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> A study by University of Virginia and Middle Tennessee State University economists found that teenagers who held part-time jobs in school had annual earnings
by jt2190 8y ago
> A study by University of Virginia and Middle Tennessee State University economists found that teenagers who held part-time jobs in school had annual earnings that were 20 percent higher than their counterparts without experience six to nine years after graduation.
> These entry level jobs such as flipping burgers or taking customers orders teach teens valuable jobs skills such as customer service and applying basic math skills. Skills that could ultimately lead to the career stepping stones for a working teenager to become an engineer or accountant.
I think these are good points, but I think that we should be careful that we're not giving young people advice that's obsolete. Times change!
Here's a thought exercise: Imagine the time when the first jobs for hourly pay came into existence. What advice was the older generation giving to the youth of that time? (I can imagine my elders telling me that it'd be important to learn to take care of animials, or harvest wheat, etc.)
- ghaff 8y agoI suspect that it's a lot less about any specific skills and more about earning money, showing up for work even when you don't want to, etc. I suspect that if those same teenagers worked on a farm part-time (or perhaps even played organized sports) instead, they'd also do better than their counterparts who didn't.
- jt2190 8y agoVery true and exactly my point! Maybe “showing up” by logging in to Facebook to socially influence others and increase your employer’s followers is just as effective at giving young people life skills as flipping burgers was back in the day. Let’s not constrain ourselves to burger flipping because that was a thing once upon a time.
- qbrass 8y ago>Here's a thought exercise: Imagine the time when the first jobs for hourly pay came into existence. What advice was the older generation giving to the youth of that time? (I can imagine my elders telling me that it'd be important to learn to take care of animials, or harvest wheat, etc.) Wages were known to be paid in ancient Egypt, so that advice would have been useful for the next few millennia.
- therealdrag0 8y agoMy first job (in high-school) was doing QA and eventually coding for a 4 person software first. I don't know how common this actually is, but I don't see why internships/apprenticeships can't be a more common thing for even teenagers (instead of just those in university).