Job idea for young teens

[Anonymous]

I've seen a few threads asking what jobs a young teen can do to earn a little pocket money.

AND, I've seen lots of threads asking where someone can get photos scanned to disk...

Just puttin' two and two together here!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've seen a few threads asking what jobs a young teen can do to earn a little pocket money.

AND, I've seen lots of threads asking where someone can get photos scanned to disk...

Just puttin' two and two together here!

[Anonymous]

Can I get someone to fix the time on my VCR? It's flashing 12:00.

[Anonymous]

What do you all think of my taking my 17 y/o nephew (who really wants a job and can't find one the conventional way) to BJs and buying some candy bars, snacks, etc and have him go around the neighborhood selling them?

No scam, no selling for charity spiel, etc. Just a young teen trying to make a couple dollars filling your sweet tooth. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you all think of my taking my 17 y/o nephew (who really wants a job and can't find one the conventional way) to BJs and buying some candy bars, snacks, etc and have him go around the neighborhood selling them?

No scam, no selling for charity spiel, etc. Just a young teen trying to make a couple dollars filling your sweet tooth. Thoughts?

No, 17 is too old. Need to be cute and little for that to work.

[Anonymous]

Everyone has suggestions where there is no manual labor involved. Forget about selling candy door to door. No one is going to open the door for a 17 year old.

How about cutting grass? There are tons of people who would pay a 17 year old instead of a lawn care company.

[Anonymous]

feeding pets, walking dogs, baby sitting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you all think of my taking my 17 y/o nephew (who really wants a job and can't find one the conventional way) to BJs and buying some candy bars, snacks, etc and have him go around the neighborhood selling them?

No scam, no selling for charity spiel, etc. Just a young teen trying to make a couple dollars filling your sweet tooth. Thoughts?

I don't think it's good. I never buy from those people, and wouldn't even open the door to him if he rang the bell. I don't know where that candy's been, what the money's going towards, and I always wonder why kids that age don't go get a retail job or a camp counselor job like I did when I was that age. Seriously, wtf? When I was 14 I was a camp counselor during the day, worked as a cashier at a supermarket after camp (4-7 on week days and 7am to 12pm on weekend mornings), plus I'd babysit nights. Why isn't he doing that? Tons of people, especially single moms of little boys, would hire a male babysitter especially one who's already been vetted to be a camp counselor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you all think of my taking my 17 y/o nephew (who really wants a job and can't find one the conventional way) to BJs and buying some candy bars, snacks, etc and have him go around the neighborhood selling them?

No scam, no selling for charity spiel, etc. Just a young teen trying to make a couple dollars filling your sweet tooth. Thoughts?

I don't think it's good. I never buy from those people, and wouldn't even open the door to him if he rang the bell. I don't know where that candy's been, what the money's going towards, and I always wonder why kids that age don't go get a retail job or a camp counselor job like I did when I was that age. Seriously, wtf? When I was 14 I was a camp counselor during the day, worked as a cashier at a supermarket after camp (4-7 on week days and 7am to 12pm on weekend mornings), plus I'd babysit nights. Why isn't he doing that? Tons of people, especially single moms of little boys, would hire a male babysitter especially one who's already been vetted to be a camp counselor.

Times have changed. Those fast-food/supermarket jobs are going to adults looking to feed their families. Inexperienced teens are last on the list.

And he has zero experience babysitting, so the likelihood that he would get hired (and do a good job) is slight.

But point taken on the candy thing. The only problem with mowing lawns is that you kind of need to know what you're doing. I would not want an inexperienced teen cutting my grass because they can actually do more harm than good. But it's an option that I can have him try as the weather starts to turn warm.

[Anonymous]

My 17 yo has worked 12 hours per week at a grocery store throughout this school year, and 30 hours this coming summer. DC will work there during college breaks next year as well. Not all jobs in grocery stores go to adults. They just go to people who will make a commitment and be reliable and trainable.

It is the favorite part of DC's week. DC has learned so much.

BTW, we are affluent. And DC could simply be given money by us, but I cannot emphasize enough how important real work has been to self-confidence, independence, skill development, work ethic. There are carry overs to other parts of life and school. DC now has things to put on a resume and has work references. The whole concept of getting direct deposit set up into an account and using a debit/ATM card to get money out has been useful too. The only money in that account is earned money, not gifted. There is a lot of quiet pride for DC with that.

There will be times in the future for DC to be self employed (selling candy...or anything else!) and/or professionally employed outside the home. But there is no replacement for a real job where you work on a team and have a supervisor etc. and that is what DC is learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 17 yo has worked 12 hours per week at a grocery store throughout this school year, and 30 hours this coming summer. DC will work there during college breaks next year as well. Not all jobs in grocery stores go to adults. They just go to people who will make a commitment and be reliable and trainable.

It is the favorite part of DC's week. DC has learned so much.

BTW, we are affluent. And DC could simply be given money by us, but I cannot emphasize enough how important real work has been to self-confidence, independence, skill development, work ethic. There are carry overs to other parts of life and school. DC now has things to put on a resume and has work references. The whole concept of getting direct deposit set up into an account and using a debit/ATM card to get money out has been useful too. The only money in that account is earned money, not gifted. There is a lot of quiet pride for DC with that.

There will be times in the future for DC to be self employed (selling candy...or anything else!) and/or professionally employed outside the home. But there is no replacement for a real job where you work on a team and have a supervisor etc. and that is what DC is learning.

Good for you, that's awesome that he has a job! Work ethic is a powerful thing.

Grocery stores, retail, restaurants sometimes hire. So do summer camps. Just have your high-school aged kids start looking soon, before all the college kids come home

[Anonymous]

MoCo Parks is starting to hire for seasonal positions, ice rinks, the trains, boat operations, etc. Plenty of things to do. I know a few people who have worked at the trains, splash park in Germantown and the ice rinks and such. Easy, laid back jobs. They hire tons of kids, but of course the returning folks get first dibs on jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 17 yo has worked 12 hours per week at a grocery store throughout this school year, and 30 hours this coming summer. DC will work there during college breaks next year as well. Not all jobs in grocery stores go to adults. They just go to people who will make a commitment and be reliable and trainable.

It is the favorite part of DC's week. DC has learned so much.

BTW, we are affluent. And DC could simply be given money by us, but I cannot emphasize enough how important real work has been to self-confidence, independence, skill development, work ethic. There are carry overs to other parts of life and school. DC now has things to put on a resume and has work references. The whole concept of getting direct deposit set up into an account and using a debit/ATM card to get money out has been useful too. The only money in that account is earned money, not gifted. There is a lot of quiet pride for DC with that.

There will be times in the future for DC to be self employed (selling candy...or anything else!) and/or professionally employed outside the home. But there is no replacement for a real job where you work on a team and have a supervisor etc. and that is what DC is learning.

How did he get the job? Did he apply online or in the store? Did a friend recommend him? Did you?

[Anonymous]

I own a small business, the sort which has positions that are frequently recommended for teen summer jobs. But I'm sorry, we never ever hire high school kids. There are just too many adults who have to provide for families who are desperate for these "no skill" jobs (even if they are educated) and do them well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I own a small business, the sort which has positions that are frequently recommended for teen summer jobs. But I'm sorry, we never ever hire high school kids. There are just too many adults who have to provide for families who are desperate for these "no skill" jobs (even if they are educated) and do them well.

Your assumption is alarming to me. I am a 37 yr old woman. Single, no kids. No family to support.
When I was 15 my dad lost his job and any money my sister or I earned went to the family as a whole, to pay things like the phone bill, groceries, gas, etc. When people asked what I did with all the money I earned, I always happily replied, "Shopping at the mall!" I would have died before admit we were scrambling to pay bills. My parents didn't tell anyone my dad had lost his job and we were living off unemployment. I didn't suddenly lose the Gap clothes I'd had and start wearing shabby clothes. We didn't sell my jewelry for money. Nobody could tell from the outside.

You have NO WAY of knowing whether kids are working because their parents are forcing them to in order to build character, to save up for an Xbox, or because their family needs the money.