Did your parents make you get a job at a young age?

[Croconaw]

I was just wondering if anyone’s parents made them get jobs at a young age to develop discipline, or for other reasons. I believe age fourteen is the the earliest age a minor can work.

I didn’t have a job until eighteen because I wanted to work later shifts, and I didn’t want to work while being in school.

Did your parents let you work if you wanted a job for money? Did you want to work or did your parents urge you to work? How was your first job experience like if you had worked as a fourteen year old?

It seemed like people around that age that I’ve worked with didn’t even want to work. They were just on their phone, playing around with their friends that were also there, or walking around. I’d think their parents either forced them to get jobs or they just wanted the money but didn’t want to work. I know this is something you should expect from working in a fast food place, but sometimes you have to work there until you find something better. Some income is better than no income while waiting for a better job.

I used to work fast food, and my experience was anything but pleasant.

 

[ting1984]

My parents never made any of us get jobs.

That being said, the last generation to hear at least a "cultural" emphasis that teenagers should do work, was Generation X. My older brother was part of that generation, and so he had some jobs in his teens.

As an older Millennial (age 36), the expectation wasn't as strong for me, especially as a woman in conservative circles. I went to college first and then got my first job after. I've since learned that even getting any kind of job was somewhat surprising, in at least very conservative circles. I've since learned my parents weren't really all that conservative, although they consider(ed) themselves such.

TL;DR: the answer to this depends on your generation, gender, and social outlook of your parents/social circles. Some are much more expectant of jobs than others, especially for men.

 

[Chris]

My parents tried to force me to work young, but it was the beginning of a recession so more people were losing jobs than being hired, and as a school dropout with no experience naturally none of my applications were accepted.

 

[Midoriya]

Nope, I didn’t start my first job until I was 18. I’ve had a good number of jobs since then, however. Just never really considered starting a job at a younger age to be honest.

 

[Jhine7]

My parents would always mention it, but growing up with a serious interest in sports all-year round, just never found the time or drive to get one. Luckily, not having a real one until after graduating college didn't hinder in the job search. All worked out well. Definitely would advise my own kids someday against doing what I did. Gotta save that early.

 

[Soigne]

i was going to get a job as a junior in high school, but then my parents talked me out of it. didn't want my grades slipping or something. it would've been nice to have a job in high school, but i got a job in college and then another job out of college so i guess it doesn't really make a difference.

 

[Oldcatlady]

The opposite actually lol... I wanted to work staring high school but my parents wouldn’t let me cause they didn’t want it to affect my studies. I wanted to make my own money cause my parents never spend money on recreational stuff (like going out for food, take out, cinema, etc), so I couldn’t really join in when my friends wanted to go out cause I felt bad wasting their money I did a bit of babysitting for family friends when I was around 15, then started working a bunch of random jobs after 17-18 so I could spend my own money haha. I’ve been pretty much working part time/casual since then throughout university

 

[deana]

I got a job at age 16. My parents didn't force me to get a job but they were encouraging of it.

 

[oak]

My parents didn't want me to get a part time job because they wanted all my focus on school.

 

[tiffanistarr]

I wasn’t forced to get a job, but i did help my mom with her business doing clerical work, filing, and doing inventory things for some extra cash. I didn’t get my first “real” job until I was 18.

 

[JemAC]

My parents never made me get a job at a young age but they were supportive of my siblings and I having part times jobs once we were in sixth form or college (around age 16) as they thought it could help give us an insight into working life and they understood our desire to earn our own money. Though it was always made clear that we couldn't work too many hours while still in education, the work shifts couldn't be late at night and it shouldn't get in the way of our school work.

 

[Stella-Io]

I wanted a job while I was still in high school but my parents didn't allow it. It wasn't until I was like 19 or 20 that I finally got a job. There was a year after high school that I didn't have a job so I just did my hobbies.

Now that I've been in the workforce/employed for like 3 years, I wish I didn't pester as much to get a job. I miss having lots of time to myself and doing what I wanted without being tired. I was much less stressed back then, then I am now.

So, anyone who really wants a job now, DON'T force it if you can wait. Yeah having money is cool but it's stressful and you loose LOTS of time to your day. You don't have as much energy and motivation to do things anymore.

That or the two jobs I've had just end up like that. My first certainly took its toll on me.

 

[slzzpz]

I worked at Toys R Us when I was 17, my parents wanted me to get experience working.

 

[-Lumi-]

I got my first job when I turned 18 and was still in school. I didn't want to work (high school stressed me out enough as it was, lol) but I also didn't have much of a choice. My dad is on disability and I was listed as a dependent and once I turned 18 his case worker told me I needed to get a job ASAP. I got a job as an after school teacher and I absolutely adored it! The hours were perfect because my school ended at 2 pm so I worked from 3-6 and never had to worry about the weekends.

When I graduated high school I picked up the morning shift as well (7-9 am) and it was so lovely. I had the middle of the day free and was making enough money to stop being listed as a dependent on my dads disability. Eventually I moved on to full time work but I wish I could just be a before and afterschool teacher forever, lol. I loved that job so much.

 

[LadyDestani]

I started babysitting around age 13 or 14, but I got my first official job at 16, which was the youngest age that was allowable. I kept hearing that I could start working at 15 with a permit, but I had a difficult time obtaining one. I was told I had to have a job secured to get the permit, but no company would promise to hire me without the permit. So after dealing with all that back and forth, I gave up on working at 15 and waited until I turned 16.

Working was my own choice although both of my parents were supportive of the idea. I had a rough childhood and wanted as much freedom and independence as I could get. A job helped provide that. My last two years of high school I juggled AP classes, one college level class, playing volleyball for the school team, and a part time job. It wasn't easy, but it did keep me out of the house a lot which was my goal.

My first job was in retail and I hated it. I will never work retail again. I did have some fun times and got along well with my coworkers, but dealing with the customers was a nightmare.

 

[Mariah]

I got my first job three months before I turned 24.

 

[Red Cat]

No. I'm on the autism spectrum, so I don't think I would have been able to make it in retail or food service. I don't see how having that experience would have helped me prepare for a professional office job. At least I was able to succeed without that. I have a lot of appreciation for people who work those kinds of jobs, because I imagine they are really not very enjoyable.

 

[Bekaa]

What #ting1984 said about the generations resonates with me, although I had never really thought about it before. I was born in 1967, and, yes, my parents made me get a job at age 12 delivering advertising newspapers door to door one day per week. I have mixed feelings about whether this was a good thing or not. I remember being fearful - fearful of strangers, fearful of dogs that would bark at me, that kind of thing. However, I also think it helped me gain confidence and helped me learn how to deal with different types of situations. All in all, I guess I feel good about it. I do think there are some generational differences in this topic, like ting1984 said. I am not the type of older person tha thinks “kids these days...!” i don’t think that one approach is better than the other. I think everybody is different. every family is different, and it makes a difference where you live, for example, in the city versus rural. And, times are different. Young people these days are dealing with a different set of opportunities and problems than I had to deal with. I have a teenage son and we have not made him work, however, he does art commissions online, and he has been able to earn his own spending money. It does bother me once in a while that he hasn’t had to deal with a boss or paychecks or paying taxes, or anything, but I also think he’ll be just fine.

incidentally my mother later confided in me that, in hindsight, she thinks I was too young to start working doing the paper delivery. She said that she thinks that making me work was a good idea, but not at that age.

 

[Violet Witch]

My mum tried to get me in to work at 17 and I ended up starting out at a local grocery store but mentally I wasn't ready and found it overwhelming and quit less than two weeks later. Then I left college due to a lot of teasing from my classmates as well as finding the studying aspect unfulfilling which resulted in me being unemployed for almost two years. My dad got me a job at his work place which at the time I thought would be a temporary thing but 13 years later I'm still there and thriving in my job, I might hate it from time to time but it's given me purpose in life as well as helped build up my confidence more.

 

[Xara]

mine didn’t and honestly, i wish that they had. my lack of experience and deliberating anxiety has left me unable to work or even apply for a job and while i still had these problems when i was younger, my anxiety wasn’t as severe then and i wish that i had taken advantage of that. being an unemployed 19 year old with no experience just,, doesn’t feel very sexy, man.