general What was your experience with part-time jobs alongside school?

[Eniac 402]

If you did/are doing a part time job alongside full time education what was your experience? Was it enjoyable and worthwhile? Or was it a pain?

I was thinking more of high-school but I am also interested in what it is like during university/college.

I have a part time job, I have been in the job for half a year now and it is my first job. Like almost all jobs, at least in England for my age group, it is a customer assistant role. I work in a Fish and Chips shop (Stereotypically English) where I take orders, prepare orders and help wash and clean the shop. My experience is more negative than positive. The only positive i gain is the monetary value, it has allowed me to buy useful and fun items (such as a new guitar, laptop and driving lessons. [I get paid minimum wage: £5 per hour for under 18s]) but I don't know if that displaces the negatives. The negatives, for my job at least, is late shifts, long shifts (especially when counting that I sometimes go straight from school into work up to 11), erratic times (I only know when I have a shift a week in advance so it is hard to plan) and my boss is very patronising and pedantic.

I have heard people have had great relationships with part-time work, I think I was just unlucky with my prospects. It is too late for me to find a new job because I am leaving for exams and university in 6 months so no one will take me on, but I still would like money especially for the long break before university to travel around Europe. 

The main reason I don't like my job is more the attitude of the people and the uncertainty of shift times (whilst still having to abide by them, also I have to notify six weeks in advance for a single day off yet they once sprung a shift on me 2 days in advance!!).

Anyway enough of my complaining what are your experiences? 

[Mini 453]

my work goes pretty well with uni except for having the same issue with the uncertainty of shift times

my roster doesn't say my finish time or break time; I just have to come in and find out on the day, which makes planning things after work almost impossible

but overall I can't complain. working at a club means most of my shifts are on Friday to Sunday, which goes well with having my uni classes on weekdays

12 minutes ago, Eniac said:

I have to notify six weeks in advance for a single day off

also wtf

[Eniac 402]

20 minutes ago, Charlie said:

also wtf

Yes this is my reaction every single time. I have finally managed to keep Fridays free every week through multiple explanations of my living situation. They still forget even after a month of this being the case.

[Troblems 5,619]

At 14 I worked at a little bespoke food store, and was probably lucky to have that job. At 17 I worked at a family owned amusement park. It was okay for the most part but I did end up being harassed by one of the security guards. Apparently I was the third to complain, and that was enough to finally get him fired. I was working with a bunch of teenagers though, so my relationships with my coworkers were fairly good. I’m sure I was paid minimum wage, my schedule was awful. I operated rides, fixed arcade machines, made cotton candy, and repaired the ball machine. My family was incredibly poor, so all my money went to trying to save our house, food, and bills.

[Early Sunsets 2,107]

In high school I had a part time job, but that wasn't by choice. One day after school my dad talked to his boss and told me I had a job, so I couldn't say no. It was awful. I was a janitor at the small private elementary school he worked at, and it was actual torture. Not only did I hate children, I also hated cleaning and most of my coworkers. Plus I already had no energy by the time school was out. It definitely was not worth the $7.25 an hour I got paid. Luckily I managed to get out of there after about a year.

[fare67t 243]

I've never had a job alongside schooling, so I wouldn't know what its like x3

I can however say that I'm pretty sure a teacher that disliked me in High School gave me the worst possible reference ever, to the degree of it possibly being permanently engraved onto my invisible "resume record", thus screwing me over from ever getting past the PC bot stage of applying for jobs.

[TBD 17,256]

Oh boy where to start....

Let just say my High school have a Corp Work study and so every student are assigned to work throughout the whole school year at either at a office environment, business, law firm, or at a health care related job. So I started my first job at age 14 at the University.  Of course it's not surprising when you hired a kid to do adult job, you'll end up getting the job done half-assed. But over the time of my four years in working different job setting,  it has taught me to  how take responsibility, working skills, and more. After graduation, my resume is pretty much off the roof and I have no regret doing a work study.  Of course our work payment goes to our tuition. 

[SparklingSquirrels 21,354]

Well I'm in college now, and I work a few hours a week as a program leader for a class, so I plan activities and meet with students, etc.

In high school I worked on my school's stage crew.

[Eniac 402]

Because of the little time allowed for people under the age of 15 to work in England, I think it's 1 hour a week, very few people start part time jobs at 14. Tbh, I agree with @TBD that you're not going to get much out of a 14 year old. 

The job has given me a resume boost, and I generally try and do a lot outside of school, but I always feel my job is expecting me to be available 24/7 outside of school hours which just is not plausible. The job itself is good but it's the fact that I have lots of work from school and then have to deal with extra pressure from work. But it has improved my time management so I sort of see it as net neutral.

 

 

[Lucky Bolt 35,085]

I didn't have any sort of job during high school, although I'm in college now and work part time. It can be stressful at times but it keeps me busy so I'm not complaining. 

[Misty Gust 708]

Growing up on a farm I can't remember a time I wasn't working a part time job while going to school.

[Rebel the Wolfgirl 5,605]

Worked as a stockboy at Burlington during 10th or 11th grade, I believe, as part of a school program to find jobs for special ed kids like me.