Do teens still get Saturday jobs?

[JC03745]

I see so many threads- my 22yr old is going for their 1st interview, my 18yr old has never worked etc. I'm mid 40's and from 14, myself and friends all had some sort of Saturday/after school job- supermarket or retail etc which I continued until I'd finished uni.
I don't have kids. Is getting a part-time job no longer done, or is it just on MN it seems so uncommon?

I worked from age 14 but it’s much harder for dc to get jobs before they’ve finished school at 16. Dd1 has finished her gcse and got her first job which will be weekends but extra days in the holiday. I think it’s really valuable to teach dc a good work ethic and for them to earn their own money.

on a thread a few days ago I was told dd wouldn’t have time to work during a levels - I think this is nonsense. I work ft have 3dc and am studying for a post grad diploma at a Russell group university. Not saying it’s easy but prioritising work over social life is important.

I do think it’s less common now.

I think it's harder for teens to get a job now. Having said that I live in a tourist hot-spot and all teens have a job from 14 as there's a real shortage of staff in hospitality.

Yes loads of kids do here. Mostly they start after GCSEs though. Mine has a zero hours contract rather than a regular weekly slot. She prefers this as she can work more in the holidays and less in term time.

All of mine have worked from 14 (now aged 18 - 32).

We live in a touristy area and there's plenty of work for teenagers. They all work.

You’ve been inhabiting a different realm of MN to me. I mostly see people insistent that not working part time whilst trying to juggle A levels and a degree will lead to society’s ruin. I hope mine don’t to be honest.

My son is 20. He got a paper round when he was 14 and a Saturday job in the local grocers when he was 16. He’s been working part time in Tescos during his gap year and while at uni.

Jobs are harder to come by until age 16 these days.

Round here it used to be a rite of passage for teenagers to work in the one big local tourist attraction. Now they have a few teens and a lot of older people who can’t afford to retire completely.

They say it’s just much less hassle and they don’t have to chop and change staff when folks go off to uni

Unfortunately it’s less common. And many parents are way too involved in their adult kids lives.

ds23 worked from 15 pot washing then onto bar work. Ds17 did pot washing and now does lifeguard and does a bit of green keeping at a golf course. They both took their cv round to different places to get their first job.

Supermarkets around here seem to hire retired people rather than school age. The chap that delivers my papers arrives in a car - until recently it was a boy on a bike.
I don't think the jobs are there for them.

It is harder now. A lot of these jobs are just done by regular adults now young and old. In retail with zero hours contracts they just schedule people in to do weekends I think.

I live near a university and most of the weekend or outside of school hours jobs are taken by students, who are generally more capable and can work more hours and until much later at night than younger teens.
My daughter does work and has since she was 16 but most of her coworkers are students and she suddenly gets far more hours when some of them leave for the summer rather than them hiring any more workers.

But as we are not a touristy area most of the hospitality jobs include bar work or working until late which students can do more easily.

My DD volunteered as part of DOE, she is still doing it two years on. This then lead to a local employer asking if she was interested in a Saturday job, she has been there a year now. She has just finished her GCSEs , she is going to work through the summer for two additional days in the week. She loves having her own money.

Yes. My kids have worked since 15. Paper rounds then weekend jobs.

My son is 16 and doing his A Levels, but has a weekend barista job where he also takes on extra shifts during the holidays, he also volunteers in a primary school once a week.

Mine both did ten years ago but neither could get one til they turned 16.

My 16 year old is DESPERATE for a job. She's applied to loads. But the jobs round here are taken by the adults. The competition is mental. A run down and deprived area of high poverty and crime. The local cafe (my friend runs it) had 60+ applications for 16hours a week waitressing. Of COURSE they chose an adult with experience over the untested needing to be trained 16 year olds. Like most things it's a postcode lottery.

My son really would like a little job (apparently I’m too controlling over what he spends money on) - and I would love this, but he is just coming up to 13. He’s waiting till he’s old enough and determined to work in Sainsburys (no clue why Sainsburys specifically) although there is a limit to the amount of hours young people can work so we’ll see what happens.

I have to admit, I’m impressed so far with his attitude to want to work though - even if it’s off the back of me saying “no! You can’t have that” 😉🤣

Yes.
My now 18 year old got a paper round at 14, then did a washing up job at 15, progressed to waitressing at 16 and has been at primark weekends the last year since she was 17.
My 20 year old got her first waitressing job at 16 and is still there whilst she's at uni

My eldest son had a Saturday job in a barbershop aged 15, then washed dishes in a restaurant and progressed up to waiter during sixth form and during university. My youngest son inherited his brother's job in the restaurant during his A levels and during his Summer break at university he now assembles flat pack furniture and delivers mattresses for student accommodation. We live in a university city so the end of the academic year is very busy and hundreds of student flats need furnishing for the next year. It's the hardest job he's ever done, utterly exhausting but he loves it and is making friends with a diverse groups of people.

I don't think the 'Thursday evening and Saturday' retail jobs that I grew up doing still exist, all retailers round us are looking for quite a big hours commitment and total flexibility. Trying to work that round school, sporting commitments and difficult public transport links makes it really hard to find something- mine would love a job and I'd love him to have one, but it's definitely much harder than it was in the 90s!

They do at places like bluewater. My daughter works at primark and my other did a year there too. One evening a week and a weekend day is standard

Almost impossible under 16 except for babysitting or dog walking around here. Even then, far harder than it used to be.

The pub at the end of the road had 27 applicants for one pot washer job at sub-18 minimum wage in April. The saturday jobs in supermarkets and shops my friends and I all had as teens are taken by older people, or parents needing a second wage when the other parent can look after the kids.

COL crisis means a lot of people are taking the jobs young people would have done in previous generations, and they are around for longer (no time off for exam revision or university) so it makes sense for employers.

DS worked on a zero hours contract, shifts were pretty erratic; DD worked Saturdays and Thursday evenings at a hairdressers.