Does your teenager have a job?

[Strugglingtodomybest]

My eldest is 14, which is the age I started working evenings and then the following year on Saturdays.

I always thought I'd want my own kids to get a job at the same age but now I'm unsure!

I'm unsure that there are even jobs out there anymore for 14 year olds and I'm unsure that I want him to work now anyway as school seems to be harder work than when I was there.

What are your experiences of teens working?

I completely agree @Bryjam I can't say I've ever heard of a case where an employer saw 'paper round's on a CV and instantly thought they had better hire this extremely determined individual. Mine have a great attitude to work but also know the value of their time.

I have two very different children. Eldest delivered leaflets at 14. Youngest wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing. He is 17 now and vain and wants lots of shiny new things but looks at me in horror when I suggest a job. Eldest has been doing an apprenticeship and saving hard, so clearly knows the value of money and I wish youngest would “get” it like he has.

Of course a work ethic can come later but demonstrating that you already have one when starting out in the world of work never does anyone any harm.

Indeed. But the starting point doesn't have to be at 13/14 years old. That was my point.

I don't think employers will expect a child to show any work experience (paper round) at the age of 13 but I do think that when they get post GCSE it looks better if the young person has managed to get some PT work.

Having said that, DS at 16-17 applied to a few places and didn't get anything, and his friends who found jobs seem to have been 'in the right place at the right time'

DS and his friends are now 17-18. DS is working full time on an apprenticeship and a couple of his friends who had PT work have now either given this up or reduced hours to concentrate on A levels.

A work ethic can also come from watching their peers and parents. Both my kids played on Xbox and bummed about until they had finished their gcse then they got jobs. They have grown up seeing me work and knowing I have to save for things if I want them. They watched me wait until my birthday to get something that I've had on my wish list for up to a year. They know the value of stuff. Having a job at 13 wouldn't of made any difference.

my dd who had had a paper round went off to uni, armed with cv, found a job, her flat mate was in awe of her,
hard to believe that a child would get to uni and be in awe of a part time job!

@Bryjam We live in a northern university city where there is never a shortage of young people who are willing to work for minimum wage. Local youngsters who get jobs at 16 in retail/hospitality/bars and restaurants put themselves ahead by demonstrating that they are capable of showing on time up to do a job, any job, week in week out, whether they feel like crawling back under the covers or not. A paper round is certainly better than not having anything at all under ‘Work Experience’ on a CV.

It may be different where you live and there are jobs for all, regardless of anything young people may or may not have done previously.

his friends who found jobs seem to have been 'in the right place at the right time'

of course but you have to put the leg work in

paper round is certainly better than not having anything at all under ‘Work Experience’ on a CV.

I never said anything about paper rounds and CV's? I was talking about 'work ethic' not job opportunity. They are not the same thing.

I wouldnt force my 13 year old to get a job but if they wanted to earn money for themselves I would support them in their search

A close friend of ds is almost 22 and has never worked a day in his life. He's finding it difficult getting a grad job; partly, if you ask me, as he hasn't had the experience of working before. His last act that made me laugh was to call his mum to ask her to upgrade him to business class on a flight home. (she did)

Ds1 started to apply for jobs when he was 14 but got nowhere. It was sole destroying. This year I got him a job where I work. Basically I jumped up and down and told them its stupid for us to be so short staffed. I told them to at least give him an interview. He got the job. It’s a shit job but he loves the pay and our work place love him. We’ve only just started the new school year ( Australia) so hasn’t impacted much yet on school. He will get 10 hours a fortnight till the Easter holidays, when he will get more but then we close for winter. He will be re offered hours in spring. He’s now 15 and saving for driving lessons.

@Bryjam Can you not see the connection - that having a paper round or any other job on a CV demonstrates a work ethic to a potential employer (rather than them taking a punt on a teen who may possibly develop one in the future)?

Can you not see the connection - that having a paper round or any other job on a CV demonstrates a work ethic to a potential employer

Of course I can. But my post was nothing to do with future employment. My point was that a work ethic can be developed later than 13. A work ethic is part of personal development and not having a paper round at 13 doesn't mean you won't have one.

Like I said previously, if you want a paper round that's fair enough, but people who have one are not any better than people who don't.

You should try a paper round, it is hard work, rain and shine.
Hats off to those who do this. imo

our paper rounds have been taken over by car drivers another nail in the coffin

I don’t believe anyone has suggested that doing a paper round makes anyone a “better person” - that would be ludicrous - but I do believe it makes them a more employable person when starting out.

Isn’t that (and having a bit of money in your pocket) the point?

Ds1 did a paper round from the age of 13 until last year. He is 19 and now works full time in catering.

Dd 17 has done a paper round since age 13 and for the last six months has been tutoring English (she did really well at GCSE and studies a level) to three students. She is balling as ds2 would say.

Ds2 15 does a Sunday paper round, ref's football in the winter when he's not playing and in the summer works at his work exp place, an outdoor games centre.

paper round you have to be 13, most jobs you have to be 14 (not 16 as some here say, you can't work many hours tho); the footy reffing he had to be 14 and can only ref for younger age groups, the outdoor centre ds only started last summer. They pay him £25 a time tho (for eg a whole Satuday, quite hard work too).

I always wonder how it is possible with the level of homework they get and the clubs and activities they attend. My DC is in year 8 and has 3 after school/evening clubs, 2 lunchtime and 2 before school activities. I’d much rather he did this and his homework than worked. Only the evening activity is charged so no issue there really.

Our niece is in the upper sixth and has worked 3 evenings a week from 6-10 in a supermarket since she was 16. I’m afraid I think this is wrong on a school night and her lower sixth exam grades were lower than expected. Working does teach them about the world but I would weigh this up with any other concerns.

@clary That’s shocking pay for refereeing. My DS was getting £15 for 9-a-side games and £20 for 11-a-side games and he was doing two or even three games on a Saturday morning back to back.

Think he needs to speak to the union!

Sorry for apostrophe in refs there!

Lots of mixed feelings for the paper round here! I think it's ok, it suits dd as she does activities at weekends (band etc) so most cafe type jobs wouldn't work. She gets £20 a week and all she has to do is get up a bit earlier and was round local roads for 45mins with her music on. it's about £4/hour which isn't bad for a young teen.

Ds1 is not academic and his Cv is hardly sparkling with great grades (Sen issues) so he was glad to be able to talk about how his p round showed he was reliable and punctual and able to follow instructions -which he is!

DS works front of house at a theatre where he started volunteering for his DoE when 15. He's now 17 and earns £11+ ph which I think is amazing. DD, 15, coaches sport weekends and has done so since she was 13. It, too, pays very well and she loves it.

I had loads of jobs, 14 onwards: cafe, babysitting, pub in the kitchen wrapping cutlery, takeaway etc.

Seems harder to get these days.

I don’t believe anyone has suggested that doing a paper round makes anyone a “better person” - that would be ludicrous but I do believe it makes them a more employable person when starting out.

I wasn't discussing 'starting out' I was discussing the Mumsnet 'work ethic' angle that gets trotted out every time there is a post like this. And yes, people who use 'work ethic' as the reason their 13yo has a paper round are indeed looking from the angle that their DC is 'better' because the poster who's DC doesn't have a paper round has no 'work ethic'

The post of my post was that you can develop a 'work ethic' post 13yo.

You keep mentioning employability, when that isn't what I was discussing, but let's look at it anyway.

Case 1: paper round at 13, paper shop job at 16.

Case 2: volunteering in relevant field at 16, air cadet sergeant at 17.

Case 3: nothing

Case 4: mixture of 1 & 2

As an employer looking at the CV's of the 4, pre summer, all going to college after the holidays, I would look at 4, then 2 then 1. That would be a starting point btw, not the decision making point.

Isn’t that (and having a bit of money in your pocket) the point?

Well work experience is important, and the money too, but it does not have to happen at 13/14 years old for it to be relevant. Kids are not disadvantaged by not doing papers

I didn't say how much he gets for reffing, the£25 is for a day at paintball in which he really enjoys anyway.

Reffing is £25 a game, so I guess if you did several games you could net £75 a day. It's seasonal tho (ha!) and also he prefers reffing older ages like u13/u14 so there tends only to be one match a day. It's not bad for 10am - noon tho, but he earns it! He's great at it even tho he's not tall - I sometimes hear other parents going blimey, is that the ref? (always players taller than him even tho they are younger) but he's great once he gets going. Good strong authoritative voice.