What was your first summer job?
Mine was at Kundert Volvo. I washed, cleaned and detailed the certified pre-owned Volvos. My father worked at Kundert and got me the job just after my freshman year of high school. In the three summers that I worked in the filthy garage in Hasbrouck Heights, I learned some basics about how to take care of my car, as well as my money and my time.
I was one of the first of my friends to get a summer job. While I woke up at seven in the morning and washed cars, many of my friends were waking up at noon and going swimming. But when it came to money, we all had enough because they were still getting allowances for making their beds and mowing their lawns (which I also did, free of charge).
Parents and future parents, lend me your ears. This is no way to raise your children.
What better way to instill a sense of personal responsibility into your precious offspring than to encourage them to work summer jobs when they get to high school?
They will do better in school because they are learning to be responsible. They will begin to stop relying on mommy and daddy for money because they have begun the trend of making their own money and as a result, your children will learn to handle their personal finances.
Call me old school, but hard work is never a bad thing for a teenager. Part of the reason why so many teens do drugs, drink and drive, or do poorly in school is because they have never worked and never learned how to be responsible.
However, some people enjoy their first summer job so much because of the people they work with or the amount of money they make, that they stick with that job throughout their high school and college careers.
I believe that teenagers should take on a variety of summer jobs over the course of their summer work careers. A wider variety of jobs means a wider variety of experiences, a greater number of personal connections, and a larger arsenal of material to add to your resume.
In addition to detailing cars, I have worked as a custodian, a retail representative, a cashier at Pier 1 Imports, a mover, a flower delivery driver, a host and sever at Chili’s, a stagehand, and done several other odd end jobs. Some paid better than others did and some were more difficult than others were, but I now have a long list of contacts from which I can choose the people who would be my most relevant references at a particular time in my career.
More doesn’t necessarily mean better, but in this case, it does. So teens, while you still have years left before having to choose a career path, go get a job. Hell, get two!
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