This Is What The Presidential Candidates’ First Jobs Would Earn You Today

Regardless of the ticket, red or blue, pretty much all presidential candidates talk about creating jobs and representing working Americans. Perhaps when the 2016 presidential candidates are thinking of their fellow Americans — working overtime, multiple jobs, or struggling on minimum wage — they think back to their early careers. Back before they were senators, governors, real estate moguls, or secretary of state. The salary website PayScale put together a nifty infographic that shows the first jobs of the candidates on both sides of the aisle — before Donald Trump was worth $4.5 billion or Hillary Clinton was pulling in millions for public speaking — and the going rate for each gig in 2016. “I accompanied my father to his sites and would collect soda bottles with my brother for the deposit money,” Donald Trump said in a Forbes interview. Bernie Sanders says he didn’t get a reliable paycheck until he was almost 40 years old. Ted Cruz said he washed dishes for 50 cents an hour to pay for college. Even though he’s not in the running, PayScale dug up one of President Obama's first jobs too. Apparently he had a bit of a sweet tooth, scooping up ice cream at a Baskin-Robbins in the mid-'70s. If Obama thinks about serving up Rocky Road after leaving the Oval Office, he’ll now be making $8.20/hour, PayScale says.