Ok so starting my own business with my friend was a great idea, and really has taught me a lot, it really does not generate the money we thought it was. (here is the website in case you are curious www.mypcomputer.com). I am in desperate need of a job, and really dont know where to look, because most of the jobs that are normally taken by students are, so I have come to you guys for some advice on where else to look. I do live in CT and there are some rather restrictive laws here, like how you cant work in retail until you are 18.
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Good Job for a 17 year old HS Senior
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What do you want to do when you're older? What are your skill sets, and what are you passions in life?
Kwyjibo
macrumors 68040
I worked three jobs from the age of 15 until I was about 19 and in college .... surprisingly I think all three helped make me successful in life and built essential skills ... I would suggest any job that requires customer interaction, to me the most important skill you can learn at a young age is customer service and how to deal with people from a range of ages, backgrounds and socio-economic statuses. At the end of the day, people are the business of america now and the future.
At the age of 15 I started working at a certain Toasty sub chain, it was a good job, no deep fryers and I worked all three positions, making sammiches, wrapping and cashier. Making sammiches in a fast paced environment and doing it correctly was a challenge, but at the same time I learned how to deal with customers in this environment. I also learned how to tactfully deal with managers, which is an essential skill as well. At one point the time clock broke, and the manager started totaling up the hours manually ... she began shorting me because of an unfamiliarity with simple math and the concept of units. so if the time card would say 4:15, she would pay me 4.15 hours not 4.25 hours ... when you're a kid making $6/hr and you're in honors math classes, you notice these things right away.
My next job was working at a parking lot at a large concert venue. I learned how to stand out in he heat, and how to make friends with coworkers of all ages. This was probably my "adventureland" summer so to speak, lots of fun, lots of drama, saggy boobs at jimmy buffet, hooking up on a security deck, great great fun, working crowd control at crazier shows like ozzfest. This was a boring job, directing traffic, but still to this day I have a good idea of where a car is when its approaching me and if its slowing down or speeding up. You may think you have that down but it pays off big time when you're crossing streets in busy cities and late for work 🙂 ... I made tons of friends and had tons of fun that summer ...
My next job was by far my best job of my teens ... I served tables at weddings. I learned how to deal with all types, wound up brides, crazy parents, old people, drunk people, little kids, drunker people ... I was pretty good and always polite to everyone. I greeted the owner when I saw him, even though he tended to stay quiet. Eventually I was promoted to a manager and began working both weddings and in the attached country club. All the sudden I was 18 with a manger title, but personally I don't think that would've been possible without my previous jobs.
At the age of 15 I started working at a certain Toasty sub chain, it was a good job, no deep fryers and I worked all three positions, making sammiches, wrapping and cashier. Making sammiches in a fast paced environment and doing it correctly was a challenge, but at the same time I learned how to deal with customers in this environment. I also learned how to tactfully deal with managers, which is an essential skill as well. At one point the time clock broke, and the manager started totaling up the hours manually ... she began shorting me because of an unfamiliarity with simple math and the concept of units. so if the time card would say 4:15, she would pay me 4.15 hours not 4.25 hours ... when you're a kid making $6/hr and you're in honors math classes, you notice these things right away.
My next job was working at a parking lot at a large concert venue. I learned how to stand out in he heat, and how to make friends with coworkers of all ages. This was probably my "adventureland" summer so to speak, lots of fun, lots of drama, saggy boobs at jimmy buffet, hooking up on a security deck, great great fun, working crowd control at crazier shows like ozzfest. This was a boring job, directing traffic, but still to this day I have a good idea of where a car is when its approaching me and if its slowing down or speeding up. You may think you have that down but it pays off big time when you're crossing streets in busy cities and late for work 🙂 ... I made tons of friends and had tons of fun that summer ...
My next job was by far my best job of my teens ... I served tables at weddings. I learned how to deal with all types, wound up brides, crazy parents, old people, drunk people, little kids, drunker people ... I was pretty good and always polite to everyone. I greeted the owner when I saw him, even though he tended to stay quiet. Eventually I was promoted to a manager and began working both weddings and in the attached country club. All the sudden I was 18 with a manger title, but personally I don't think that would've been possible without my previous jobs.
I really want to be an IT guy, not a Geek Squad type person, a person who works at a corporation, working toward the tech future of that company. For example my Dad is the COO at a company called Chyron they do television graphics for companies like Fox, YES Network, all of the Gannet stations, CNN, NBC, and a few more, and they are currently working on a transition to more and more "cloud" resources, and developing tools, the product is Axis, (axis.tv). The process is fascinating to me, and to do something like that in the future would be perfect.
I am really good with computers, which I would have thought to be clear from the company I made with my friend which I linked in my original post. I have what I consider really good people skills, and can easily make a friend. I also always see what I do through, and never half ass anything. The problem is that no one will hire a 17 year old HS student, for even the most basic IT like jobs.
I will definitely make a few trips around to the local restaurants in my area this week, and see what I can find.
Creative One
macrumors 6502
I started working when I was 13, at a fast food restaurant. You just need to prove you can work hard. During the summer I was putting in 45 - 60 hour weeks.
mscriv
macrumors 601
Sounds like a young male gigolo to me. 😀
Ok, seriously, you'de be surprised how many people are looking for odd jobs. If you are dependable and willing to do whatever to make some cash then just start asking around and see what people need done. Rake leaves, clean out a garage, walk someone's dog, shovel snow, etc. etc. This probably won't provide you with a steady stream of income, but it might help you get some quick cash while you look for something more permanent. With the Christmas season coming there is also probably some seasonal work around depending on where you look.
So, your dad is COO at Chyron...it is something that fascinates you. And your dad can't work anything out there???? You may not be doing anything really IT in the beginning, but surely there is SOMETHING you could get into there. Lord knows if I had an in at Chyron, I'd be salivating.
I would work there in the summers I intern there in the IT, but we live an hour+ from there so its kinda hard to even work part time there. Have you heard of Chyron before, it seems like you have.
you are young...if you are stressing out about jobs now....wow
i would hope you have minimal payments/bills and if you dont, you should cut down on anything that would require significant bills. You are 17..give me a break. There is no reason for you to need money.
the best plan for kids is to find a summer job that can pay upwards of $1500 - $2000 and then use that for the rest of the year therefore you spend the rest of the year focused on school.
In general, I only hear bad things from kids who work jobs and go to school. Bad things meaning, when i see why they are working...its because they want to buy clothes, go out to eat, etc..and i say bull. Also, the classic..well i need to pay for my car....to which I say...do you really need a car? like i mean really need it..life or death...to which they say yes..I do need it...how else would i go to work...I then just shake my head and laugh. (they still dont get my point either).
I'm sure you can probably stand outside your local grocery store in Wilton and can get people to give you some change (20s and 50s) if you just have a sign that says...need money. Probably wont work in Miami Beach, but sure will work in Fairfield County.
i would hope you have minimal payments/bills and if you dont, you should cut down on anything that would require significant bills. You are 17..give me a break. There is no reason for you to need money.
the best plan for kids is to find a summer job that can pay upwards of $1500 - $2000 and then use that for the rest of the year therefore you spend the rest of the year focused on school.
In general, I only hear bad things from kids who work jobs and go to school. Bad things meaning, when i see why they are working...its because they want to buy clothes, go out to eat, etc..and i say bull. Also, the classic..well i need to pay for my car....to which I say...do you really need a car? like i mean really need it..life or death...to which they say yes..I do need it...how else would i go to work...I then just shake my head and laugh. (they still dont get my point either).
I'm sure you can probably stand outside your local grocery store in Wilton and can get people to give you some change (20s and 50s) if you just have a sign that says...need money. Probably wont work in Miami Beach, but sure will work in Fairfield County.
MattSepeta
macrumors 65816
You could always...
Option 1: Get photoshop, learn how to make some killer lower thirds, and get a job at Chyron
Option 2: Fast food.
Option 3: Housesitting, petsitting, baby sitting, lawn mowing, yard work, snow shoveling, deck staining etc... Make your own money!
If you do not NEED to work, and your family can afford to feed you and house you, I think your best bet is to spend your time acquiring and perfecting new skills. That way, when you are entering the workforce, you can bring a lot more to the table and end up alot better in the long run.
Got my first job working in the MN Zoo food court when I was 15. Next job was reffing youth lacrosse at the community center. Then came KFC for a year. (Everyone should have to work fast food. Your work ethic will skyrocket!) Then I bounced around a few retail jobs at the Mall of america. Then I started staining decks. Then i got a job at a watch shop. Then FINALLY I landed a job doing graphics.
Moral: NONE of my previous work experience helped me AT ALL in getting the job I was trying to get. Wasted a bunch of time, and got me a bunch of money, which I in turn, wasted.
Skillset>Spare Change 😀
Option 1: Get photoshop, learn how to make some killer lower thirds, and get a job at Chyron
Option 2: Fast food.
Option 3: Housesitting, petsitting, baby sitting, lawn mowing, yard work, snow shoveling, deck staining etc... Make your own money!
If you do not NEED to work, and your family can afford to feed you and house you, I think your best bet is to spend your time acquiring and perfecting new skills. That way, when you are entering the workforce, you can bring a lot more to the table and end up alot better in the long run.
Got my first job working in the MN Zoo food court when I was 15. Next job was reffing youth lacrosse at the community center. Then came KFC for a year. (Everyone should have to work fast food. Your work ethic will skyrocket!) Then I bounced around a few retail jobs at the Mall of america. Then I started staining decks. Then i got a job at a watch shop. Then FINALLY I landed a job doing graphics.
Moral: NONE of my previous work experience helped me AT ALL in getting the job I was trying to get. Wasted a bunch of time, and got me a bunch of money, which I in turn, wasted.
Skillset>Spare Change 😀
mscriv
macrumors 601
Tap the breaks there iOrlando. Beyond what's been put in this thread you have no idea what the young man's circumstances are or his motivation for wanting to work. Let's not rush to judgement now. Besides, it's his life and his choice regarding what he does with his free time as long as his parents give approval. Most parents I know are encouraging their older teens to get involved in something productive like a part time job. Or would you rather this be a thread that asks, "What should I spend my $3000 a month allowance on because my dad's a COO at a big corporation?" Give the guy a break it sounds like he's making some good choices or at least getting a start in the right direction. 🙄
yeah..no way school can be productive...who needs that..
waiter at the nearby Friendlys or office sectary at a doctors office...now thats being productive at 17 years old..
mscriv
macrumors 601
C'mon, please tell me your joking! It's entirely possible to be a student and work at the same time. People "productively" do it every day in high school, college, and graduate school. Now I'll freely admit that not everyone is successful at juggling this level of responsibility, but good parents who monitor their kids activities can help them get an early start at learning how to handle it. Maturity and responsibility are not based on some arbitrary age, but life experience, mentoring, and a variety of other factors. Don't go attacking a straw man because no one in this thread has advocated students quitting school to get a job and the OP never implied that's what he was going to do.
If you're simply arguing that "kids should be kids" well, I understand that, but the teenage years are a transitonal phase into early adulthood. During this period boys and girls need to begin learning how to manage multiple roles and responsibilites because that is what life is really like. Work on top of education is one way for young people to begin this process.
I am getting a job so I can help pay for my college tuition next year and for the years to come. My parents also dont spoil me, anything that I want I have to buy with my money, if I can't afford it I dont get it, that's how I got my MBP, I worked as an assistant coach for the spring, and summer seasons, along with the internship that payed for the MBP, the rest of it I saved.
I dont understand why you have you have to be such a d-bag saying all this stuff about how I am rich and **** comes easy. Welcome to the real world, many of my friends parents have lost their jobs, and families are taking huge paycuts just to keep the job so before you go judging everything think about what life may actually be like.
If I wanted to someone to come out and make a bunch of assumptions I would have, but I didn't all I was asking for was some advice on a decent job for a 17 year old.
Oh and btw Chyron is far from some huge corp. it has 97 employees.
I also dont need to focus an extreme amount on school especially at the end of the first semester because I am a senior and I will have been admitted (hopefully) to college and can focus on other things like getting some money for college and finding a job that can help me benefit myself.
I dont understand why you have you have to be such a d-bag saying all this stuff about how I am rich and **** comes easy. Welcome to the real world, many of my friends parents have lost their jobs, and families are taking huge paycuts just to keep the job so before you go judging everything think about what life may actually be like.
If I wanted to someone to come out and make a bunch of assumptions I would have, but I didn't all I was asking for was some advice on a decent job for a 17 year old.
Oh and btw Chyron is far from some huge corp. it has 97 employees.
I also dont need to focus an extreme amount on school especially at the end of the first semester because I am a senior and I will have been admitted (hopefully) to college and can focus on other things like getting some money for college and finding a job that can help me benefit myself.
dukebound85
macrumors Core
uh come again? i remember needing money when i was 17...
or not. a job while in school never hurt anyone
in fact most of my friends and I had jobs while in hs and college continuously.
you need money to function in this society..
those who rely on their parents are "sad" in my eyes when they are every bit capable of working
you work to live and you live at 17 too
do you just relyon mommy and daddy for all your activites to be funded? or do you jut sit in a box all day eating oatmeal and then sleep and do it all over every day as that costs no money..
people need a car for more reasons than work
you are REALLY showing your immaturity
are you serious? you know what i tell people who do that? get a job
funny how you advocate begging over working🙄
dukebound85
macrumors Core
when i was 17, i worked at target and at a car dealership
can you work other jobs that are not considered retail?
if you cant work retail, i would advertise shoveling driveways or something.
NO ONE likes to do that lol so you could make a nice profit for labor
i liked working at a dealership lol but i love cars as well
can you work other jobs that are not considered retail?
if you cant work retail, i would advertise shoveling driveways or something.
NO ONE likes to do that lol so you could make a nice profit for labor
i liked working at a dealership lol but i love cars as well
Indeed, I have heard of Chyron...quite a bit actually.
I worked at a grocery store from the time I was 16-18. Worked for one year as a bagger, and two years as a checker. I think it was perfectly good work for a high schooler for some extra cash. Wouldn't help much in developing any skills though, short of learning 3000 damn produce codes. Try to find ANYTHING that will help you develop skills in your desired field.
I did a quick stint in landscaping, but outdoor work starting at 6am in Memphis in the summer (100 degrees with 90% humidity) in long pants was just not for me.
And don't listen to those quacks saying that it's a waste of time because the only thing you should be doing at 17 is "being 17". Trust me, the benefits will show later.
Nugget
macrumors 68020
Respectfully, I'd encourage you to take another shot at your small business. There will never be another time in your life where it's as safe to take risks as you have right now, and the rewards of entrepreneurship are tremendous even in failure. You're obviously driven and have a genuine interest in the field -- don't give up so quickly.
I took a look at your website and I'd never in a million years hire you guys as presented, but it's not because people won't hire a 17 year old. Your website is dishonest about the size and nature of the company but it doesn't fool anyone. People don't like to feel like they're being lied to by a company they might do business with. Right there on the page where you say you're high school students you've got that horrible stock photography image of a call center dude with a headset and everyone knows that you don't have a call center if you're just two students. But that's great, really, because nobody likes to call a call center.
Lose all the misleading stock photography. Drop all the bland, pablum big businessey text and sloganeering. You're two high school kids -- leverage that. Instead of productizing and making a services portfolio with rigid tiers and rates -- ask yourself a more fundamental question:
What sort of person would be more comfortable dealing with two high school students instead of a larger, more impersonal corporation. How can we find those people and what do they want?
I think there's a great opportunity for success with two motivated students who are capable of providing more honest advice and more focused attention than a "Geek Squad" skilled laborer. That's a compelling sales pitch that you can make honestly and it's going to resonate with people who will pay you real money. Honest.
Your podcasts are a great start -- I'd encourage you keep doing them and put as much of your personality into them as you can stand. If people are going to hire you it's only going to be because they want to hire you.
Jason Cohen has a great essay about this dynamic which you might find inspirational. I think you'd enjoy reading it.
Why not get some certs. I got an A+ cert at 16. Try asking around IT related businesses to see if you can at least intern or something.
this whole thread is a bunch of bull.
I have no compassion for you and thank you for all the colorful names you gave me.
buying a macbook pro yet then complaining you have no money is just like the people who go to the soap kitchen because they cant afford food for their kids although they are able to afford their daily pack of ciggys.
i still stand by assertion that you go to the wilton supermarket and ask for 50s. I've been to that area of Fairfield county.
Many heads above the clouds up there.
I have no compassion for you and thank you for all the colorful names you gave me.
buying a macbook pro yet then complaining you have no money is just like the people who go to the soap kitchen because they cant afford food for their kids although they are able to afford their daily pack of ciggys.
i still stand by assertion that you go to the wilton supermarket and ask for 50s. I've been to that area of Fairfield county.
Many heads above the clouds up there.
In case you havent noticed, I am not crying for a job, I am merely asking for suggestions. Sure there may be many kids with their heads in the clouds, I am not one of them, if I was I wouldnt be asking for suggestions on a job, I dont like getting stuff handed to me, and it doesnt get handed to me anyway. I dont have my head in the clouds, is it illegal for me wanting to make some money of my own for college and so I can buy stuff. I am sorry that you think it is such a horrible thing for a senior wanting to work.
I just think that you are jealous of what you think I have, that I really don't. You need to get your head out of your ass, and realize that just because you live in an area you are rich and just have money pouring out of your ears and people can just throw money at you. You dont live here, you have been here a few times congrats that doesnt mean you know what life is like. If you are only going to try and act like a 4 year old toward the thread dont comment on it, and let people who are trying to help, help.
Anyway @Nugget, I am not giving up on the company I am just shifting focus a little bit. And I know what you are saying about the site and could not agree more I have actually been trying to tell my friend that its not sending the right message for HS students, people really do see the big corporation deal even though its only us. I will show him this thread and hopefully then he will see that its not just me being anal. Thank you very much for the suggestions. And that essay was extremely helpful your post really has opened my eyes as to what we can do. I cannot thank you enough. 😀
I just think that you are jealous of what you think I have, that I really don't. You need to get your head out of your ass, and realize that just because you live in an area you are rich and just have money pouring out of your ears and people can just throw money at you. You dont live here, you have been here a few times congrats that doesnt mean you know what life is like. If you are only going to try and act like a 4 year old toward the thread dont comment on it, and let people who are trying to help, help.
Anyway @Nugget, I am not giving up on the company I am just shifting focus a little bit. And I know what you are saying about the site and could not agree more I have actually been trying to tell my friend that its not sending the right message for HS students, people really do see the big corporation deal even though its only us. I will show him this thread and hopefully then he will see that its not just me being anal. Thank you very much for the suggestions. And that essay was extremely helpful your post really has opened my eyes as to what we can do. I cannot thank you enough. 😀
Just curious, what did you do at the dealership? I'm 17 as well, and would like to work with cars, too.
Zombie Acorn
macrumors 65816
I worked at a convenient store when I was 17, only job around so I took it, I worked enough to buy a car. High School jobs are not glamorous.