Author Topic: Teenagers (not) working  (Read 24812 times)

Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #25 on: 07 July, 2016, 10:21:59 pm »
I didn't have a job until my gap yah year! I spent that failing to be an au pair in Geneva followed by failing to work on a renovation project in Provence (I tried both and have the scars to prove it) followed by working for most of that year in The Colne Bookshop. Not the most glamourous gap year but it it was one of the happiest years of my life and I managed to build up some funds for university. What lovely memories I have of spending all day surrounded by books.  :D

Anyway, well done to the lad for getting an interview! I'm sure he appreciates you giving him a helping hand. There's plenty of time yet for the world of WURK.

Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #26 on: 07 July, 2016, 10:25:57 pm »
I got 25p an hour working on a building site in December.
Brave of you to take that on at your age!
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.


Jaded

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Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #27 on: 07 July, 2016, 10:46:40 pm »
I got 25p an hour working on a building site in December.
Brave of you to take that on at your age!

 ;D
It is simpler than it looks.

TimC

  • Old blerk sometimes onabike.
Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #28 on: 08 July, 2016, 01:31:07 am »
Thanks for the comments all. Very useful.

I told the lad this morning:

"I don't care if you don't get a job as long as you try your best to get one. And if you try I'll buy you that ticket to go and see Harelquins at Twickenham for the London Double Header."

I thought that experience of trying at this age would, almost, be as actually working (as a poster above has already noted).

Off he went and asked around a few cafes in Kingston, having tweaked his CV (which had already taken 2 months to complete). Has an interview with the owner of one cafe on Sunday.

I bought him that ticket.

Made me smile, that. Good on you both. Sometimes we're very po-faced about this stuff, but that isn't how it worked for us. It was a bit of cheek, a bit of luck, a lot of rejections, and some crappy days when you thought you'd never have the money for whatever it was you wanted. And yet your Mum would have given anything to have you home all day, and your Dad would have quite happily swapped you having a job for having you do all the crap that he was 'supposed' to be doing in the house and garden! Ok, that's the selfish side - and we all want our kids to be able to get on in life - but I'd happily have mine home at any time now they've gone.

CrinklyLion

  • The one with devious, cake-pushing ways....
Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #29 on: 08 July, 2016, 08:00:10 am »
I got my first job (illegally) at 10, in a fruit shop earning 50p/hour to pack spuds and stuff into pre-weighed bags.  Walked out on point of principle in the face of management stupidity a year or two later :D 

Started a Sunday paper round the week I was legally able to, got myself a couple more paper rounds along the way (one of which I kept going until 18), picked up a job as a Saturday girl in the chippy at 14 and ended up averaging about 20 hours a week through the GCSE exam season (well, I was on study leave) and about 15 hours a week through sixth form and got given a long service engraved (alarm) clock when I 'retired' at 19, plus had assorted agricultural labouring jobs in season and worked a few summers for a contract cleaners mucking out student houses in the nearest uni town.  Plus plenty of baby sitting and stuff over the years.  I paid for all my own clothes, holidays and leisure stuff from about 14, and valued the independence it gave me - plus I was able to apply for gap year jobs and give references from people I'd worked for for several years, so I rapidly got the pick of the temp contracts at the supply agency.

I have to say though that I reckon the work ethic came before the jobs for me.  I didn't learn the value of money because of working - I worked because I already understood it.  Cash handling is really good for your mental maths though.

The EldestCub has muttered occasionally, prompted by his dad, about getting a job.  I'm leaving it up to him, although if he asks for help with applying for anything obviously I will, because if the decision to try to get a job doesn't come from him then I reckon it wouldn't fly.

Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #30 on: 08 July, 2016, 09:43:46 am »
I started at 14 with a morning paper round (shared with my sister and assisted at the weekends by my mum in a car*). By 16 we had a round each and then when she stopped, due to working hard in a dress makers, I had both and I kept it up till I went to a pre uni summer job. At £30 per week per round (shared), they paid for my driving lessons, music etc. and I went to uni with savings. They also ensured I got good exercise cycling ~5 miles a day and the route ended with my own street.

I didn't work during term time at Uni but did two summers temping in an artist paint manufacturers. Packing tubes of oil/acrylic/or watercolour paints into retail sets. It was mindless drudgery but provided good motivation to complete my degree and get a graduate job.










* The round was ~30% Mail, 40% Telegraph and 25% Times so the saturday and sunday papers would have taken four or five trips to the shop.

Kim

  • Timelord
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Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #31 on: 08 July, 2016, 11:19:58 am »
Other than the paid gigs that I did lighting/sound tech for in the sixth form, I never had a paid job as a teenager.  Unless you count the IT support I did for various people (usually for tokenistic reimbursement); the data entry type stuff I did in my Dad's lab on a couple of occasions mainly out of boredom (hanging around the lab was interesting enough); or the endless data wrangling and slide layout I'd end up doing whenever he was presenting at conferences because it was less painful than watching him fight the software.

You see, the problem was that growing up you're surrounded by people telling you to be sensible with money, and I was stupid and listened.  I wasn't exactly rolling in cash, but since I had neither friends or a CD/substance habit, being sufficiently frugal with the inevitable annual gifts was enough to keep me in geek toys and books.  I saw my brother get shitty cleaning and bar work jobs in order to pay for his frittering and underage smoking, and come home stinking of sweat and fags.  Why get an exhausting menial job in order to pay for crap I didn't really need?  So I didn't.

What nobody tells you is that you need experience of some shitty job as a teenager in order to bootstrap your slightly-less-shitty-job career path, until such a time as you're either a a shiny recent graduate in something employers care about, have accidentally developed enough of a reputation for competence that people start paying you to do things, or that you can rely on nepotism to get you a real job.


So yes.  I'd say it's worth doing the odd crappy summer job here and there, but nobody's going to really care about how long you did it for, so don't turn down opportunities for real experiences in favour of them.  It'll work out (or all go to shit) in the end regardless.

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #32 on: 08 July, 2016, 12:00:18 pm »
... What nobody tells you is that you need experience of some shitty job as a teenager in order to bootstrap your slightly-less-shitty-job career path, until such a time as you're either a shiny recent graduate in something employers care about, have accidentally developed enough of a reputation for competence that people start paying you to do things, or that you can rely on nepotism to get you a real job.

So yes.  I'd say it's worth doing the odd crappy summer job here and there, but nobody's going to really care about how long you did it for, so don't turn down opportunities for real experiences in favour of them.  It'll work out (or all go to shit) in the end regardless.

True is this ^^^

Experience is what matters as experiences should lead to a great attitude which matters even more if you are to progress to having a fulfilling adult life that is as stress free and as fun as possible.  Cos what really, really matters is having fun.  I doubt nobody takes their final breath having just thought "Flippin' heck, I wish I'd done more work and had less fun!"

Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #33 on: 08 July, 2016, 01:41:44 pm »


You see, the problem was that growing up you're surrounded by people telling you to be sensible with money, and I was stupid and listened.  I wasn't exactly rolling in cash, but since I had neither friends or a CD/substance habit, being sufficiently frugal with the inevitable annual gifts was enough to keep me in geek toys and books.  I saw my brother get shitty cleaning and bar work jobs in order to pay for his frittering and underage smoking, and come home stinking of sweat and fags.  Why get an exhausting menial job in order to pay for crap I didn't really need?  So I didn't.



That post made me laugh. And true. Thing is, my lad's a party animal and needs the gazoodlies and I can't - or rather won't - be an open wallet and sub him the amount he needs. Don't mind dropping him the odd tenner but he'll be needing more than that. Trendy clothes, gigs, beer, gym membership, phone deals etc....

Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #34 on: 08 July, 2016, 01:53:03 pm »
Ah, his "requirements" were not mentioned in the original post.  Not all teenagers have these requirements, though probably most do!

Kim

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Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #35 on: 08 July, 2016, 01:53:28 pm »


You see, the problem was that growing up you're surrounded by people telling you to be sensible with money, and I was stupid and listened.  I wasn't exactly rolling in cash, but since I had neither friends or a CD/substance habit, being sufficiently frugal with the inevitable annual gifts was enough to keep me in geek toys and books.  I saw my brother get shitty cleaning and bar work jobs in order to pay for his frittering and underage smoking, and come home stinking of sweat and fags.  Why get an exhausting menial job in order to pay for crap I didn't really need?  So I didn't.

That post made me laugh. And true. Thing is, my lad's a party animal and needs the gazoodlies and I can't - or rather won't - be an open wallet and sub him the amount he needs. Don't mind dropping him the odd tenner but he'll be needing more than that. Trendy clothes, gigs, beer, gym membership, phone deals etc....

My brother definitely got the better deal out of parental subsidies.  It turns out that parents are much more likely to slip you the odd tenner (not to mention the even tenner) or pay off your phone bill if they know you haven't got the money yourself.

The other important life lesson is that you can save for a decade as a child and at the end of it you'll be able to afford ...a month's rent on your student digs.  Spend it on sweeties and plastic tat while that stuff still matters to you, I say.  It's a drop in the ocean to a grown-up, and not much more to a teenager.

CrinklyLion

  • The one with devious, cake-pushing ways....
Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #36 on: 08 July, 2016, 07:25:56 pm »
I managed to save over a grand, which paid for my first Proper Adventure to France...

barakta

  • Bastard lovechild of Yomiko Readman and Johnny 5
Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #37 on: 08 July, 2016, 07:53:05 pm »
I had the problem of teen-work being unsuitable for me as it all involved repetitive manual work, heavy lifting or being able to hear.  I was also rather unwell aged 15-17 due to what I suspect was sensory and physical overload from trying to manage school nevermind anything else.  I did apply for some supermarket type work when I was at 6th form but even with a friend handing my application in I never heard back. This is in the context of EVERY single other person I knew who applied (most of my school year) got a response and the majority got an interview. Disability discrimination was alive and well - I didn't even get the chance to discover supermarket work would probably have killed me. Then my mum got cancer so looking after her was a higher priority for someone like me who didn't need all that much money.

I did struggle when wanting proper jobs later as I didn't have the teen job experience employers wanted. I don't think there's much I could have changed as most teen jobs were unsuitable and voluntary work (which I did have) simply didn't count for anything.  The employment gap between disabled and non-disabled people is smaller the more academically credentialled the disabled person becomes; this was largely why I went to uni as I knew that was my best chance of employment at all.

Wowbagger

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Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #38 on: 08 July, 2016, 11:07:31 pm »
I forgot to mention that my younger son occasionally got paid not insignificant but irregular sums by playing gigs.
Quote from: Dez
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Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #39 on: 16 July, 2016, 07:26:25 pm »
OK. Since I posted this, he finally went down and met the owner today. He has a three hour trial (unpaid) next week, time and day tbc. Pay is min wage, but that's ok. And it's a nice location - down on the Thames, about 500 metres outside the centre of town, so customer base is very twee.

He gets two shifts a week, that's about £50 cash net. Not bad for a teen to spend only on himself.

Taking a while but getting there.

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #40 on: 18 July, 2016, 02:26:50 pm »
*sigh* :(
Getting there...

Pancho

  • لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ
Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #41 on: 18 July, 2016, 02:32:16 pm »
*sigh* :(

? Is he/she not displaying massive enthusiasm to join the workforce? I wouldn't stress too much. Despite me being a believer in work from an early age, the evidence before my eyes (sample size = 2) is that it doesn't actually seem to make much difference. Cometh the hour, cometh the man.

Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #42 on: 22 July, 2016, 07:32:14 pm »
Well, he has £20 quid a week pocket money anyway. Plus his school stuff, rugby stuff, gym stuff, essential clothes stuff, mob phone stuff, uber... And it's not enough as he also wants extras for take-aways when coming back from parties etc. I'm actually concerned about him getting a sense entitlement. So him doing a couple of shifts for £7 odd quid an hour is to add quality to his already very nice quality of life.

It's not as if he's a boy in Bombay with no shoes. And it's a nice cafe on a nice part of the Thames. The owner has already offered him occasional work if he wants it when at 6th Form. She gave him a trial on Weds and offered him the role. She then also paid him for the unpaid trial.

And, yes, he does need to work for that extra money he needs as I'm not subbing him the extra £50 per week. He doesn't have to work if he doesn't need it.




Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #43 on: 23 July, 2016, 05:00:40 pm »
£20 a WEEK?  I'd say he's rolling in clover.

To put some proportion on it, my step daughter is about to go to uni. After fees and uni digs, she'll have £30 a month for food.
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Pancho

  • لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ
Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #44 on: 23 July, 2016, 05:21:36 pm »
Have to agree with MrC on this one. £20 a week?!

I've never given my children any pocket money. If they haven't earned anything but they want/need money for something specific, they have to ask. When they are away at (boarding) school they have money with them (and a tab with the school) but they always phone or email before they spend it.

They seem to have developed good habits with money as they are not very big spenders. The eldest, in her first full time job, seems to save every penny.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #45 on: 23 July, 2016, 05:26:47 pm »
£20 a WEEK?  I'd say he's rolling in clover.

To put some proportion on it, my step daughter is about to go to uni. After fees and uni digs, she'll have £30 a month for food.

What about books, stationery, clothes and entertainment(etc)?

Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #46 on: 23 July, 2016, 06:41:02 pm »
She doesn't lack for clothes. We'll help her replace clothes as needed.

That's the money that is available. The student loan etc doesn't cover the cost of accommodation plus uni fees. We'll be paying transportation costs to and from home. Her dad has agreed to give her £30 a month. 

She has had a 'gap' year and hasn't worked . . .
<i>Marmite slave</i>

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #47 on: 23 July, 2016, 07:18:52 pm »
In which case she will either work or accumulate debt.

I was a lucky student in the days when there were grants and our fees were paid. I wasn't a big spender but discovered multiple incidental expenses which needed a budget. I suppose we all do.

I qualified with a positive bank balance, which is more an indication of my age than financial wizardry.

Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #48 on: 25 July, 2016, 08:04:40 am »
Well, the lad had his first unpaid three-hour trial over the weekend. He's been offered a couple shifts. I did feel a bit sorry for him when he said he spent the time 'just washing up and selling ice-cream'.

I may encourage him to do a rugby-coaching course, so he can deliver paid-for courses during hols. This way he'll be working on what is a passion for him, and which will let him use his brains a bit more.

Re: Teenagers (not) working
« Reply #49 on: 25 July, 2016, 08:13:24 am »
£20 a WEEK?  I'd say he's rolling in clover.

To put some proportion on it, my step daughter is about to go to uni. After fees and uni digs, she'll have £30 a month for food.

Well, I kinda guesstimated the average over a year. Includes buying him tickets for gigs, money from grandparents on birthdays/Christmas, upgrading his phone.

He's now asking for driving lessons, which is fair enough. That's a cost we'll take on. And he also needs to start fundraising seriously for his trip to Malawai next year for some Duke Of E thing, which we're not paying for.