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 ?

I think a PT job is a great idea. DS got one, worked through the summer after GCSEs then continued doing fewer hours during his A levels.
The money was nice as he could buy himself what he wanted and he enjoyed the social aspect too.

I don’t really understand the ‘shelf stacking’ comment , I don’t know any jobs that are just that unless maybe a night shift where you have to be over 18 and clearly not a good idea for anyone going to school…

Unfortunately, not every teenager doing A Levels has the choice.

We live in a deprived area, whilst I have a good job, I'm on my own and money doesn't go very far when you have a 17 year old 😂

If DS wants his fancy clothes, tickets for festivals, activities with his mates, driving lessons etc ... then he has to earn his own money to pay for that. All of his friends are in the same boat, they all have part time jobs.

He does 13 hours a week, gets about £475/month. Saves £200 and blows the rest 🤦🏻‍♀️

I had a part time job - I stacked shelves 😲. I was on close to six figures by 30. It won’t hurt many teenagers to get a Saturday job and by the time they are graduates they will likely be considerably less annoying to their employers.

BTW I think volunteering at a stables all day on a Saturday is much the same

I have taught many a level students over the last 16 years. 4-6 hours a week in one slot, maybe a Saturday morning or afternoon evening is not a problem. It does get to be a problem when it's multiple nights/shifts.

Mine are now 19, 17 and 15
Both the older ones have had part time jobs since age 16.

I have found them to be very good for them. Really good at teaching them independance, how to manage money, gives them a sense of achievement when they earn and pay for things themselves.

My 3 are all at grammar schools, and have high expectations from school academically. The older 2 have both managed to keep up their school work and balance the part time job.
Ds got 3 As in his A levels and dd1 is predicted the same. So I don't think the job has really made any difference.
We are also a low income family and they have loved having money to spend and to socialise with. dd1 is off to visit a friend this weekend who went ot uni, and she has paid for the bus/train fare herself.
I have seen them really grow up between 16 and 18 in a way which I think not all their peers have, and I think working has been part of that.

BUT my youngest has really struggled with mental health all through lockdown. We need to think hard about what we do at the weekends and not over do it, keep her well paced. I often turn down things on Sunday if we have had a busy Saturday.
She is now year 10, aged 15, and a lot may change over the next 2 years, but I am not sure that she will be able to do part time job and school when she gets to sixth form. Ideally she would find something for a couple of weeks during the holidays, but we will see.

Impossible to say. Depends on child, and workload. Ds1 had had a job for years, none of his Uni mates now do and they were genuinely shocked!

My DC had part time jobs when they were in sixth form. One worked in the local coop and the other worked after school as a part time cleaner three evenings (2 hours) a week for four terms.
They didn’t really work when they were at uni but one did set up a part time business.
They are now in really good graduate jobs aged 22 and 24 (one did a Masters). They both started saving when they got their six form jobs. My younger son still runs his small business as well as doing his job and has savings of over 25k.
Their cousins who all went to university didn’t have part time jobs and there is a wide variation in what they are now earning and there career progression. So I haven’t seen a correlation between getting a small part time job and earning potential.

I also agree with no one size fits all. Very bright students will probably take studying and working in their stride. Students who need to spend more time understanding concepts need to prioritise studying.

DD has health issues that meant that her studies and health would have suffered had she had a PT job.

She had a gap year and worked and volunteered, and walked into a job after graduating this year. Her degree and work experience made her an attractive proposition for her employer.

this is somethign I have heard quite often.

Given two equal graduate candidates for a job, they will prefer the one who has some kind of work experience. Doesn't matter where, the fatc that you have worked at all is considered a bonus.

Also, dd is on her third job. With first 2 they overstepped the mark - one kept giving them midweek evening shifts, even though they were on sat/sun contracts. The next job never gave them their breaks.
She has learned about employee rights and how to stand up for herself and negotiate her way around the workplace. Not bad at 16. (and both jobs asked her to stay, as she is a good reliable worker)

There’s nothing to say that the students that don’t get jobs would all absolutely spend the time they would have been working actually studying.
DS worked on a Saturday morning and when he got home some of his mates were still in bed, or gaming or whatever.
It’s all about time management.

maybe a cultural thing but from about 16 if someone didn’t have some kind of job they’d be viewed similarly to an adult without one where I’m from (disabilities/circumstances aside of course). It’s not so much ‘normal’ as ‘completely expected’.

Doesnt seem to have affected anyones prospects as far as I can tell, plenty of high achievers / top uni results etc etc

I think for most a job would be useful for the money, the balance and the life skills.

When I went to university there was a whole load of 18 year olds who had led very sheltered lives from very nice backgrounds really would have benefitted from broadening their horizons and mixing with people from different backgrounds.

@Razzle5

The job market has changed MASSIVELY since we were young

@shortandpaleandoldandugly is a teacher:

"A levels are full time and, done right, there should be no time for anything else."

I disagree with that. Of course they should be doing other things: space for sports hobbies family's boyfriends, anything.

Ds1's school did tell parents at the year 13 meeting, no jobs, or to cut it down to minimum as revision period started. I felt guilty and asked ds1 to cut down his shifts. He insisted he was fine. And he was, never got stressed, (although we'd already agreed we'd review if it, if it became too much later) and he came out unscathed with top marks.

DD revised TOO Much. Literally gave herself mental illness. Some balance, work-life balance, would have been hugely more healthy
Thats what my DS was like, we found him working six hours a week was beneficial for him. He also commented many times that he would hate a lifetime of doing a similar job.

@Grumpyoldpersonwithcats interesting - what sort of thing are you thinking of?

My daughter has a zero hours contract job - which means she can put forward her hours for the month & just work what she can manage. During exams and the run up reduces them & over half terms increases.

She found it lonely over covid and did get a temp job in supermarket but gave that up as once she went back to sixth form in person she found it did mean she couldn’t get a balance with the hours.
She is in uni now but has kept her job (she doesn’t live at home but it’s close enough to commute home for it ) and puts her hours in around uni life. And again has a good balance.

It definitely has grounded her, paid towards driving lessons, insurances etc

DS has a PT job in hospitality. He works evenings at the weekend so can do college work during the day

I worked 11 hours a week in sixth form and will be encouraging my kids to do the same. Most of my friends did as well, at the same place so was a lot of fun. I learned more from that part time job than I did in all of my A Levels combined. It taught me time management, responsibility in an adult world (time keeping etc) money management, work ethic, dealing with people. School is such a bubble. It was a really important part of growing up. If I'm really honest it probably did impact my studies, but overall I learned more. Still got the grades I needed to get to the uni I wanted, but more importantly was much more prepared for the workplace when that time came.

Definitely get a job!!
Everyone I went to school with got jobs at 16 and it was the norm.
In my job we have lots of students, 3 or 4 at a time and they change every 2-3 months.
They're required to work 32 hours on placement and 1 day at uni.
The ones who have had part time jobs you can tell a mile off.
A lot of students this is their 'first job' even though it's a placement and they have trouble adjusting, thinking they can go home early etc. it's getting really frustrating.
Not to think that in the next 1-3 years they're going to be expected to work mostly full time in these roles with a lot of responsibility.

For those wanting to do an apprenticeship, they really should have some paid work experience

I think a lot of posts on this thread lack balance.

A part time job doesn’t have to be something that prevents study. As an earlier poster said, 1 slot of paid work per week isn’t a problem. Kids don’t study 24/7 and rightly so. There is time in the week to study hard, do extra curricular a and do a fewhours of paid work.

Often the kids who does best academically also do lots outside of study. They play team sports, are prefects, are involved in extra curricular, DofE and have a small job. They become time and study efficient.

It’s narrow to think there’s only time for study or that paid work is purely about getting some cash for those from less advantaged backgrounds, or that the ‘menial’ jobs have no relation or bearing on the higher powered careers some kids want later. Some parents seem to think that paid work for teens ‘isn’t for families like us’.

It absolutely doesn’t have to be borne of the need for cash. People forget the benefits of mixing in a world of adults, of those from different backgrounds, of learning that you are committed to turn up when you don’t feel like it, of sometimes having to do things you don’t like or enjoy and quite simply the confidence that comes from dealing with situations you’re not familiar with where a parent can’t and won’t be stepping in.

Not doing a job doesn’t mean of course that teens won’t get these skills and experiences later or won’t succeed later in work. That’s clearly not the case. But having a little job can mean that they’ve gained these benefits before going to uni and living away - big advantages, especially if you’ve lived a sheltered life.

What are the arguments against? Yes, if it’s going to involve 25 hours a week that’s too much and will interfere with study. But one shift of 4-7 hours really isn’t. If it’s going to prevent a much loved extra curricular activity that might be a good argument for not doing it, but if the time will essentially be spent looking at their phone (and most teens spend more than 4-7 hrs a week on this) then there really is time.

Some parents are a bit snobbish about teen jobs. They see them as notfor families like ours’ Ir might reflect a negative view of the kind of jobs that teens get or be something about wanting to 100% provide any money needed as parents. Sometimes it’s about not wanting to help facilitate them doing the job - lifts might be required. I’m my mind, I needed to facilitate the first job, in the same way I needed to facilitate daily early reading or travel to sports matches or driving practice. To me, the simple job before uni was a vital part of growing up that I needed to provide some basic support with so my child was ‘world ready’ at 18.

So I’d say, stay open to the huge benefits which are far beyond the cash. There are the standard jobs in shops and cafes. Tgeee are also jobs as tutors in tutoring centres, in libraries, sports coaching, as lifeguards and all kinds of things. Don’t go for things which will want heaps of hours and also know it’s easy to leave these jobs.

For me it’s as vital a part of growing up as doing DofE, learning to drive and going away on residential activities without parents.

• Broadening Horizons
• Time Management with studies
• Timekeeping at work
• Introduction to Real World situations
• Dealing with difficult people
• Team Work
• Work Ethic development
• Sense of achievement
• Money Management
• Importance of showing initiative

As a parent, definitely saw the personal growth a PT job enabled for DC outside the school bubble and in preparation for more adult responsibilities.

As an employer, definitely makes a difference where candidates can demonstrate some experience and also massively helps in the actual workplace.

It also depends on how someone’s mind works, not just their academic ability.

DH is a Professor at a top University and is incredibly clever, brain size of a planet type. He is however not speedy. He did not work when he was studying. He jokes I’m like a tiny mammal with a super fast heart beat and dash about a lot. I’m like this in all things including the speed I can read. I have always attacked whatever I am doing. I did not have a choice as my family were hard up so I worked 20 hours a week when in sixth form and worked crazy hours when I was studying but I could do it. I just have a very quick brain, I’m in my fifties now and can still process information very quickly. It’s not quite at the superhuman levels it used to be but still faster than most people.

I used to work as a careers advisor in HE. The students who had no work experience because they chose to focus solely on academics were massively disadvantaged when it came to securing things like summer internships, placement years etc. Would always recommend either a Saturday job or holiday job during A-levels.