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 don’t see that at all. My DD/her peers are all top grade students lots aiming for medicine and she certainly wouldn’t be spending all her free time studying nor is it healthy to do that. If they are needing to study for hours over the recommended then they probably aren’t high achieving students.

LOL. My last post re comprehension was about you, you utter plank.

So let me know about the self-awareness course, maybe we can go together 😆

You can't just use your very limited experience to extrapolate definite fact though. I could say the opposite - I worked more than most of my friends throughout sixth form, at least 15hrs a week, plus did an extra A level 2 evenings a week in a local college because my school didn't offer it, plus had several hours driving lessons and went out a lot, and got the highest grades in my year. In uni I again worked at least 15hrs a week. 2 of my housemates worked pretty much full time. The three of us got better grades than our other 2 housemates who didn't work at all.

Some teens might need extra time to focus on work but realistically most won't spend 6 hours a day doing homework. In my experience working part time just allows most teens to learn how to balance and prioritise their time effectively.

It’s more usual to work than not, I think. I teach in an independent - I would say 50% have jobs (those that don’t are frequently those that have serious sport/music/dance/drama commitments). In my previous state school, I would say over 90% had at least a Saturday job. My own 18 year old worked from 16.

I remember getting a job aged 16, when I started college. Just a part time shop job that I kept through college and early Uni days to get cash for nights out and clothes. It really helped me get to grips with working life/balancing commitments and of course an advantage in having an actual work reference when looking for my first career job at 21!

I had a Saturday job and a couple of evenings waitressing. I learnt time management (did not always get it right) and managing money.

Met all sorts of people, saw how a business works, and what was expected of me as an employee.

DS has a part time hospitality job. Started it when finished GCSEs and is continuing during college. He’s only in college 3 days a week and does between 4-8 hours depending on the restaurants shift decision. It’s great because learning the value of money.

vote here for jobs for 16/17 year olds. No reason why they can’t

DS works a 10 hour contract around college. HIs college doesnt allow more hours, or allow working both weekend days. It worries me that he has apirations to go to a uni that apparently doesnt allow them to work at all though - what do we do then? We cannot afford to support him!

Not unreasonable. I had a job at that age and is massively helped with being assertive and generally helping me to grow up. Not to mention the freedom that comes with having a bit of your own cash.

Don't think there is any conflict around exam prep and working. I personally found it nice to have a couple of hours to switch off from study!

Would suggest that you always give freedom to young people to choose the kind of job they want, and if your yp wants to switch to a different job after a bit that is fine. If anything it gives a bit more variety of experience.

If you mean Oxbridge they do allow jobs in the holidays and some types of job, e.g. college library shifts. There are also lots of different bursaries and things, book grants and others at different colleges

My sons both had church organist jobs at our local church from about 14. Much better paid than shop work, and usually only 2-3 hours a week.

DS2 is just off to uni and the church no longer has an organist. Anyone with a keen pianist child who fancies learning the organ on the job (Windsor area) feel free to PM me.

So did the outraged person think dc should be studying every spare minute of the day?

Both my kids worked at 16. The eldest was desperate to do so. Worked 16h and also volunteered. Managed 3 A grades. Youngest had to be encouraged after GCSEs but then loved it. Worked 16h + during COVID and that kept them safe. Got 2 Bs and 1 A.

Eldest continued to work at Uni doing a very demanding course. Youngest got his job back each time coming home during holiday.

Both learned to save and budget. Confidence soared, made good friends. Learned to organise themselves and spent less time on their phone watching rubbish or playing Xbox.

Winner in every way!

I have a 15 year old who works 5-10 hours a week and a 13 year old who works one evening after school. I couldn’t afford to give them the money they’ve come to expect for socialising, buying things they’d like if they weren’t earning themselves. It’s about prioritising and there is still plenty of time for them both to study. I worked from the age of 13 and did just fine in all my exams.

I work with 16-18 year olds every day. Totally normal for them to have a part time job; in fact, it's good for them. We recommend an a max of 10 hours a week so it doesn't encroach on their studies.

I started working at 14 (somewhat slightly illegally too but that’s by the by). Dd was expected to get a part time job at 16 (year 11, october born) and so will the DS’s when they reach 16. Important life skills can be learnt in little part time jobs at that age and it teaches them no job is beneath them.

My DD did 8 months at our friends butchery before applying, interviewing and getting a job at our local cinema where she has been now for just over a year.

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!

This is the key part to remember if they are wanting to continue their studies and education.

Sadly a lot of employees are happy to take in young people but don't want to acknowledge they can only really work a certain number of hours to give the teens time to study too. Why would they? Ultimately they're a business.

And some teens get very used to the money and take in more and more shifts. This then cuts into school/college time and study time. I've seen this become a real issue and as a result 2 of DD's friends never ended up continuing their education and just moved to working in their 'part time' job full time. They may return to education later, but for now they are working a jib with no real career prospects but enjoying having money that their university friends don't have.

I've also known a couple where it's worked out really well, and they've been able to continue without university due to having work places happy to shift their student employees between home and university locations.

Whilst dd didn't have a part time job (we could afford for her not too and gave her an allowance so long as she was doing useful voluntary work instead) many of her friends did. Whilst all the employees tried the 'just a couple of extra shifts this week only' type thing most of her friends could make it work for them in the end, but not all.

Just keep an eye on the balance and be prepared to have serious conversations about hours when it comes to revision and exam times.

DD worked part-time from the age of 16 until she finished her A levels and went to uni, when she also got a part-time job.....oh and a 1st class honours degree, so didn't impact her at all.

Agree. I worked part time, got straight As and went to Oxford. Most of my contemporaries at Oxford had also worked during 6th form

My daughter is 17 and has had a Saturday job for a couple of years. She's just got another job working in retail that will work alongside her other job.
She loves earning her own money and has great swaths of time between her college lessons so does most of her work then.

Can he take a gap year and earn and save. If it’s oxbridge terms are short so plenty of time to work.
I was showing my DD the cost of halls and how much she can borrow for maintenance (much less as we both work) to encourage some saving for Uni.

“any child who has a job is by definition studying less than if they didn’t have a job”- that doesn’t make sense. It’s not a given that teenagers without jobs spend the time they could have been working by studying. They could be socialising/ lazing about/ doing hobbies/ doing chores/ any number of things.

I worked 15ish hours a week and did equally well in my exams as my friends who didn’t work.

Plenty of teenagers could study day and night and still not get straight As. Not everyone is academic and that’s fine, there are lots more paths in life than a first at a top university. Also having a first at a top university doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily do well in the work place, you need life skills too.

Heh, yeah, I'd have just spent more time in my room listening to music if I hadn't had a job. If anything having something to do other than sixth form college helped me organise my time better because there was a bit less of it.

DD1 is good enough academically for Oxbridge but has no interest in them.

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.

@Ein, it doesn't depend so much on your aspirations for your children, but rather the extent to which you're confident in their ability to get top grades without spending every waking hour studying.

My dc has 2 jobs. She is predicted A*s in all her subjects regardless. I am confident that she has the skills to balance both and a very busy social life.

My dd15 is desperate to get a job but everywhere seems to only take age 16+. Would love to know where all the15 yr olds are working!