To think it's normal for 16/17 year olds to have part time jobs alongside their studies

[sheepdogdelight]

DD (16) has recently started a part time job - she's working 6 hours a week, around her A Levels. Older DD also worked part time when he was 16/17, stopping at the end of March in Year 13 so that he could focus on his exams.

Virtually all their peers also have/had jobs at some point or another at age 16/17 - weekend socialising was often a logistical exercise to find the best time around who was working when.

IMO it's good for them to have a job at this age - it helps them become more self confident, builds independence, allows them to gain some valuable "soft" skills. Plus of course they like the money :)

However, was talking to someone about this who looked horrified that they should be taking time away form studying to work and that her own 17 year old would certainly not be working. She also suggested it was not the norm amongst her DC's peer group.

For the record, we have had the conversation about studies must come first and if the job ever impacts on studying, they need to reconsider. However my DC (and their peers) all seem to be able to juggle perfectly well!

AIBU to think it's normal and desirable for 16/17 year olds who are studying to have jobs around their study? (I'm assuming here that there is suitable part time work available, of course - but at the moment retail/hospitality seem to have loads of vacancies).

I think having a job at that age is normal but also not having one is normal too.

I don't think I have ever known a teen who didn't study enough because they had a job, usually other factors were at play.

I had a part time job and did babysitting as well, had hobbies, went to a great university

In an ideal world DD would have had a part time job. Unfortunately she has CFS and staying awake long enough to study was as much as she could manage.

I had a paper round from 14 and a Saturday job from 15.

A significant number of my weekend employees are in education between 16-20.
I only let them do one day a weekend and take on extra staff over exam periods to make sure they spend time revising if needed.
It is very normal and imo a necessary transition into adulthood.

I worked and so did all my friends mainly at supermarkets. I used to work somewhere where we had a lot of weekend staff and they were all students from age 16 up. Quite often they were with us until they went to uni. I don't think we had any that didn't go on to uni so it definitely doesn't hinder their education. I think it helps them to slowly become more financially independent and also to interact with people in a work environment. I also noticed that all of them came from families who worked.

Young people are losing life skills by not doing it imo. Both dc are under 18 and have already successfully applied for and got jobs, managed shifts/swaps, sick leave, negotiating time off, interpreting a pay slip, checking tax, dealing with difficult customers and other staff, worked long shifts, learnt new duties, budgeting with a real sense of the value of the money. Imagine how daunting it would be to apply for your first ever job after uni at 21!

It depends whether the child can manage it all.

My teens were extremely disrupted during the pandemic; they won't get high enough grades to go to uni if they don't study hard now. Its a totally different landscape than pre covid times.

I don't know any teenagers who are 'managing perfectly fine' tbh. Mental health is at an all time low. Adding part time work to your life can be positive, it can be negative. OP you sound a bit sneery towards your friend. Probably best to avoid discussing it with them again. There's no such thing as 'normal' anyway!!

It used to be normal for 6th formers to work part time but now no-one seems to want to take on 16 or 17 year olds. My DGD has applied for lots of jobs and no-one wants under 18s. I've seen teens asking on local Facebook pages if there's any jobs available but the only place that seems to take them on is leisure centres as lifeguards if they have the relevant qualifications.
Maybe it's different in other parts of the country.

I agree @CrapBucket. Most posters on here seem to have healthy and bright DC, and maybe it hasn't occurred to them that not everyone is the same.

The plan was that DD would have a PT job in year 12 but she’s a day girl at a boarding school and doesn’t finish until 5.30 and is absolutely exhausted at the weekend so I’m not going to encourage it. I will however, expect her to work next summer and the summer after her A levels. Her older brother did his A levels elsewhere and had a lot more free time and worked 5 hours on a Saturday for the whole of 6th form

Mine did 4 A levels and played a sport at national/international level, but still had a job - a zero hours contract, so he could flex it around everything else. Work experience is vital, and a stepping stone to independence.

@Babdoc was that the days before you needed a working visa and accommodation booked in advance?

It was normal to have jobs in my DD's peer group. If it's a clothes shop, the discounts were worth it, as well. The Tesco/Macdonald's etc four hour shifts in the evening are ideal for students.

DS1 did, proved very useful to continue when home from uni in the holidays, and DS2 now 17 does too.
The massive benefits to self esteem, confidence, independence etc, far outweigh any risks to his education. Although he only does two shifts a week term time and turns down any more.

I think it's important to have a sense of responsibility, and their own money.

Realistically, if your DD wasn't work, would she be studying? I know I wouldn't have - I'd have spent the 'extra' time messing about on MSN and things like that.

I'm on the fence. Small part time job fine if they have capacity, one of mine had long commute so I didn't want her to work. One of her friends works two 8 hours days on weekend and f/t at college and she failed to get the required A levels grades to pass the first year, she's exhausted all the time. I don't think that's ideal, she has to earn as not enough money in family so they partly depend on income. Very sad. So I think it depends on circumstance.

Totally normal and I’ll be encouraging the same. It’s the best way to learn lots of new skills and responsibilities, get ready for adulthood and learn how to manage your own money. When I was sixteen I was working 20 hours a week in a supermarket doing evenings and weekends!

Most of my friends and I had some kind of job in VI Form. The usual, fast food jobs, waiting tables, supermarket, shop work. One guy worked in the library I think.

I’ll go out on a limb and say I don’t really think these jobs teach you that much about the world of work unless that kind of job is what you’re likely to do post-school. It’s nice for them to have a bit of their own money but it’s not a crucial part of a CV.

I would encourage a child to have one but only if it fit around their studies and extra curricular commitments.

Yes I started a part time job the same month I started uni and continued working all the way through my degree.

Normal. Hospitality are crying out for workers at the moment in our area, so quite easy to get part-time jobs over the weekends/evenings

I started newspaper round when I was a lot younger than 16 , when I turned 14 I got a job at the local coffee shop. Once I was 16 I worked in coffee shop at weekend & fish and chip shop in the evenings to afford to go to sixth form. I do think I worked a little too much in 6th form & didn’t have a healthy balance,

My own daughter worked after she finished GCSE, and then once in sixth form around 8-10 hours a week. The school is in a very mixed area and I would say most of the 6th formers work.

DC1 and all their friends had jobs in sixth form. They have loads of time and aren't going to be studying through all of it. They were at a a super selective grammar if that is relevant. MyDCs2&3 were at schools that involved Saturday school, sort and long days so unluckily for them didn't have that opportunity.

I was working in a hotel and a cafe at 14 (not at the same time) and then in a shoe shop at 15. I did a couple of hours on a night time after school and longer on a weekend or holidays. My job in the shoe shop started on just weekends and school holidays then once I'd left school I worked more and more. My school friends were the same with varying jobs between hotels, cafes or burger bars on the seafront.

All kids and family set ups are different. I worked part time in various jobs whilst still at school doing GCSE's, A levels and my degree, I enjoyed the independece earning extra money gave me and the transition in to a full time career was less daunting. I encouragned my teenager at the end of their first year of A levels to get a part time job this summer which they've worked in from June until now, they've given it up of their own choice due to poor pay and shifts, but just secured themselves a new job, which may suit them better, we'll see. I've seen their cofnidence grow in learning new skills and taking on responsibilities. The prevoious summer having fininsehd thier GCSEs after all the issues of lockdown their mental health was shot to peices and wasn't ready to get work, though too much free time for kids and adults alike in my opinion can make mental health poorer. Like all things in life its about striking a balance. In my opinion it teaches kids life skills including that you have to work hard to earn money, dealing with people from all walks of life, handling difficult situations with customers, co-workersa nd managers, gains confidence etc. Also most kids need to do some work to help funding through university so having some work experiece puts them ahead of the game. There is more to being a well rounded indvidual and succeeding in life than top exam grades.

My 16 year old granddaughter works 3 four hour shifts per week at Primark, they are very good at giving her shifts around her 6th form attendance. She takes home over £400 per month, has more disposable income than me!

Yes it’s normal for DD and peers - nice area/grammar sixth form. Most seem to do something for cash - some are working in an after school club, a musical one plays in a cafe plus usual fast food and waitressing.
Mine is yr 12 age 16 and earns £8.25 an hr at McDonald’s at end of our street. She does 2 shifts a week max. They have a nice shift manager who looks after the ‘babies’ (under 18s) and works around their timetable and hobbies. It’s done her good she’s dealing with public - does till or drive thru. She’s navigating online system, dealing with manager and has met some kids from different schools. Will give her examples for interviews eg how did you deal with difficult situation. She does her dance hobby, a volunteer role and goes to gym too.
I’m very encouraging if it. Obviously if it’s impacting work she’ll cut down but she’s academic and enjoys school - they have to stay in for study periods. She finishes school at 11.15am on a weds. She worked 5-10pm with a break this weds and is working a few hours Saturday evening. It’s hardly sending her down a coal mine.

DS has just got his first job at 16, washing up 1 or 2 evenings a week for 3 to 4 hours. He doesn't do any sport or clubs and is doing 3 a levels so plenty of time to fit it in. Can't afford much pocket money so he needs to work if he wants computer parts or a fancier phone. I'll still buy clothes and shoes and pay his phone bill.

DS2 is 15 and started washing cars with his friend, just sporadically but it gets him some cash and we live in a friendly village so it works well here.