Why don't teens have jobs?

[Towered]

My 18 y/o daughter just got her credit card, $1,000 limit with no connection to her parents. She is now working, part time as a host/greeter at a local restaurant. $14.25 an hour plus a share of the tips, usually about $40 a night. When she got her first paycheque her eyes were opened, she slowly nodded her head and said, “money…I like money, must get more”. We put her first pay stub on the fridge beside her childhood artwork. She has zero expenses, so she’s banking it all. So, that’s one young person working.

A few days ago I was walking on College Street with the family, and as we passed a restaurant, my step-daughter, who will be 13 this year, took note of a sign in the window: "This place is hiring people", she said, to which I replied, "Do you want a job??", to which she responded with a grimace, snort, and eye roll towards me.

Sigh.

 

[W. K. Lis]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1423983061352464384

A few days ago I was walking on College Street with the family, and as we passed a restaurant, my step-daughter, who will be 13 this year, took note of a sign in the window: "This place is hiring people", she said, to which I replied, "Do you want a job??", to which she responded with a grimace, snort, and eye roll towards me.

Sigh.

From link.

 

[Videodrome]

Our 16 year old got a job at the Cineplex theater!

 

[wopchop]

My uncle was helping me at work this past week, and was complaining about his adult children (20 and 22)
Both are jobless hockey bros who golf every day and complain when their dad's car needs maintenance. Their whole life perspective has been warped because all their friends are other hockey bros who are mostly rich kids born with silver spoons in their mouths. That's the world of elite hockey.
Other than hockey, they have zero skills. They think very highly of themselves though, and aren't afraid to say it.
They've never had a job, so they don't even know how to have a job.
I might give one a job, but told his dad that he has to do the three basics;
1) Show Up 2) Listen and 3) Put in Effort.
If he doesn't, fired on the spot. I feel like he needs some tough lessons.
Too harsh?

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

My uncle was helping me at work this past week, and was complaining about his adult children (20 and 22)
Both are jobless hockey bros who golf every day and complain when their dad's car needs maintenance. Their whole life perspective has been warped because all their friends are other hockey bros who are mostly rich kids born with silver spoons in their mouths. That's the world of elite hockey.
Other than hockey, they have zero skills. They think very highly of themselves though, and aren't afraid to say it.
They've never had a job, so they don't even know how to have a job.
I might give one a job, but told his dad that he has to do the three basics;
1) Show Up 2) Listen and 3) Put in Effort.
If he doesn't, fired on the spot. I feel like he needs some tough lessons.
Too harsh?

Not too harsh - training him requires time and effort and if he isn't willing to meet you halfway you shouldn't have to waste either. To be frank - being hired by family probably isn't the greatest - it will still shield them somewhat from the reality of working world outside that bubble.

AoD

 

[wopchop]

Not too harsh - training him requires time and effort and if he isn't willing to meet you halfway you shouldn't have to waste either. To be frank - being hired by family probably isn't the greatest - it will still shield them somewhat from the reality of working world outside that bubble.

AoD

Yes agreed. Nepotism is not something I would tolerate. I see enough of it in this business. I grew up working with family too, so have heard it all. It's the reason I stopped working with them.
Ideally I would try to place him with another foreman, but that might not be doable.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Yes agreed. Nepotism is not something I would tolerate. I see enough of it in this business. I grew up working with family too, so have heard it all. It's the reason I stopped working with them.
Ideally I would try to place him with another foreman, but that might not be doable.

Maybe instead of hiring him, train him with the understanding that he can be hired by someone else (maybe someone you know could still watch over them?) It still require a willingness to learn and a time commitment on their part.

The other thing is - did his folks ask him what he would like to do? And I don't mean pro-hockey. No sense dragging him into something he hated and would have no enthusiasm about.

AoD

 

[lenaitch]

Maybe instead of hiring him, train him with the understanding that he can be hired by someone else (maybe someone you know could still watch over them?) It still require a willingness to learn and a time commitment on their part.

The other thing is - did his folks ask him what he would like to do? And I don't mean pro-hockey. No sense dragging him into something he hated and would have no enthusiasm about.

AoD

I suspect that question has been asked and answered several times, and each time the answer was unrealistic. If I were their dad I'm not sure I'd keep them hanging around the house without some rules about contribution. Then again, they didn't get the way they are in a vacuum.

 

[Jonny5]

1) Show Up 2) Listen and 3) Put in Effort.
If he doesn't, fired on the spot. I feel like he needs some tough lessons.
Too harsh?

The thing is you should come out of hockey with at least those skills. It's a sport well known for discipline for non-conformism; being late or dogging it at a practice, even in junior hockey, gets you a suspension by the coach. I'm guessing they couldn't handle even that minimum level of order there.

If they wanted to keep playing hockey they probably could with a USports scholarship to a Canadian University. It's telling that they couldn't even get one of those (or an NCAA scholarship to a US school, though they would be ineligible if they actually ever played junior hockey in the OHL as the NCAA considers it a professional league) because they are given out like candy to Canadian hockey bros that fall short of making it to a pro-league, even a minor league like the ECHL which is basically full of guys like this (three of their teams are in Florida!). I suspect they flaked out at hockey because they couldn't "1) Show Up 2) Listen and 3) Put in Effort."

 

[lenaitch]

The thing is you should come out of hockey with at least those skills. It's a sport well known for discipline for non-conformism; being late or dogging it at a practice, even in junior hockey, gets you a suspension by the coach. I'm guessing they couldn't handle even that minimum level of order there.

If they wanted to keep playing hockey they probably could with a USports scholarship to a Canadian University. It's telling that they couldn't even get one of those (or an NCAA scholarship to a US school, though they would be ineligible if they actually ever played junior hockey in the OHL as the NCAA considers it a professional league) because they are given out like candy to Canadian hockey bros that fall short of making it to a pro-league, even a minor league like the ECHL which is basically full of guys like this (three of their teams are in Florida!). I suspect they flaked out at hockey because they couldn't "1) Show Up 2) Listen and 3) Put in Effort."

Or they're just not that good, or at least as good as they think they are. 'All hat, no cattle'. The bros on Letterkenny come to mind.

 

[wopchop]

The thing is you should come out of hockey with at least those skills. It's a sport well known for discipline for non-conformism; being late or dogging it at a practice, even in junior hockey, gets you a suspension by the coach. I'm guessing they couldn't handle even that minimum level of order there.

If they wanted to keep playing hockey they probably could with a USports scholarship to a Canadian University. It's telling that they couldn't even get one of those (or an NCAA scholarship to a US school, though they would be ineligible if they actually ever played junior hockey in the OHL as the NCAA considers it a professional league) because they are given out like candy to Canadian hockey bros that fall short of making it to a pro-league, even a minor league like the ECHL which is basically full of guys like this (three of their teams are in Florida!). I suspect they flaked out at hockey because they couldn't "1) Show Up 2) Listen and 3) Put in Effort."

First of all, that's a lot of presumptions about people that you don't know. A bit rude to be honest.
They are both very good at hockey. The younger is a lot better than the older.
My younger cousin was a top starter on a top OHL team. He was a top OHL draft pick, and is on an AHL team (not a starter yet). He was apparently invited to a prospect training camp for a NHL team for this year ... not sure when really. For him, I can understand how much of an emotional choice it is, because for a long time, it has looked like he has a legit shot at a professional career. This is also his potential draft year, so that is obviously on his mind. My worry for him is that he gets so tantalizing close, but then doesn't make it, and he has nothing to fall back on. At a minimum, he could be a starter in AHL or Europe IMO. Those things could lead him into a related career after hockey, assuming he picks up the education and skills necessary along the way.
The older brother is another story - he is good, but not as good as his younger. He went to OJHL. The fact that he wouldn't be able to go pro was evident a while ago, and he should have focused on a different path like USports or NCAA (as you say). His academics aren't great from what I know, so that could be an issue. He is currently in a college undergraduate, but seems lost and uninterested.

The problem is not their hockey skill. I suspect they show up, listen and put in effort when it comes to hockey. It was their whole life after all, and you wouldn't get to their levels without at least showing those things in the hockey setting.
The problem is they don't care about anything else.

Anyway, that's a lot of off-topic information. I guess what I am driving at is that there is value in having a job, i.e. between semesters in high school or college, even if just for the experience of having a job. The money might be paltry, and you might not even need it, but there is value is learning how to work for someone and with others, and all that entails. For better or worse, for most people, working is an essential part of being an adult. A lot of young people who forego that part-time work are missing out on that experience, and it certainly shows.

 

[gabe]

My co-workers oldest kid got a summer job at a warehouse logistics place. Making 16 bucks an hour. He's 18. When i was his age, i was working at a factory on clean up duty, making the exact same wage, this was nearly 20 years ago! You wonder why there is such a job shortage everywhere. Conditions and pay have reached levels where they are losing people left and right. Lots of jobs out there.......just not enough pay.

 

[Northern Light]

My co-workers oldest kid got a summer job at a warehouse logistics place. Making 16 bucks an hour. He's 18. When i was his age, i was working at a factory on clean up duty, making the exact same wage, this was nearly 20 years ago! You wonder why there is such a job shortage everywhere. Conditions and pay have reached levels where they are losing people left and right. Lots of jobs out there.......just not enough pay.

I very briefly worked a security gig as I was finishing up Uni and waiting for my career to start.

I got just over $11 per hour, plus benefits. (26 years ago)
which would be ~ $18 today. If you properly weighted toronto real estate inflation into it; more like $22 per hour.

Yet, the typical security guard in an office building is making just a hair over minimum (there are some notable exceptions).

Looked at another way, an entry level job, with no experience to speak of (just a movie theatre job); got me a premium of almost 40% to the then minimum wage.
Using the same logic, that job today should pay $19 per hour + ; it most certainly does not.

 

[Bayer]

My only job before my university training was dishwasher in a restaurant ($3.33/hour in the late 1970s) for about a year, on weekends. I went to university back when tuition was $1,500 for my entire bachelor's degree, and although I had enough loans and bursaries for my living expenses, I became a freelancer before I was done with my degree, and after that, I had a "real job" for about a year before becoming self-employed.

As for many things, work ethic (which does not mean working all the time, as some people seem to think) and a sense of responsibility come more naturally to some people than to others.

 

[theronmad]

I think that it is worth considering the difference in your generation and in the generation in which the modern youth are now. Zoomers think differently, look at the world completely differently than you and me. Hence a reasonable remark - you need to look for a job in accordance with modern trends. In your generation, it was newspaper delivery, which means for today's teenagers that they need to start making money online or something like that. Many IT companies are willing to recruit part-time students and teenagers to work in SMM or content creation or writing. Try to involve them in this spirit to work, for example, at essaywritinghelp.pro , copywriters and other staff are always needed for simple work, I think this will be closer to their more modern views