By Alexandra Sifferlin ,
ThreeSixty June 15, 2008
For some teens, summer is a time to kick back, relax, and soak in the sun. But for many others, it is a time to make money by landing a summer job.
However, across the nation the job market has been weakening and teens are feeling the impact.
Fast-food jobs aren’t so easy
by Luis Romero
When teenagers think of summer jobs, they often think of getting a job at a fast food restaurant. Sound simple? Think again. Teens who have actually worked at a fast food place like Kentucky Fried Chicken or McDonald’s say it’s not as easy as it looks.
Mai Chor Lee, a KFC employee, said, “Working at a fast food restaurant is a lot of work for a teenager. You have many expectations and you have to be very patient.”
Customers aren’t always in the best mood. If they are having a bad day, they will be grumpy and possibly rude. If you make the slightest mistake in their order they could cause commotion. If you say anything impolite to them they may complain to your manager, and that could lead to a job loss.
That’s not the only downside.
“I gained 14 pounds working at McDonalds,” said Cory Borgan, a former McDonald’s employee. Fast food isn’t a very healthy choice, but employees at McDonald’s get a discount when they eat there. So they tend to eat at the restaurant during breaks because it’s easy.
Another downside is that “You come out smelling like fast food,” said Perla Andrade, another former McDonald’s employee. After a while you can get tired of the atmosphere, the smell and the food. But the experience can help you get a different job.
The jobs require you to stand up most of the time, and you need some slip-safe shoes — the floors get slippery because of all of the fried food. Working at the cash register isn’t simple either. At the end of the day the money is counted to make sure that everything is in order.
At both KFC and McDonalds you have to wear a uniform: pants, a t-shirt with the company’s logo on it, and sometimes a cap. If you ever forget your uniform you have to borrow a friend’s uniform, including their name tag.
Being at school and having a fast food job isn’t that tough because most places let you adjust your schedule to suit your needs. Restaurants will hire teens as young as 15, but they often opt for adults when the job market is tight, as it is now.
It is work though, so you do get paid. If you are an inexperienced employee, you will usually get paid $6.50 an hour, but as time goes by, you may get a raise. You learn to work with other people, manage your time and deal with different types of people — experience to take to your next job.
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Thanks to ThreeSixty for sharing this article with TC Daily Planet readers.
With the end of school, many teens will be looking for work. Read the following articles for good advice and examples of how to beat the odds in a tough job market. Thanks to journalism students from Humboldt Senior High School, who wrote the profiles of three jobs: In a candy store, a costume shop and a fast-food restaurant.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nation’s teens, ages 16 to 19, are experiencing a record low employment rate since the late 1940s. In 2007, 34.8 percent of U.S. teens were employed, the lowest average employment rate for teens since the end of World War II. All ages, races, and genders are experiencing the weakening job market, but teens who are 16 or 17 years, males, black and Hispanic and low-income are most at risk of joblessness.
Although it can be difficult for all young people to land jobs, high school students have other obstacles besides a slim amount of available jobs—especially now.
Benilde-St. Margaret’s senior Parker Bonello has had a difficult time securing a summer job. “A lot of people are not really looking because they have people from college coming back or they need more than part-time employees,” he said.
Bonello tried unsuccessfully for a job at The Original Soup Man restaurant, which he found listed on Craig’s List. He then applied to work at Urban Outfitters, but once again was turned away.
“I was having a hard time finding places that were hiring right now at places I am interested in. I don’t want to settle for a job I won’t like,” said Bonello. “Places are just not hiring a lot of people. There’s a lot of demand [among job searchers] but not a lot of supply. There are a lot of people looking for jobs and not nearly enough jobs to fill everyone. I have definitely felt the decline in jobs for people my age.”
Senior Jane Lucas from Hopkins High School thinks that being too selective may be the problem.
“There really are a lot of options. The thing is if you are picky, it can be hard to find a really good job,” said Lucas. But she does agree with the statistics showing a weak job market. “I definitely see that it is the teens who are getting most of the job opportunities taken away.”
Lucas works at the Bryn Mawr Coffee Shop and The Tea House, a Chinese resturant. She secured both her jobs through family or friend connections.
Senior Annalise Sundberg struggled all last summer to find a job. “It’s hard because realistically you need to be 18 to get a lot of jobs. I turned 18 at the end of the summer, but I wasn’t at the right age at the time. It’s also hard to compete with the college kids. You have to apply earlier than you realize.”
This summer may be one of the worst times for teens. In a new survey, researchers at the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston predict that this will be the toughest job market for teens since 1948, when the federal government began measuring teen employment.
Because of the weak economy, they report that only 33.5 percent of the nation’s teens, ages 16 to 19, had jobs in the January through March period compared to 35.8 percent a year earlier. This summer will also be weak, they predict, with only 34.2 percent of teens employed.
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Candy store job is usually sweet
By Rinetta Minefee
Chocolate, jumbo jaw breakers, caramel turtles, large gumballs, chocolate stars. All the aromas hit you as you walk into the small store.
“Children walk in with big smiles,” said Ariel Kendall, a happy worker at Candyland and student at the University of St. Thomas.
As far as she is concerned, working at the candy store in downtown Minneapolis is a great way to make money and meet new people. But like all jobs, it has a downside.
Not all people who come in are friendly and good spirited. A lot of the times the police are close by and can calm tense situations, and that’s one of the many reasons that employees must be 16 or older. But mostly children and their parents come in eager to view the sweet selection.
Kendall says that her bosses are lenient. They understand the trials and tribulations that teenagers have with school and other things that come up and are flexible about schedules. Kendall really enjoys her co-workers. Many times when she was really sick and in need of someone to cover for her, they were willing to help her out.
At the same time, it is a job and jobs mean work. In this case, pretty sticky work.
“Working at Candy Land isn’t necessarily the dream job or career you’d expect it to be because you’re always around candy,” said Kendall. “It gets messy in the store and we have to clean a lot.”
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Dressing up in character
by TraMaunte Spragging
When people usually talk about costume shops, they think of Halloween and decorations. But what do the people that work there go through? What is it like to work in this type of establishment?
Twin Cities Magic and Costume is located in downtown St. Paul. The usual age requirement for working at the shop is 18, but they also hire around seasonal times — at the end of September for help in October during the Halloween season. Last fall, three 16-year-olds worked there.
Working in a costume shop, you see all kinds of people who come in to get merchandise.
“All kinds of people do come here,” said the manager, Jim Berg. “Everybody comes, and we have over 15, 000 different types of wigs. The most interesting thing about this shop is the fun people.” Right now, the shop is stocking political merchandise in anticipation of the September Republican National Convention in St. Paul and the presidential election in November. You can buy Republican or Democratic hats or sunglasses, masks of famous political figures, even a furry elephant costume.
When you work at one of these shops, you have to be creative, fun, like people and have fun ideas. Some of the different areas of specialties are in make-up, costumes, special effects, and magic. “This isn’t just some regular old costume shop,” he explained. “We have diversity.” There’s a theater on the second floor for magic shows and classes. And a small museum of magic is under construction.
The uniform for the job is only during Halloween when workers have T-shirts or can dress in costumes. Students get paid based on experience. The magic and costume shop moved to a new location at 250 E. 7th St. in St. Paul last year. Check it out on-line at http://www.twincitiesmagic.com/
Twin Cities Magic and Costume is located in downtown St. Paul. The usual age requirement for working at the shop is 18, but they also hire around seasonal times — at the end of September for help in October during the Halloween season. Last fall, three 16-year-olds worked there.
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Comments
Damn, I’m only fifteen
Damn, I’m only fifteen and its the summer! It’s gonna be tough to find a job
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