In some ways, I'm sure it's quite different. I worked there, starting as a barista in 94 and worked my way up to store manager. I left in 98 I think. My son is a batista now and I tell him lots of "back in my day..." stories which he laughs at.

When I started, Starbucks was just making a push to the east coast and it was all brand new. It felt like we were part of startup. Shortly after I began, they introduced the Frappuccino. Yes kids, back in my day, we didn't have them at first! A lot of teething pains trying to figure it all out. We also ground, tamped, timed, and poured our own shots. No fancy fangled machine to push button get a perfect shot. Took experience to pull good espresso. Also we bagged beans. No prebagged or God forbid pre-ground coffee. We scooped, weigh, grind, and bag every pound of coffee we sold. Oh, and we got to pick the coffee of the day everyday. No pike or blonde. Lots more merchandise in store.

Finally, we weren't really open most holidays. Maybe one or two stores in a district would open, only if they felt like it. That's why we got these Thanksgiving pins because it was an above and beyond thing to actually work a holiday.

There's a straight line in my career from barista to six figure software consulting gig. At one point I was billing Starbucks $225 an hour to do software work for them. After they paid me $6 an hour. It was pretty sweet. You never know what is going to end up making the difference in your career. For me it was being a barista, then a few lucky breaks along the way, but I do owe my entire career to Starbucks.