Teenager looking for work this spring
My 17-year-old senior at El Cerrito High is looking for a job! He's a high-achiever, takes honors and AP classes and gets excellent grades. However, his class schedule this spring is light and he wants to work, gain employment experience and save money for college.
In college he plans to study business and engineering.
Any advice or ideas?
Thanks!!!
Jan 22, 2018
Parent Replies
Hi, the Batteries + Bulbs store on San Pablo and Schmidt might be a good fit for his interests. He can email his resume to bp637 [at] batteriesplus.net (bp637[at]batteriesplus[dot]net). Or he can go in and take a look. He can talk to Ian, the store manager. Good luck!
Ellen
A few ideas:
The coffee shop Well Grounded, on Stockton, hires ECHS students.
There are a number of afterschool tutoring places he could try: Kumon, Sylvan or Mathnasium in Albany come to mind.
If he is in to sports, howabout working as an umpire w/ECYB or a referee with the local soccer league?
If he were my son, I would steer him to a low-skill job in retail: Busing tables, cashier or checker at Safeway, something that forces him to deal with coworkers and the public. Many kids' social/interpersonal skills have been adversely impacted by their constant use of technology. They don't have to go to the library and talk to the librarian to find resources. They never have to make phone calls to get information. Much of their "time" with friends is actually virtual, not in person. As a consequence, many have difficulty with basic interpersonal skills. A retail job will force them out of their comfort zone and to get these skills. Even if your son is unusually comfortable with people, it is still a valuable experience to be humbled by a low-level job. I am a firm believer that everyone should have an entry level retail job early in life -- especially if they are likely to be highly successful professionals in the future.
My younger son was much like your son -- great student, high achiever. (He just graduated from Tufts with a computer science degree.) He bused tables before college, and has repeatedly said the experience was very valuable. He saw up close how hard some people have to work to feed their families. He learned about the inequities in pay between kitchen staff and wait staff. He had to deal with frustrated customers, manage conflicting demands, deal with a sometimes cantankerous boss with grace and humor. Now, as an adult, he draws on the skills he began to develop as that kid clearing plates in the restaurant. He is patient with people who are not at their best and he is a generous tipper -- all because he knows what it is like to be at the bottom in a service industry. The job may not pay well, but it will pay many non-monetary dividends.