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 mean I do think it's good to have a job at that age, it can build confidence, independence and they can start learning workplace etiquette.

But also, GCSEs and A Levels are stressful and demanding, so I guess it depends on the character of the young person.

However I think it's a bit silly that this lady was so shocked, it's pretty common.

I do think it's important to have downtime too though, I think we all need that.

This!

My ds is this age. He doesn’t have a job but is looking.

some of his contemporaries do have jobs but most don’t yet.

I think it's probably more normal in some social groups than others. I don't think working as a Saturday girl in a shop as a teenager makes much difference to your future employability, getting (preferably relevant) work experience as a student counts for far more. I don't interview graduates anymore but it does make it easier for them to answer interview questions if they've done a summer job or a Year in Industry and so have some work based experience to draw from.

One of mine isn't allowed a job at the moment as she needs to focus on her studies (having not got the grades last time around) so she's making money selling stuff online, which is a happy medium, she gets money but it leaves a couple of days a week for extra tutoring/catch up work as well. Dog walking, babysitting, things like that are also good.

Shifts are ok if the employer is flexible but I do know one very overburdened teen who has to work as her other family don't work enough and that's not fair at all.

Totally normal and it is good for them.

Where I live now it's very normal; both mine did.
Where I used to live (SW London) it totally wasn't normal

Normal for my elder two (now in their 20s) and their year groups, DC3 and his peers are all looking forward to getting jobs next year when they’re old enough. Their high school actively encourages a small p/t job to help them develop confidence, experience of the work place, new skills and so on. DH and I had p/t jobs throughout school as did our peer groups, we loved in. Middle class and good incomes here (in response to some pp). I interview regularly and like to see young people who have had p/t jobs through school and Uni, it shows a willingness to work and they can talk about a range of skills and experiences gained in a workplace.

I worked from age 16- probably too much really, I worked 15 hours- Friday nights, 5 hours on Saturday and 6 hours on Sunday. I often took on extra hours too and worked a lot in the holidays. None of my friends worked. I don’t think it affected my studies but it affected my social life and ability to do extra curriculars, on the other hand it gave me valuable skills and confidence so was probably beneficial overall.

It's normal and very desirable. All of mine did it, and worked during our long summer break too (US). They all went off to university with work experience under their belts, someone to provide a reference for them, and a taste for their own spending money.

Having a PT job as a teen teaches you to manage your time - homework tends to take as long as you're able to give it. It's harder to get started on the spiral of procrastination if you're genuinely busy. It often teaches you to deal with difficult people too, an invaluable life lesson.

In my 6th form class, only two children had jobs. They got significantly lower grades than the rest of us.

I was expected to spend my free time studying, or socialising as a break, but mostly studying. Got straight As, like many of my (non-jobbing) classmates.

So I guess it depends on your aspirations for your children and whether you see them aiming for first class degrees at top universities or not. God this sounds snobby, it isn’t meant to, but to sum up: any child who has a job is by definition studying less than if they didn’t have a job, and that impacts on their future grades.

At that age I was working full time in an iron foundry.
Never did me any harm.

I have never had a part time job at secondary. What I did have is professional summer placements. I have never done a supermarket shift and it hasn’t held me back. (There are other reasons I don’t have a high flying career). It is key to actually get jobs before graduation and jobs in your targeted industry is better than a supermarket stint.

Obv this is anecdotal, but the kids in my school who got into the top universities and courses all had jobs. So did the kids who went straight from school to working in Dunnes.

My own DCs all got into excellent US universities despite PT jobs and sports/ theatre in school. In the US, students are required to show a wide range of activities outside of school and studying if they're applying to private universities (Ivy League and equivalent). The idea is that they are actively preparing themselves for real life, taking on challenges, and demonstrably able to manage their time and priorities.

Term time mine were at school 5 and a half Days a week, but holidays they worked. University breaks they worked. They wouldn't have had the extra money otherwise

I’m not sure it’s comparable

Tbf none of us had jobs back then (although I was boarding so probably harder)

But Ds does and still doing four A levels for engineering - so the maths based ones. What I’ve seen is that he works, exercises studies and gets a boost from a variety. It probably depends how much you work and what it does to your motivation generally

Also has had Eng work experience which I agree is helpful

SW London here and mine don't / didn't have jobs. Very pressured schools and that's enough. I'd rather they put their time into school without distractions.

There aren’t always suitable part time jobs available to be honest - most pubs/restaurants won’t hire 16 year olds, supermarkets generally want too many hours plus flexibility for overtime, and clothes shops don’t just want Saturday girls, they want people in the week too. So that’s why it is less common now than it was 20 -30 years ago.

But if your teen has found one that isn’t demanding too many hours, good for them. There’s nothing wrong with having a PT jobs as long as the hours are manageable.

Not so much snobbish as ill informed. If your child is motivated and organised then a combination of a small part time job, sports, socialising and school work helps make them well rounded individuals with a good range of life skills.

Can you sign him up to charm school for an hour a week , just in case he has inherited your lack of social skills?

No, but I can direct posters to reading sources so they learn how to assimilate and respond to written information.

And he’s already very charming thank you. More charming than a nameless adult on here who makes an idiotic swipe involving kids

Keeping an eye on this with my DS who has just started sixth form.

He has a lifeguarding job which was advertised as 12 hours over each weekend. They are so short staffed that they put him on permanent shifts of 8 hours on Sat and Sun and also phone him all the time and ask him to do extra week night shifts and training.

I've told him that if his grades drop he will have to insist on the original 6 hours and stop agreeing to overtime.

It's been amazing for him though as I've seen his confidence and maturity grow and grow since he started working there.

He has started refusing weeknight shifts since he started back at school so I think he's sensible enough to manage his time.

That would be fabulous. Thank you. In return can I direct you to courses which help people with anger management and self awareness?