I have been lucky enough to work since I was about 15, I got to work for my Dad on building sites. My first “real” part time job came about when I was 17, in a factory making doors and windows. Again, I was lucky in that I didn’t need to look for anything, my dad came home one day and said “I found you a job, you start Monday!”.
It was probably the best thing that could have happened to me at that age, both in terms of personal growth and setting me up for the future. I gained so much from it:
- self confidence.
- responsibility.
- learned to work under pressure.
- experience working to deadlines.
- I got to interact with adults.
- I learned how to stand up for myself.
- It was good craic!
- opportunity to earn an income.
In my line of work, I’ve also been in a position to hire dozens of teenagers for part time roles. To watch them flourish and grow under the right guidance with each passing month is fantastic.
With that in mind, of course I’m going to say it’s really important for kids to try and get experience in the work place.
A lot of focus in the last few years is on making sure kids study hard, through school and college. Part time jobs can sometimes suffer because of this. Both parents and teachers can persuade teens to “focus on your studies”. Education is really important, but so too is developing into a young adult.
Covid is showing up a really sad statistic that over 60% of people aged between 15-24 are unemployed right now. Thankfully there is light at the end of the tunnel in relation to Covid, but a whole generation may be left behind unless they get the opportunity to experience life as a worker.
Whether you’re a teen yourself, or someone looking out for one, read on to see 7 good reasons why it’s important teenagers look for a part time job.
1. Gives independence.
Independence is a great feeling. It can give a teenager a real boost going out and doing something that doesn’t involve family and friends. With the apron strings cut, these young adults can begin to flourish in ways they didn’t think were possible.
They will need to arrange transport to work, make sure they are on time and be held accountable for the work they do. This new found discipline can transfer nicely into their studies too, as Career Addict point out.
2. Allows them to Interact with adults.
Apart from family, teachers and coaches, there probably isn’t much need for teens to interact with adults. A part-time job will change all that.
Working and interacting with people who are older than you, but treat you as a peer is fantastic for someone young. Even if the engagements aren’t always positive, you can learn so much that you may not have been aware of before. All of a sudden, you hear people talk about:
- bills.
- rent.
- mortgages.
- balancing work and life.
- feeding a family.
In other words REAL LIFE! You get a great view of real life before you get to embark on the next stage of yours. That can be invaluable to a young adult.
3. Builds resilience and self-confidence.
For pretty much the first year of my job, I was really quiet in the workplace. So much so that I remember one guy said to me “Jez you’re so quiet, you need to start talking up for yourself”. Everyone was older than me and it took me a while to get good at what I was doing too, so I didn’t feel fully comfortable to open up at the start.
When I left the job 4 years later I was like a different person. I learned:
- how to stand up for myself.
- how to hold good conversations with lots of different people.
- the importance of enjoying your work.
- the ability to have fun and work hard at the same time.
- how to respect others and gain respect from others.
The very first day I couldn’t even use the screw driver properly. 4 years later I could make a window from start to finish. I didn’t know it at the time, but this job taught me the importance of sticking with something and working hard to improve. Lessons in resilience that stay with me today.
4. Shows them a glimpse of the "real world".
There is nothing like a part time job to get you away from the comfort of home and in the same breath show you what the real world looks like. At home, school and pastimes, you are generally able to pick and choose what you want to do, and more importantly, who you do them with. So you probably end up socialising with many like minded people.
A job will potentially allow you to experience different:
- age groups.
- backgrounds.
- cultures.
- abilities.
- ways of working.
You will also be introduced to a hierarchy, where there may be a manger, assistant manager and supervisor who you have to report to and do as they request.
If it’s a customer facing job, you get to learn the art of human interaction even more, as you could meet dozens or hundreds of different people a day.
All of this is great to show a teenager that there are so many different types of people out there in the real world and you can learn a little bit from all of them. This can only be a good thing when it’s time to finish up with school or college.
5. It may help them decide on their medium term future.
A part time job can point someone in a certain direction for what they want to achieve in the medium term. I’m not saying long term, because for me, the days of knowing what you want to do for the rest of your life from a very young age are gone.
Working in a part time setting can help a teen figure out some things. For example, they might find out they love working with people, or a fast paced environment. So they might be able to talk to their parents or teachers about what type of work allows this.
If the job is a particularly tough job, it may also show them what they DO NOT want to do in the future. This in itself is a valuable lesson, guiding them to work even harder to get what it is they want out of life after school/college.
Work ethic.org also talk about the importance of part time jobs in future career success.
6. Gives them an income.
Let’s not forget they get to earn money for themselves! I have this down the list on purpose, it should not be the main reason teens look for a part time job. They will benefit far more from working a few hours a week if cash isn’t the number 1 priority.
For teens working for the very first time, seeing money land in your account regularly because you have earned it can be such a rewarding feeling.
Once you get older and start relying on income, then of course money jumps up the list of priorities. For young adults just looking to work a few hours a week though, try not make money the number 1 motivation.
7. Takes some pressure off parents and teachers.
I assume parents and teachers want the same thing for the teens under their guidance…to give them the best possible chance at succeeding and being happy in life. This seems to get more and more challenging as the years go by. Teens have so much access to so many things, it can be hard to know what is good for them and what is a distraction.
A part time job can be a healthy distraction, it can help parents and teachers in the growth of the child.
Not to mention the fact it can take a little financial pressure away from the parents knowing your teen is now making money for themselves.
To conclude.
Covid has impacted young peoples work opportunities more than any other age group.
Even before Covid though, young people were being discouraged to take part time work as it might affect their studies. I believe there is room for both study and work, to help a teen figure out what they are passionate about.
My first part time job prepared me well for my “real world”. It was tough, but I wouldn’t have changed a bit of it. Let’s start encouraging teens to go get a part time job alongside their studies. Their future selves will thank them for it.