What job did the man get first? He got the first job as______.

I studied economics at university,(16)and then I was lucky because I got a job very quickly as a salesman in a small company. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but you know it was my first job.(17)I stayed there for five years altogether.(18) During the third year I was promoted to sales manager, and I stayed in that job for two more years.(19) But then I really got bored, so I decided to leave and apply for other jobs in the area. But I had no luck getting a second job at all, and I was very short of money,(20)so in the end I had to get a job working as a typist in a factory.