“Finding a summer job is becoming increasingly difficult for teenagers. It’s getting to the point that many aren’t even looking for employment as they focus on furthering their education among other things, according to a report released Monday by Challenger, Grey & Christmas.” …
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-many-teens-no-longer-even-look-for-a-summer-job/
If that’s a question, I can answer it…because their parents finance their every whim. Except in isolated cases, there are jobs for teenagers, running the gamut from mowing lawns/yard cleanup in the spring and fall, babysitting, flipping burgers, washing cars, walking dogs, scooping ice cream, washing dishes, busing tables, ticket taker at the cinema, making beds in nursing homes, and those are just the minimum wage jobs. Both my kids started working the week they were eligible at 14 because that’s the day their allowance ended. And, they only got allowance based on things that weren’t family obligations like helping with dishes and keeping their own rooms cleaned.
I hear on message boards and in social settings where kids can’t find jobs. Not the issue most of the time. The issue is they’ve been brought up to think they are better than scooping ice cream and making beds for $10/hour. They’re being told their time could be better spent doing something else. Or they deserve to enjoy their summer off. They’ll only be kids once. Parents make some of the most ridiculous excuses for why their kids can’t work.
Its a shame because teenage jobs provide so much more than spending money. Communication skills, finance management, esteem building, and a sense of responsibility to name just a few skills learned by teenage workers.
It’s not hard for teens to find jobs in my area as long as they are 16. Many do get summer jobs or part-time jobs during the school year. I’m sure it varies by area, though.
In my area, it’s very hard to find a summer job if you are a teenager. Very, very hard. My daughter’s friend owns an ice cream shop at which all of my kids have worked over the last decade, and she gets overwhelmed with applicants. Most jobs here that could be filled by teenagers are filled by adults or by illegal immigrants. The city has a summer jobs program, but it’s run by lottery and kids who don’t get those jobs generally don’t get any jobs. But I don’t live in a particularly wealthy or upscale area where the kids are coddled and pampered, so it’s different.
Very easy to get a job in my area. Local pizza shop always needs help, as do the Chipotle’s(and many other restaurants), local food stores, batting cages, the City(maintenance), Parks Departments, just for a start, without getting too creative. Signs are up all over the place.
S1 is a competitive baseball player so it’s harder for him to get work as his time isn’t as flexible, but it certainly can be done.
Yup, super easy here too. Lots of retail, lots of restaurants, lots of pools looking for lifeguards. S started working summers as a lifeguard at 15, D started working at a movie theater year-round as a junior in h.s.
There are plenty of jobs available for teens in my immediate area. Grocery stores are quite popular due to flexible hours. The issue is how to get to that job. In our case, both parents work outside the home in a city that is an hour away. So our kids need 1) a driver’s license and 2) a car in order to hold down a summer job. We are fortunate to have been able to provide our kids with clunker to get around. But not all families in our situation are able to do so.
Now, we live in a suburban area (lots of jobs) that is completely surrounded by rural areas (not a lot of jobs). Kids in the rural areas would have a very hard time finding jobs. Mostly because there might be one fast food place and a Dollar Store which might be miles away from their houses. Without a license and mode of transportation, it would be very hard to hold down a summer job when there are barely any available and you couldn’t get there even if you got one of them.
Yes, transportation is an issue. My son rides his bike to work and my daughter walks. Unfortunately sometimes she’s done late at night so one of us has to stay up to pick her up.
Bikes work. Worked for me as well back in the dinosaur ages as my kids.
In rural areas, local farms are often looking for seasonal help.
More places are now 18 age minimum:(
My D has had a job since she was 16, but it’s only a few hours during the week and she is striking out thus far finding summer jobs with more hours. It’s hard to find a retail job or a job scooping ice cream when they know that many kids are leaving in August. Some kids lie on their job apps about that, but she won’t, nor do I think she should.
Transportation is a major issue in our area. Public transportation is limited, and we living in a sprawling suburban area with a high minimum driving age. Biking on our busy streets is pretty dangerous - no bike lanes, and cars parked along the sides - so that’s not an option either.
Very very easy for teens to get jobs in my area…my kid has an internship this summer but the Italian pizzeria where he worked during high school begged him to work for the week he’s here just because they are so short of employees.
Same here @patatty . The main road from our neighborhood to the nearest shopping center is hilly and curvy with no shoulders. Lots of roads are like this around us. One of my kids bikes all the time but he won’t go on that road. His choice because he does not feel safe. And we have no public transportation in our 'burbs.
Unless you do a seasonal job like lifeguarding, it’s very hard to find a summer job in our area since most positions are filled by older full-time employees. Many students in order to stay competitive do sport camps, STEM camps/classes, or take other school classes in the summer for credit. I know some parents feel that if these activities help their kids earn top scholarships for college it outweighs whatever money they might earn from a minimum-wage job.
My 19 year old son has had the same supermarket job since he was 15. Prior to that he worked 2 summers walking and caring for dogs for a local dog boarder.
My 18 year old is currently holding down 2 jobs. She’s worked at the same Italian Ices stand every summer since she was 15. She worked one Christmas season (the Ices place closes for the winter) at a local bakery. She was offered a job this past winter as a cashier at the diner we go to each Sunday after mass. She took it, knowing they would give her hours on breaks from school.
My 15 year old is working at the same Italian Ices place.
I’ve heard complaints from some of the kids I teach that there are no jobs. My kids have had no problems finding them.
But I do think that some kids think particular jobs-- say, in fast food-- are somehow beneath them. Or that employers should work around not only their academic obligations, but their extracurricular, their volunteer and their social lives as well. That, of course, is a tremendous roadblock at hiring time.
Mc Donalds hires at 15.
I’m a huge, HUGE proponent of kids having jobs. I think it teaches responsibility in a way that school simply can’t. As a teacher, it’s my job and my vocation to pull the best from each and every one of my students. But my daughter’s boss doesn’t care about her maximizing her potential. His interest is in paying his mortgage, and she’s there to help ensure it. It’s an entirely different mindset. And I read so many posts from kids here on CC who think they’re entitled to the best that their parents and the world have to offer. I think a part time job would do lots of them a world of good.
My D had a very hard time finding a summer job last year, but not through lack of trying. She filled out about 20 applications for places like Target, Starbucks, the golf course, local shops, etc…and never had a single call, despite following up via emails, phone calls, and walking in. She fianlly got a job at the last place she tried, as a fill-in counselor at a local summer camp. No one was interested in hiring a student for the summer who would be heading back to college. Wish we had realized that before she wasted so much time.
My 17 year old son will be a lifeguard this summer. My D will do a six week unpaid internship, full time. But after that, we aren’t sure how she is going to earn money for the school year. Hopefully lucrative babysitting jobs will earn her cash, and next school year, she will have tutoring jobs on campus.
Not all teens are college students or even college bound. I live in an economically and racially diverse area.
It’s almost impossibly for young men of color to find summer jobs. I think there is a certain amount of privilege involved in having transportation (even bikes) accessible, as well as living in an area where jobs are plentiful and not already held by adults. My kids are fortunate because we had connections, but that’s not the case for everyone. In my area, fast food jobs are really mostly held by adults, particularly the delivery jobs, which are available to only people with cars. A job paying actual minimum wage is a huge prize to be looked up to, not something to be looked down on. I guess perspective is based on the person’s starting position.
I think part of the problem for some kids is the idea of a “summer” job. Very few employers want to give up the time and expense of training an employee who will disappear after Labor Day. Kids who want to work need to expect it to impact their free time during the school year as well.
Exactly. That’s why in some areas, year-round jobs just aren’t filled by students, whether high school or college. Which shrinks the possible summer job pool markedly.