Teenagers working

[Mick1]

Of late, there has been a minor uptick in percentage of teenagers working at a paying job, from 33% in May 2011 to 38% this year. And it’s been a long, slow, upward increase, so it’s newsworthy.

https://www.axios.com/2024/05/27/gen-z-summer-teen-jobs-inflation

The percentage of teenagers working peaked at 59% in 1979. I had my first job as a 14-year-old in May, 1977 when it was 57%. My dad said “you have the rest of your life to work, why would you want to work?” Because I like money, and the responsibility.

First job was working at Marini’s on the Beach in Santa Cruz, making taffy, caramel apples, caramel corn, etc. Paid $2.20 an hour when minimum wage was $3.35/hour. Back then, (a) teenagers could be paid less than minimum in resort areas and (b) you can’t be younger than 18 and do that job anymore because it’s dirty, dangerous, difficult, long hours, etc. And I loved it, and it taught me how to work hard.

What was your first paying job?

• This topic was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by Mick1.

Audaces fortuna iuvat

[Legend]

I think my first paid job requiring me to show up to a job site was pulling sweet corn in a field. I was 13. I think I got paid something like 25 bucks a day.

Same summer I worked on a potato grading machine on a potato farm. Did that for several years from 13-16. I think I got paid $8 a truckload that we loaded. Some summers it was good money. We could probably load 7-8 trucks in a day. One year potatoes were rotten from too much rain, and it took forever to grade in enough potatoes to load a truck. We might load 3 trucks a day. Not so good.

I was fortunate to do a lot of physical jobs for pay back in my teen years. I was a hard worker so never lacked for a job.

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Sic transit gloria mundi (so shut up and get back to work)

[Hurlburt88]

farm work is hard!  I worked on my grandparent’s farm every summer until I was 12 . . . for free.  At 12 I got a paper-route.  At 16 started as maintenance person/janitor for a small dry cleaner.  Great job!  had to do all the cleaning of course, but also learned to keep the cleaning fluids in the proper “ranges” for various chemical properties, learned what every chemical was for, learned how to maintain boilers, replace steam pipes, deal with inspections, etc.   at 17 added a SUnday-only job to that managing a small bookstore while the owner took a day off.

I had a decent amount of money saved for school as a results.   Throw on some financial aid and generous student loans, and I limped through financially!

[Beeg_Dawg]

First job drawing a real paycheck was at Sandy’s (now Carl’s Junior, I believe.)Baled hay and other custom farm contract work for four years. Worked for UPS loading delivery trucks.  Paid over $8/hour in 1973.  Great job, other than a 5:00 AM start time.  Worked in a print shop, doing a variety of tasks.

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