Did you have a job as a teenager?

Lounge boy in a mad kip of an area. If you saw a dog with a tail it was a tourist

mariaalice wrote: »

After reading about Jacinda Ardern working in a chip shop after school, aged 14, I had a babysitting job aged 13 and was left in charge of a baby.

I think working as a teen even at 14 is good for you and that 14-year-olds should be allowed to work?

It give great confidence and freedom to have your own money that you had to work for.

Paperboy from 13
Shop work from 15
Brief spell of unemployment when I was doing the leaving, and that was it

Coal mine at 13 and I was damn glad for it.

Flimsy_Boat wrote: »

Babysitting at 12

Bakery at 17 for less than min wage where I was treated horribly and sexually harrassed by 22 year old woman (and I'm a woman).

Barista in college.

Odd jobs after college until I got into medical school.

I have loads of debt. My parents are millionaires but didnt give me a cent after the age of 21. I'm bitter about it as I have had to go on the dole at times. But soon I will be a doctor.

I don't understand parents not funding their kids education, especially if they can't afford it. I feel it's the responsibility of a parent to get their kids through college. My parents paid for mine, and I will pay for my kids when the time comes.

Did a bit of waitressesing, baby sitting. I found it challenging, I was 16 and people would not go easy on you at all. Getting yelled at and insulted by customers when you don't have the skills or confidence to deal with it isn't good for a young person imo. It put me off that kind of work for life.

Lounge boy then barman in a local pub from 13 - 18. A great job for taking the glamour out of alcohol.

I started delivering leaflets at age 11, got paid a penny a leaflet. Used to absolutely walk the legs off myself and be happy if I got a fiver or a tenner a week.

Babysitting 1 or 2 nights a week from around age 14-18.

Child-minding 4-5 days a week in summer at age 14 & 15.

Worked in a kids play centre in an amusements the summer I was 16, that was the best job ever. Went down the freefall slide 50 times a day . I think that was £2 an hour.

I took off the summer after I did my leaving cert but since then have always worked full-time, even while in college.

I'm glad that I've always worked, it gave me a huge amount of independence as a teenager and young adult. My parents didn't have a lot of spare cash, so things like weekends away with clubs, or kit needed for sports or hobbies would have been a stretch. I was always proud that I could cover some costs myself without having to ask.

While 11 is a bit young, I think all teenagers should get some kind of a job, even if it's 1 saturday a month or a couple of hours a week. When you learn the value of a euro by actually earning it through your own hard work, I think it can change your outlook on spending.

James Bond Junior wrote: »

Had a summer job from about 13, washing cars in a car dealers.

Spent a while washing cars in a service station, until about 15, then shop work from 16 to 19. Moved into working in a pub then at 20 and that kept me going until I was about 24 or so. Worked the summer holidays and the odd weekend in between teaching jobs until I got a permanent teaching job and then gave it up. Never claimed a cent of dole money, even during the depths of the recession which I'm proud of.

I was unemployed for a few months last year, I regret not claiming the dole, it cost me the guts of a grand. Now I have to work like a sucker, while half the country gets 350 quid a week for sitting on their arse.