post-GCSE summer work

[dollopoficecream]

DS just finished last Friday his GCSEs and I'd like him to find a summer job. He says he needs to rest a bit first after working so hard. What is your experience in all this? I feel working is so important,,,,,

It really isn't essential. My Dsis had a job because she wanted to go on a holiday that she had to fund herself, so she worked enough weeks to get the money plus spends. I didn't do serious paid work until after uni other than volunteering.

We've both ended up independent, capable and gainfully employed. This fetish for low paid exploitative work in the UK is beyond my understanding. If your DC need the money, fine. If not, why should they?

I agree @pointythings about not doing work for works sake and being exploited if avoidable but… a) a TA friend has a daughter and she can’t even pay for her phone if she doesn’t work so chooses work to pay for phone and clothes. B) some work or volunteering is good work experience c) some work or volunteering teaches team or other skills. d) as an employer I’ve seen some candidates who’ve been to amazing schools and universities but at interview are often poor communicators and lack work skills. I now know to choose those who’ve had some sort of work whether it be McDonalds, Youth group helper or Sainsbury’s over the person with no work/volunteer experience e) I share my daughter’s disparaging outlook about the one boy in her class who doesn’t work or volunteer as he prefers a lie in and he says ‘mummy will pay for everything’

Totally agree @PettsWoodParadise. My daughter has gained a huge amount of life skills from her various part time jobs and as she is doing a very popular degree course she will need a CV with a good variety of work experience.

I agree if the money is needed then by all means. I just don't agree there' some kind of moral superiorit y in having worked after GCSEs. My DD1 started volunteering in her field while at uni and that has been incredibly valuable, she's now also working until she finds the right job for her in her field and isn't 'above' anything.

My 15yo just did a week work experience at Waitrose. They have asked her to come back as soon as she turns 16, for at least a Saturday role - they are crying out for reliable staff. She wants to drive asap so is happy to be able to save towards that. I think it is a great life experience.

@dollopoficecream how about a casual job that he can do as little or as much of as he likes? My DC is a casual lifeguard at a local sports centre, earning £12 an hour. He only does shifts as and when it suits him. However, now that he has turned 18 and finished his A Levels I have stopped his pocket money as an extra incentive to work.😁

thanks again all. DS2 is a very quiet child, never stepping out of his comfort zone, computer and books. And DS1's experience makes me feel work maybe just the medicine. Covid meant that DS1 (18) never got to work or volunteer during the summers prior to filling in UCAS. So deciding what he wanted to study at uni was such a struggle. Inspite of getting good uni offers DS1 now wants to take a gap year and reapply to a different subject. Work, I feel, can help one mature, and perhaps know one's self. My boys seem so young. I know I shouldn't compare my own experiences with theirs, but at 16/17/18 I was so much more independent- I'd volunteered at orphanages, worked at a local radio station - acting in plays, volunteered at hospitals (and loved it). During my gap year two months after A Levels landed a job at an accounting firm in the city where I worked for 12 months. It helped me realise that I did not want a city job. No way. I did not come from a background of privilege so all these opportunities were those that I had to work for. My boys in contrast seem so very laid back. Well behaved, polite, good at school work but just so...(aargh)...laid back.

There’s a lot of value of having a job, especially if you’ve had a sheltered life and not been exposed to much. The money is a bonus, but learning to work with adults, to mix with a range of people and to sometimes be out of your comfort zone all have value. They are things which help you grow up. Doing youth focused things like D of E or NCS certainly bring skills and experiences but these are still very much youth focused and the teens are sheltered from the world. Working in a customer focused role where you encounter some odd bods and the focus isn’t all if making sure YOU have a great time, has real value. Time keeping, realising that you’re committed to something and might have to sacrifice other things you’d like to do - all valuable. The jobs don’t have to be done for years, but even a few months is really valuable.

And then there’s the value of being out in the world and seeing how others live….the jobs they do all their lives. Mixing with people who are different to yourself and getting a different perspective, especially if you’ve been to a pretty sheltered kind of school, can be extremely beneficial. If you’re headed for Uni and then a graduate career, and particularly if you went to a selective school or one in an affluent area, when are you going to see how the other half lives? It’s part of an education to be honest.

And then there’s all the skills that can be drawn on as examples when applying for real graduate jobs too. Team work, overcoming difficulties etc. Being bothered to get on and apply, go to an interview, show commitment over time. It’s all worth something. Personally, if I found a graduate who had never had a part-time job, I’d wonder about them and wouldn’t really went to be their very first experience of the world of work.

My DC have done things like train to be a lifeguard or swimming teacher. These give an actual qualification and access to a job which can be done at Uni. They’ve also worked in shops and libraries but have avoided cafes and restaurants. The youngest is still in 6th Form and doing that stuff now. The boost to confidence from going and interacting with adults if various ages and the public - worth so much more than the money earned.

@WombatChocolate absolutely. The task for me now is to make DS apply for jobs he may like--at the moment I seem to be doing the searching...

@dollopoficecream maybe you need to stop trying to fix somebody because they’re quiet or like to go on computers. Introverts aren’t something on the bottom of the shoe, they’re real, successful people with amazing careers

Can’t bare teenagers lying round the house making a mess of course he should work if he can find a job. He wants new clothes, computer games, money to go out. One thing DD said was that her vacation jobs taught her she really wanted to go to Uni and get a better job

I don't think many places specifically have summer jobs unless you live somewhere quite touristy or studenty . But most places are crying out for part time staff. My 16 and 13 year old both have Saturday jobs and get extra shifts in the holidays if other staff are away .

DD(16) wants to get a job - virtually all her friends have one, but is nervous of stepping out of her comfort zone. So she's volunteering for the summer reading challenge over the holidays. I'm hoping this will help build her self confidence, plus give her something to put on her CV. Would your DC consider volunteering?

good point. How do 16 year olds generally spend 12 weeks of summer if not volunteering or working part-time? Surely not on the computer all day or gazing out of a window?

I agree OP he should be getting a job, if he wants to learn to drive won't he need the money for lessons? I got a job as soon as i turned 16 and worked throughout the rest of GCSEs and A Levels, why should it just be a summer job?

Both mine had sizeable amounts of pre-A level work set by their 6th forms. I don't see the need for post GCSE employment unless there is a real financial need. Mine both helped in scouting and guiding so went as young leaders on the summer camps etc.

I don’t think paid work necessarily needs to happen in the summer after GCSEs. However, I think by the time they go to Uni, it is good for them to have done some paid work at some point.

It’s not especially about the money, although that can be important for many. Even in families where the kids get all the cash they need, actually being employed and operating at an employee brings all kinds of experiences and benefits that help them take responsibility and learn lots. It has an impact that volunteering never quite has, although volunteering brings all kinds of positives too…just not quite the same ones.

I agree with a PP that families that say ‘my DS/DD doesn’t need to work and I will fund them’ are missing a trick. And likewise kids who say ‘I’d rather lie in bed and let my parents fund me rather than get up and do a job that I don’t really fancy’ are losing out.

In the real world, they will have to fit in with a range of people and learn how to deal with them. The more sheltered their upbringing and narrow their experience of people, the more important this all is. Learning it’s not all about them and that sometimes they have to do things they don’t like or make them feel a bit uncomfortable, or deal with people who behave differently to what they’ve seen before….it’s all part of growing up. Uni means they encounter more well-educated teens - it’s so important to have time out if the bubble.

It doesn’t have to be at 16. It could be a weekend job in sixth form. At uni, some work term time and kits don’t because of their studies. A few courses mean there’s no scope to work at all because the course isn’t just term time. However, I was looking at job applications for grad schemes and saw someone who had never taken on paid work by 21 or 22, honestly I wouldn’t be interested. They might be super intelligent and well-qualified but everyone needs people too who can relate to others and have grown up a bit. I know there are a few jobs for those on the spectrum, which have specifically been designed to remove the need for much interaction or team work and they make fab use of some particular skills, but they aren’t the norm and most teens will definitely benefit from a few months in a job which they won’t do for life.

The parents who slightly snootily look at teens who work and say ‘my DC doesn’t need to do that. They’re spending the summer on an art history course, or prepping for their Uni course, or travelling’ as if they’re doing their teen a favour, really aren’t. Summers are long and wonderful. There’s time for travel and building skills and study and some integration into the real world too.

on a different note, I was looking into summer work experience in engineering firms, STEM related employers etc.. Looks like applications for this sort of thing is nearly a year in advance. so nothing for this summer but need to be on the look out for year 12 summer. Things have become ever so competitive these days especially with university applications....

They are best off getting a transferable job if needing to support themselves at uni... Costa, Sainsbury, etc.

Then choose a course with a year's (often paid) placement if going for engineering.

I pay dss to mow the lawn. Help DH by taking up garden clippings and put into green bin. Rest of time he is relaxing as he worked hard during May/June for exams.

My dss is volunteering for Commonwealth Games though. Net bowling for ladies cricket for 28 hours over 2 weeks.

One approach, @dollopoficecream, might be to say to DC2 that seeking out opportunities for paid work is expected of them; perhaps sit down together and research jobs (Indeed etc); rank the 6 most attractive from their perspective and tell them they should strongly consider applying to the top three; show them how to construct a CV but expect them to draft/tweak for each role and upload without further involvement. Where I have adopted this in the past, I found they soon got into the swing of it and actually then applied for all on the original list! You may already have this kind of thing in mind; I simply share to be helpful.

As @WombatChocolate says (great posts!), it is about more than 'just' the job and the money. I found mine experienced and understood that for every offer there may be lots of job rejections (or silence!) and that HR expect you to call back promptly in person, not email/message. None of this has to happen in the post-GCSE summer but it is helpful if the first encounter with all this is before uni first or second year when applying for placements (for those going down the uni route), or indeed before the beginning of Y13, for those looking to enter the world of full time work at 18 (for example, apprenticeships).

With regards to volunteering, my expectation has always been that it must be seen as a commitment like a paid job. If DC want to miss a particular session, there needs to be a very good reason, it can't be done too often and the organisers need to be informed well in advance so they can plan ahead ie DC is a vital member of the team, not someone who can dial in and out as they please. I think that also helped make them work ready.

With regards to uni-focused courses (eg EDT, NCS), these have their place but I think are more about helping to crystallise decisions about uni/non-uni routes and which uni courses. All the activities discussed on this thread (paid job, volunteering, exploring subjects) are about making contact with the wider world so DC can understand themselves better, rather than about CV building (which may or may not be a bi-product of that process). As they say: 'information is power'.