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My teenage sons got jobs by taking courses that would increase their credentials. One works as a lifeguard and swim instructor and the other works as a nursing assistant. They are both still in high school.
Seems the fast food jobs have dried up around here because the retired folks have to go back to work to supplement their income. Don't retire from your professional job! You may find yourself asking, "do you want fries with that?"
If I was a teen today, I would focus more on doing "self employed" type work like lawn mowing, baby sitting, and that kind of thing. You can probably make more money and put up with less stress overall.
One of my daughters made a lot of money one summer babysitting. She put up signs on the telephone poles and such in the neighborhood. She had so much money sitting in a drawer that I made her get a checking account. It was hard to find a bank that would let a 14 year old open their own account. The other one wasn't real interested in babysitting, but both always worked.
It is pretty easy to get a student loan. It is pretty difficult to "work one's way" through college. That is part of American mythology, but it rarely happened even "back in the day" and with rising tuitions, etc it happens even less often now.
"Flipping burgers" is a metaphor for a low paying job.
Working during schoool, even at low wage jobs, REDUCES the amount borrowed. We both know you have carped on the huge debt kids come out with. Even a p/t 20 hour/wk job at $8 per hour, is $32k gross-$29k net as there is no Fed or State Income tax at $8k per year (32k was 4 years). If 15k of the 29k avoids bigger loans, that is not chump change. Add in one can work 40 or more hours 3 months each year (summer): I worked 60, and ended up with loans for college that equaled under one semesters costs, in total.
I see that as a good thing. I didn't need to have a job until I had a masters degree (and I was 22 at the time). The focus was entirely on building a career, not flipping burgers.
Some of us were not born with a silver spoon in our mouths.
Daddy didn't buy my first car for me. I bought my 68 GTX as a basket case, when I was 13, with the title in my name, using money I earned mowing grass since I was 6 years old.
Daddy didn't put me through college, either.
Dad a military man, taught me I had to work for what I wanted.
The deal is, now the Federal government says kids can't do that theses days.
They have inflated the dollar so much, cost of living has not increased, the value of your pay has decreased.
So, a job you love to do that put you in the middle class and a nice lifestyle, no longer does that because pay in inflated dollar bills, has not kept up with rapid inflation.
If you make $20 an hour, your really only making .80¢ an hour, with the dollar worth .04¢
Funny how you rarely hear people talk about how all of our illegal immigrants started taking over the jobs that teenagers, college students and high schoolers once took. Anyone that pays attention to their surroundings will notice that transition and change. I was a teenager with a job back in the day when I was 14 and have been working since then, and I have seen that culture of teenage-employment change completely as illegal immigrant population has grown. It sucks pretty bad to see that happening to U.S. Citizens and legal residents that could use those jobs. People say illegal immigrants do jobs that Americans don't do, but that's not true.
I'm starting to think that the governments (local and federal) need to start working together more to weed out more illegal immigrant workers. It is completely unfair that they are able to work while legal residents are looking for jobs and can't get them; completely unacceptable.
You are exactly right.
There are over 30 million illegal immigrants living here - not all are adults, many are the "dream act" children illegals who think they are too good to work hard for their living and want free college educations.
Fewer than 500,000 illegals work in agriculture. Not all the rest are living just on welfare handouts -- a significant number of them are working jobs Americans would do. Identity theft is huge -- many illegals are using stole social security numbers to work jobs that many Americans would and could do.
I really don't understand that liberals believe that all we have to do is put more and more Americans on the government dole and keep bringing in more and more illegals to take all the jobs, and now the illegals want to be given college on top of that so they can have the even better jobs.
Why do the hard work, if you could do all that, make for, and get an MBA without having to do anything? Or, are you now slapping your head for not doing that, instead grinding your rear only to be frustrated to no end after all that hard work?
But, involuntarily, you did touch on a fact that I avoided to keep my post manageable. Our idea of innovation, over last 10-15 years, IMO, has largely been in the financial markets.
You most definitely are an elitist.
If you cannot go to college and find 20 or more hours to devote to working, you're not really that cut out for college.
Just who is supposed to offer the free college on a silver platter to all like yourself who believe they are too good to work?
For those who don't have someone else pay their way for them, there are loans which can be a foolish way to go, or working to help pay for their tuition and costs.
The MBA who has nothing going but the MBA is exactly what is driving many corporations into the ground. They have no clue what goes on at the front lines of the corporation, they have zero understanding of customers, customer service. They sit around in nice offices looking at financial sheets, every employee is just a plug-and-play FTE and then they wonder why the company doesn't make it.
This is a big change in economy and society that has not gotten much attention. The percentage of employed 16-19-yr-olds is only about 25 percent, down from 40-50 pct during the 1980's and 1990's. Also according to the article, the situation is even a little worse than the 25 pct figure suggests. Teenagers who have jobs often get them through family connections. Hence those from poor families who need jobs the most, get them the least.
There are a few obvious reasons for this change. Doubtless as wealth increases, some kids will choose not to work because they don't have to. Still I think that for any teen there is a natural (and healthy) impulse to get some independence from Dad & Mom's money.
The biggest factor would appear to be immigration. All the jobs that I could get as a kid--fast food jobs, landscaping, janitorial, etc.--are now dominated by immigrants. Another factor is the minimum wage, and the constant efforts by democrats to raise it, along with various do-gooder effort to increase 'child labor' regulations.
What do you think will be the consequences for the future of the US economy from this change?
I disagree with your premise. I know plenty of businesses that are and have been looking for teen age part time help.
My grandson just got one without much trouble.
If you want a job you can find one. Too many don't want to work.
My teenage sons got jobs by taking courses that would increase their credentials. One works as a lifeguard and swim instructor and the other works as a nursing assistant. They are both still in high school.
Seems the fast food jobs have dried up around here because the retired folks have to go back to work to supplement their income. Don't retire from your professional job! You may find yourself asking, "do you want fries with that?"
Here it is the illegal aliens.
Fast food and landscaping.... Those use to be the staple of kids during the summers and after school.
Not anymore.
1986 and the Immigration Reform and Control Act, was the start of the end. All those guys called their family and friends from south of the border, to come on over, they had a job for them waiting and the flood began and actually encouraged by the Clinton administration.
There are over 30 million illegal immigrants living here - not all are adults, many are the "dream act" children illegals who think they are too good to work hard for their living and want free college educations.
Fewer than 500,000 illegals work in agriculture. Not all the rest are living just on welfare handouts -- a significant number of them are working jobs Americans would do. Identity theft is huge -- many illegals are using stole social security numbers to work jobs that many Americans would and could do.
I really don't understand that liberals believe that all we have to do is put more and more Americans on the government dole and keep bringing in more and more illegals to take all the jobs, and now the illegals want to be given college on top of that so they can have the even better jobs.
Fast food and landscaping.... Those use to be the staple of kids during the summers and after school.
Not anymore.
1986 and the Immigration Reform and Control Act, was the start of the end. All those guys called their family and friends from south of the border, to come on over, they had a job for them waiting and the flood began and actually encouraged by the Clinton administration.
Why not?
Look at some of the nicest summer vacation spots, for example Rehoboth Beach, DE. Virtually all of the summer help is from Eastern Europe.
Why don't employers want to hire American kids?
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Or, are you now slapping your head for not doing that, instead grinding your rear only to be frustrated to no end after all that hard work? 
