Is it worth kids doing a levels getting a part time job, or would you prefer your schedule to concentrate on their studies ?

[GingerKittenTail]

? The balance of a teen wanting to earn some money
but also having a lot to do work wise

what are your thoughts ?

There’s no one size fits all.

Depends on the teen in question. How are they getting on studying. How are they handling workload. What’s the plan for after a-levels (having some savings when starting Uni will help), do they feel they need more money than they get (if they get any) from parents.

Family finances also play a big part in it.

My dd was is the year that was meant to be doing GCSEs in 2020. Then started her a -levels in September 2020.

We decided as a family she didn’t need to get a job. That whole period impacted her mental health. She didn’t do well with online studying and she really struggled.

Her second year was much better. She gained confidence and did decide to get a part time job as soon as her exams were done earlier this year to save for Uni. She has started Uni. Her loan just covers accommodation so we are supporting her. She is doing law and it’s a heavy work load. She has also opted for mooting competitions. So we are financially supporting her, rather than her getting a job at this point.

I would always advise getting a PT job.

Definitely get a part time job. Our sixth form college strongly advises it as students gain a whole host of skills, attributes, understanding, experience that a levels can’t give them. 8-12 hours is recommended as the golden number to balance work life with study ( if the student is doing the recommended 5 hour personal study per subject).

Anecdotally our DC is in lower sixth and has been working pt since the summer. The growth has been phenomenal. Time planning, independence, social confidence, management of money.

I would strongly advise getting a job , looks good on their cv and having other skills is very handy .

Get a job, if possible. I say this as someone who didnt get a job because my mum forbade it. I was at a disadvantage because i hadnt been allowed to see what it was really going to be like once i started work. A little bit of eork helps your confidence, independence, helps you see what adult life can be.

Mine managed both. Studied in the evenings and worked all day on a Saturday.

Getting a part time job is essential to improve employment prospects. They learn SO much from them that will help them in the very competitive grad job market.

Absolutely no.

If financially I needed them to, then yes. But not until that point. I didn’t work throughout a levels and university - and it was great . We have decades of working so why not have a few years responsibility free focusing on studies and the fun things in life.

now a single parent. Senior professional. Fully in charge of finances! So did me bugger all harm

I say this as a teacher- my dd will not be getting a job during A levels next year. I have watched so many students struggle to keep up with both and it is often the studying that loses out- all for a low paid job. A levels are full time and, done right, there should be no time for anything else.

I agree with the statement no one size fits all. My dd has a job and it's been great for her in terms of confidence etc Her manager is great too and doesn't give her too many hours. Some of her friends though have been hired on 6 or 8 hour contracts and are then pressured to work ridiculous hours so you need to watch out for that. It's quite common..

my 17 yo dd3 has a job. She's saving up for inter-railing and is motivated to do it herself. (I suspect she's not saving very much at the moment).

My eldest dd did the same. (the middle one was doing a levels during covid and didn't do anything)

DD1 got stellar A Level grades so it didn't stop her, but she is very motivated (possibly too motivated).

I don't have the money to give them or buy them everything they want so that might be part of the motivation for them.

I worked during my A Levels and also did very well - in my family it's just part of the expectation that you work when you can.

My daughter is doing 4 a levels and has a Saturday job. She does more hours in the school holidays too.

I think work experience is very important for them.

I always advised my teens to get a job as it gave them something to talk about in an interview for 'proper' graduate jobs later.

All the questions within job applications and interviews are now - 'describe a situation when .... ' and a wider life experience makes for better responses.

However - both did take time off (they were on zero hour contracts) when close to exams so there was a balance of study vs work.

Both our DDs had jobs from 13. Just a few hours on a Saturday and slightly seasonal. Both did well at a levels and both at Russel group universities.

financially they’ve never needed jobs it’s more about life skills and also understanding the value of money. - we also made them pay 50% of any big school trip wanted to go on.

both have jobs at uni neither need them but both like having the extra money.

and as paid never found that they where earning 8-9 an hour from 13-14.

at uni one is on £15 an hour coaching rugby tots the over £11 at a small retailer.

for us it’s far more about life skills and valuing money. Like phones they’ve always wanted and had iPhones but they’ve always bought their own. And we pay the contract.

surprising how much more you value things if you’ve worked for them.

but we are also reckless parents as often took them out of school for holidays due to our jobs once left teaching. Even in their GCSEs and a levels. Life’s to fucking short to worry too much.

Should add one’s doing civil engineering so full on course. With a year in Malaysia coming up. And the other ones doing a much less intense degree around film and Digital marketing.

alos pretty much everyone at both their sixth forms had a job - live in a tourism area so plenty of seasonal and weekend work.

Mine only work holidays both at school and university

This.

DD was at 6th Form during Covid lockdowns and didn't get a job. Nor did any of her friends.

She is now at Uni where they tell them not to get a job during term time and she has field visits in the vacs. So she still hasn't had a job.

So far she has great grades, top Uni, but no work experience at all so I think she will struggle to get a job later.

I worked at Sainsburys in 6th form along with a lot of my friends. It meant that I could demonstrate lots of skills when I applied for graduate jobs.

It is good to get into the habit of working early on I think

They need a job. It doesn't have to be much, but it will be so much easier to get one at uni if they've done a job before. Even if it's just temping over Christmas.

I would strongly recommend something kitchen/waiter based as they'll be able to get a job at uni so much easier

I think they should work. It is good for self-confidence and it is not healthy to overwork on studies. The ones at uni who struggle are often those who do nothing else.

The important thing in all life is balance. When mine found it hard to get a job they did some fun volunteer work, this was great for them. Then they got a job based on that experience.

Definitely encourage them to have a job even just a few hours a week.
It teaches responsibility, respect for others, work ethic, time keeping etc.
DS started his job at 16. He’s at university now and in the summer did some course related unpaid work experience which involved getting up at 6am every day. The feedback was how impressed they were with his work ethic. They’d had a good few that just leant on a wall for 2 weeks and sighed if anything was asked of them.
His original workplace has agreed to offer him hours whenever he’s back home.

Ours were never permitted to do much part-tiime work. It's clearly working significant times reduces achievement and that came first for us. Schools also disallowed or strongly discouraged it.

I'd rather they set themselves up for high earning potential through sound academic achievement and study ethic. Better no.work at 16 and 50k at 24 than a gew pounds in your pocket at 16 and a life on 26k.
Ours did appropriate work or work experience/volunteering aimed at boosting CVs, but only earned during holidays. We would not have let them focus on their shifts in Waitrose over high grades. A very few manage both, but too high risk for us.

Our expectations were 4 As at A level (or equivalent) with a strong CV as a minimum. .I know adminissions only need 3 levels, but its a competitive world out there.

Our strategy paid off and they see the results in their early 20s.

I disagree.Working a few hours on a Saturday does not destroy adult working potential!
Both mine had Saturday jobs- more in the summer holidays, and both did extremely well at school and are now at university on courses which give high earning potential for the future.
Having jobs gave them really important life skills.

Mine did 12 hours a week at a supermarket from 16, and continued when they moved away to university. Always worked every school holiday too.
Both got good degrees, excellent jobs and own their own homes in their mid 20s.

Both of ours had jobs from the age of 13/14.
Looks good on the CV, good discussion point for Uni entrance etc. but more importantly gets them used to managing their own money, dealing with people in an adult world and organising their time. Both had enough saved to pay for their first year living costs at uni.