AIBU to encourage my daughter to get a part-time job while in sixth form?

[mumbunz24]

My daughter just started sixth form this September at a grammar school, and I’ve noticed that not many of her classmates seem to have part-time jobs.
I’m wondering if it’s a good idea to nudge her towards getting some work experience, or if that might interfere with her studies. I know balancing A-levels can be tough, but I also believe that part-time work can teach valuable skills and responsibility.
AIBU to think she should consider a part-time job, or should I let her focus solely on her studies?

I was told the same thing in the 90s.

The difficult bit is limiting your hours worked to up to 8 a week. If you are any good at your job the pressure to do more hours is pretty constant and it is hard for a 16 year old to resist pressure from an adult.

I worked in lower sixth but not upper sixth as I was doing 5 A levels, sitting on an Oxbridge offer and competing at quite high level at a sport. My parents felt that that was enough for one child.

This is a genuine question and not goady. Have the expectations/requirements around A levels become harder?

I took mine in 1999 and worked Saturday and Sunday throughout and at least one weeknight, plus full-time in every holiday. I think I benefitted from a sixth form where you were only required to be in your taught hours and not for set registration or anything (more like uni).

I found it less intense than GCSEs overall and got straight As.

The money I earned paid for uni as I was the first year of fees and didn't have family help.

I wasn't abnormal in my circle. I probably did a few more hours but anyone without a job would have stood out as unusual.

I left school at 15 and worked f/t and studied p/t and have 2 degrees but it was bloody hard work and I missed out on socialising at that age and you’ll never get those opportunities back as an adult.

Kids have years ahead of working for a living so I really don’t think there’s huge value in getting a part-time job as a teenager. It’s low paid drudge work that available mostly so you could consider a few hours to earn extra pocket money, but definitely not if it’s affecting their studies.

I want my children to enjoy their teenage years, not to be worrying about money and bills until they really have to.

I think the expectations around A levels have increased but I think so have employers expectations.

When I did my A levels there were lots of Saturday/Sunday jobs. Now there is more competition for these part time jobs and many want Sat/Sun plus a full day in the week as well. My daughter has been looking for Xmas vacancies and they want full time from Mid November to the end of the January sales.

Absolutely 100% yes. It will teach her work ethic, common sense, people skills etc. and allow her to inevitably make mistakes in an environment where it doesn't really matter that much if she messes up, as it won't be her long term career.

My friend runs a business and despairs at the number of young people who have great academic qualifications but are quite frankly useless when it comes to any sort of real life skills, turning up on time, common sense, decision making, using initiative, dealing with conflict etc.

I went to college and university and worked part time jobs throughout - while I needed the qualification to get onto the career ladder, I can hand on heart say those jobs have given me far more skills that have been applicable in my work life than the degree ever did

I don't think most people who worked when they were at uni have much idea of how that plays out these days. I worked from 14- no-one is giving 14 year olds jobs these days, in fact, they prefer 18 plus now as they don't have to do risk assessments. The competition for jobs not requiring qualifications is much higher, lots of applications, both mine have got jobs that way, but about 20 plus were required to get a job. No going down to the bulletin board or signs in shop windows any more to find out who will take someone one at a moment's notice. Finally, employers are fed up with part-time workers who can't commit to a good amount of hours a week, one of mine had a great job in the summer, but couldn't manage the 15 hours a week (so two days a week) required and there was no flexibility to drop the hours. It would have been ok for a uni student but not A level student.

The min wage for 16/17 year olds is £6.40. I told mine not to work for that, only to take things at over £10 an hour. Some employers are absolutely taking advantage of younger people who don't have the 'walk in and get a job' times I had when I was younger and working, we used to job hop if we didn't like it!

Voluntary work under 16 and 16-18 has also dried up due to safeguarding unless it's a specific scheme for young people.

Times have changed and I don't think looking back at what we did in the past necessarily helps.

Depends what she wants to do eg if medicine she would benefit from volunteering at a care home.

If she's in or near a big city then event work would be good. My cousin joined an agency at 17 and they did high end parties, events serving canapes, drinks etc. I guess if under 18 then she'd only deal with serving food?
Also marketing agencies, like where you give out free samples or do events promoting new products? Again she could join the books of a few of those.
It's often one off sporadic gigs but can lead to more work, but you can usually pick and choose which jobs you're available for.
Charity fundraising. Not much fun but if you get one that pays an hourly wage then not too bad?

Sometimes can get best of both worlds.

In sixth form I did lots of babysitting, often the children were in bed or going to bed when I got there, so I would study and earn some money at sane time. I also had school holiday jobs doing playschemes

My daughter did because she wanted to learn to drive. She was one of the first in her friend group to pass and have a car. She did have our rural location as a motivating factor though!

I think it is good for them to be earning their own money. I don't ask for any housekeeping money while they are in education so she keeps everything she earns for herself or to save.

If your daughter is very academic then I would not encourage her tot take a part time job in term time. Nothing wrong with holiday jobs at all, but if she wants to be academically focused then she needs to focus considerable effort on her studies. I understand that this might not always be possible, but if you can give her pocket money which means she does not need to work I would do so.

Absolutely encourage her to get a part time job. It's so good getting experience of the world of work before entering their career related job.

Depends if she wants to buy expensive stuff.
Babysitting is a great idea

Yes A levels have got massively harder. The step up from GSCEs is huge. Both mine (completed A levels in the last 5 years) had loads of self study times just get through the syllabus, as well as huge amounts of homework with frequent testing. No more AS levels, so everything resting with the final exams.

As others have said the job market has changed considerably too over the last 10 years or so, but particularly since COVID, and the CoL crisis.

The little part time jobs don't exist. Employers want at least 2 full shifts a week with one during the week, if the jobs exist at all. Zero hours contracts mean the hours are usually taken up by existing employees before a job is even advertised. To get a single job, both mine applied for probably over 50 jobs each - a time consuming exercise in itself. They rarely got any response to their applications - something that can be fairly brutal for a 16 yo.

Even the thousands of festive jobs that are supposed to be around at the moment don't exist in our area of south London.

My daughter has had a part time job since she was 14. At one point she worked two jobs (a few hours each mainly at weekends). She worked every summer, saved for her car, insurance and is now saving towards university. She also volunteers for a charity when time allows. She's doing really well at school (Year 13) and has just written a really great personal statement. She didn't have to work as we could have funded everything for her but she has a brill work ethic and I'm very proud of her. I think there are lots of practical life skills to be learnt from working at a young age.

@HowYouSpellingThat10 "This is a genuine question and not goady. Have the expectations/requirements around A levels become harder?"

Yes I think so. University offers have got so much harder. Courses that used to require BBB now need Astar AA (Medicine, Maths). It's not uncommon for other subjects like History and Psych to require AAA at a RG uni. Other unis are available, but there's a real pressure in these offers which just didn't exist in my day. I also think a lot of the learning methods these days are higher pressure. This will obviously depend on individual teachers, but my daughter has a lot of flipped learning, self assessment and endless revision by doing example questions all through the year. I'm sure these methods are evidence based and effective, but I believe they put a lot more pressure on the student than pitching up to lessons to be taught the material, then doing homework (that was marked!) to show you've understood it. My daughter's work never fits into the 4.5 hours per week it's supposed to take. Her teacher will casually chuck in a complete exam paper for them to do for practice, on top of going through all the material before each lesson and answering questions on it after the lesson, just in a normal week.

I think some assertions on this thread re jobs are a bit polarised. It might be harder to get PT work now, but it's still possible. YP do still work from 14, find jobs on Indeed, get a Sunday only shift, find zero hours work that has plenty of hours available in the hols. My daughter and some of her friends have managed all these things with parents supporting with lifts etc. Maybe it's impossible in some areas, but you don't know unless you give it a go in yours.

My kid certainly has given it a go but it feels hopeless.
Big supermarkets etc have online only applications that involve numerous tests and even if you get through those they then only seem to want overnight stockers.
I certainly haven’t heard of any 14 year olds having jobs now.. I had one at 14 but it was legal then- you don’t get NI until 16 so not sure who would hire a 14 year old?

I did and worked in a shop when in sixth form, it clarified my desire to not end up working in a place like that because of how rude some customers were as well as pay, conditions etc.

I encouraged DS and he had a paper round from 13 and then worked as a kitchen porter in sixth form. He also took time out before his degree and worked night shifts for a year for a freight company. He was on £15 per hour, £19 for overtime.

@Puddypuds same here as no money issues for us as well.

My 17 year old puts on a hi viz and does 4 shifts as a lunchtime supervisor at her school - £16ph! Its ideal as we live 12 miles from town with no public transport...its given her some confidence too.

My eldest has worked since she was 15 - now 29

They can absolutely cope with a Saturday job

It is legal to hire a 14 year old without an NI number but only in certai njobs and you have to get a licence from the council which included getting permission from the child's headteacher, There are also lots of restrictions on hours and specific risk assessments that have to be done. Most employers will simply not bother.

To let you know how ridiculous the situation is. I used to run kids drama classes. A 15 year old girl used to attend the classes on a Friday night that were held at the school she attended. I then employed her to help out in the little ones class and to help me pack away at the end of the night. Except our classes ended at 7.30pm on a Friday night and by law she couldn't work after 7pm so she couldn't help me to pack away for payment, but she could attend the drama session as a participant.

Which is completely different to my DS experience. He has had 2 p/t jobs in his uni town. And been offered loads more. He also worked for McDonald's while at college ( started 2020)

Of course it's possible that the fact he DID work at age 16/17 that's given him more opportunities once he went to uni

I think this is really unhelpful advice. I stopped paying for my teenagers' lunches etc so they had to work and understand the value of work. Suggesting that they are 'too good' for minimum wage is a terrible message - it makes them think that half the world are mugs!!

Mine both worked from 14-15 doing pot-washing. They didn't much like it but learnt teamwork and how to be at the bottom of the rung. They worked up to bar work over the next four years, but more importantly developed ongoing relationships with a team of people of different ages, ended up travelling to help with all sort of catering events and mixed with all sorts of different people.

That's the kind of valuable experience that makes them rounded individuals and able to work respectfully in a team - essential for both getting jobs and staying in them.

If you don't think your teenager has time for a job, maybe look at their phone screen time. Pretty sure they can fit one in.