Summer job for DD whos 17
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Summer job for DD whos 17
| Mon, 06-05-2006 - 1:36pm |
My DD would like to get a summer job this year...and so would I..problem..she has to take 1 week off in July for a leadership course for school and 3 days in August for a tourism course, also for school.They are hosting a large leadership convention for high schools in September and she is on the organizing committee.Plus we would like to have a vacation at some point.
My solution....Have her volunteer at the local YMCA and I will pay her the going rate for students summer jobs plus time plus half if she works over time.Ive mentioned this to a few of my friends and got blank looks.."Why would I do that, let her arrange time off and shift changes etc".Well I sure she would learn more from the YMCA than working at some mall store and buying everything as it goes on sale.Her life seems to be taking a path that includes charity and volunteering.She doesnt HAVE to work for spending money and does do some extra jobs for my husband company (He's not an easy boss)Would I be doing the right thing? Or should I have her keep putting of applications at the mall stores and hope they will give her time off for what I believe is important life skill training for her.THANKS FOR THE INPUT....
My solution....Have her volunteer at the local YMCA and I will pay her the going rate for students summer jobs plus time plus half if she works over time.Ive mentioned this to a few of my friends and got blank looks.."Why would I do that, let her arrange time off and shift changes etc".Well I sure she would learn more from the YMCA than working at some mall store and buying everything as it goes on sale.Her life seems to be taking a path that includes charity and volunteering.She doesnt HAVE to work for spending money and does do some extra jobs for my husband company (He's not an easy boss)Would I be doing the right thing? Or should I have her keep putting of applications at the mall stores and hope they will give her time off for what I believe is important life skill training for her.THANKS FOR THE INPUT....

Whether she chooses to volunteer or work is really up to her, IMO. I think the value of doing volunteer work is immeasurable for sure. However, being responsible for a job is a very important lesson as well - one that will carry her into adulthood.
Both my dd's have held summer jobs since they were 14/15 and they always made arrangements or schedule swaps with other workers for our vacations, appts, etc., and they've never had a problem. In fact, my 18dd and I just went through our summer calendar so she could hand in her available weeks so her boss can make HIS schedule. He has a handful of students working for him and they all have different schedules. People who hire students in the summer know full well they need to be flexible and that those students have familiy obligations.
I most definitely would NOT pay my dd for doing volunteer work - doesn't that kind of defeat the whole idea of it being volunteer? Besides, it's not about the money, IMO, it's about the experience.
Most places that I am familiar with that utilize summer help, realize kids need to go on vacations with families and may need time off for other things (such as your dd's leadership course)and as long as they know *in advance* the times she will need off, they generally work around that. As unfullfilling a Mall job might be, there are loads of things they learn by working at a *real* job. Learning to deal with bosses and coworkers that may not be the most pleasant to work with, scheduling done for you (as in not getting to pick what hours you work), just exactly how much Uncle Sam takes out of your paycheck (that was the *biggest* eye-opener for ds19!! LOL), how to manage your time (ie arriving on time, lunch break, etc), how to manage your money amongst all the temptations, and later how to fill out a 1040EZ form come tax time. And learning to fill out applications and go thru interview processes are great too. Neither of my boys had/will have the luxury of not working, but even if they did, I would still press them to get a paying summer job, just for the experience.
Just my 2cents. :)
I guess the issue would be why your DD would be either getting a job or volunteering. In my case, my 17 y.o. DD has been working since last summer because we told her she had to contribute money toward her car ins. which is very expensive where we live and now that she has her own car, she has to pay for the ins. (about $150/mo) and gas (you know how expensive that is. She has been very faithful about never missing work. she got a 50 cent raise after the 1st 6 mos. and this summer she got a new job, so she went from making $6.75 to $7.75/hr. in one year.
However, if money isn't an issue for you, I think kids can learn the same skills and maybe get some even more valuable experience by volunteering, depdinding on what they are doing. Besides learning how to work a cash register, I'm sure my DD really didn't learn much by putting clothes on the racks. If your DD can get a volunteer job where she is really learning some skills, that could be very useful to her in the future as far as college, etc. I don't know that I'd pay her what she would be earning at work, but if she's not working, you will probably have to give her an allowance and/or spending money. As far as getting time off, my Dd had no problem getting a week of at the end of the summer to attend camp with her church youth group. I told her not to mention it until she was offered the job. I do remember that when she applied to Old Navy, they said something about the fact that she had to be available the last 2 weeks of the summer because that was their really busy time, which was when she was going to camp. But I agree that since most stores hire a lot of kids and they end up working only about 20 hrs. a week, it shouldn't be impossible for her to get time off. Also, and this just dawned on me, she might be able to get a p.t. job and do some volunteer work too.
When I signed onto this board, I was thinking about summer jobs because I have a SD who just turned 16 last week and she just seems so unmotivated to get a job. Since her DD works most Saturdays, I spent one Sat. driving her around and she had some excuse about why she didn't want to work at most of the places I know which hire 16 y.olds. She finally got one app. from a drug store, but hasn't turned it in yet. There are only 2 wks. left of school and if she doesn't do something, she will be sitting home all summer in front of the TV, which is probably what she really wants to do anyway. She is kind of the passive-aggressive type. I suppose I will have to remind her that she actually has to turn in the app. since the store won't come to our house looking for her to offer her a job.
I think this sends all the wrong messages. It comes across as bribing someone to volunteer.
Most employers are understanding of time off for teens but not all; we have had both good and bad experiences. But if it doesnt work out, it doesnt work out. That in itself is a valuable life lesson and perhaps you could pay her for some big chores she normally doesnt do like paint or clean the attic
Being appreciated and respected by your employer who can fire you at the drop of a hat? Priceless! It helps them see they can make it in the real world
JMHO
He kept applying to the same places over and over and "no one was hiring".
He loves to play computer games, so I suspected he wasn't being all that
aggressive at the old job hunt.
So one day I was buying groceries at our closest store and ran into the manager, asked
him if they were hiring teenage boys, he said yes, I got his name and had my son fill
out an application and he was hired the same day. And he had applied at this place
several times in the past. I don't see anything wrong with helping them out getting
their first job. They just don't know how to assert themselves.
The same day, when I was getting gas, I asked the attendant if they were hiring teenagers, they said, "YES!"....
Morale of my story, ask around. I had an inside connection getting my first job, nothing
wrong with a gentle nudge, (or boot)
lg
I see nothing wrong with it if you can afford it. Any job she can do is going to be mindless and dumb and boring and doesn't teach anything.
Volunteering can be the same as a work experience, she still has to be on time, follow rules etc and have a much better experience that putting clothes on a rack or cashing people out.
Most bosses, at least here, won't hire someone if they needed several weeks off, because they are being hired as summer help, and if they need time off they aren't there to work.
if you pay her for volunterring = then she's not volunteering, she is working, and then she will not gain any of the valuable results that she would get from actually volunteering. besides - the way you put it, its sounds as if you feel that volunteering is not *as* important as a *real* job (at a mall shop, for example) -- so that if she need to miss off time from work for her courses, then its better that she has a volunteer and not paid job. this is simply not the right attitude IMHO. volunteering is a crucial element in any society, and people who have a volunteer job - be it an hour a month or every day - have to be loyal and consistent to their job because others are counting on them. when i was younger i did a lot of volunteer work, and if i needed to take time off (lets' say for an exam or something) i had to make up the time because the person i was volunteering for needed the time from me. so ---- if you think its a good idea for your dd to get a volunteer job - you should not be using the 'time off' predicament as your line of reasoning.
OTOH - i do agree that she will learn more from volunteering than from working in a shop. let those lessons be her 'pay'.
OTOH - it would also be a good 'training' for her to get a job and negotiate the time off.
OTOH - there are other jobs available (paying jobs) that she could get that would give her more valuable training than working in a store, such as being a counselor in a day camp (other than the Y), or doing some kind of physical work, etc.
what does she want to do?
Thanks for your input.