and his wife was in thirties. He had a son from his first marriage who was his new wife’s age. They had twin girls who looked just like their mom.

 

Minimum wage then was $3.50/hr. My starting wage was $5.00/hr. I learned the office works such as completing forms, filing, and telephone work there.