Planning to Get a Job When I Turn 16 in a Couple of Months, Now Looking...

[Joshua the Writer]

So, I am planning on getting a job when I turn 16, so I am looking at what kinds of jobs I should do. I've never had a job before, so I am trying to make sure I am going to get the right job for me.

I asked on a Discord server for people on the spectrum, and the person who owned the server said that she used to work at a restaurant, but it was rather loud, and the kitchen was a very hot place, too. So most (if not all) restaurants are off the table (no pun intended) for me.

That just leaves retail options. I live South Carolina. I originally thought that I should apply for a job at Gamestop (GAME for the British/European people here), but I actually decided to eliminate that choice because of the stories online about how they treat both their employees and customers (I also decided to not shop their anymore for that reason, along with the fact that they don't have very much PC stuff besides RGB mechanical keyboards and some gaming mice).

So, that leaves: Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Publix, Kroger, and Walmart. If I missed anything else that hires 16-year-olds, then let me know.

I also thought of just making a Craigslist account so I could just make an ad for PC build requests in my area, but IDK how my mom would think of that. I just imagine I'd meet whoever has requested the PC build at their house or a half-way point when I have completed it, but I think that can be alongside something else, though.

Any ideas/comments?

 

[Fino]

I worked at a movie theater when I was sixteen, and I loved it, but there is a LOT going on when it's busy so that I messed up enough with the money that I got fired after about a year!

Next I worked at an arcade/go-karts/fun-center kind of thing, and I didn't have to deal with money so I never got fired. It was also fun, I just didn't like how long the shifts were and quit after two years.

Then I worked as an usher in a theater, a live theater, and that was calm and short hours so I worked there for several years.

All of these jobs had sixteen-year-olds working there!

 

[Joshua the Writer]

I worked at a movie theater when I was sixteen, and I loved it, but there is a LOT going on when it's busy so that I messed up enough with the money that I got fired after about a year!

Next I worked at an arcade/go-karts/fun-center kind of thing, and I didn't have to deal with money so I never got fired. It was also fun, I just didn't like how long the shifts were and quit after two years.

Then I worked as an usher in a theater, a live theater, and that was calm and short hours so I worked there for several years.

All of these jobs had sixteen-year-olds working there!

All of these seem like they may might have way too much going on for me to handle. Going to these types of places already overwhelm me enough. Working at those types of places might just make me get overwhelmed more.

 

[onlything]

I'm not sure about South California but it can be quite difficult for non-adults to get a job overall, so maybe it is better for you not to limit your options as such if you really want to get a job. It may be especially difficult for someone who never worked before. Try first the ones you count on but don't reject jobs only because you heard something bad about them. Every job has its shortcomings.

If you aren't able to get a job as you planned, try other ways: if you can teach, go to a student portal and offer to teach younger kids for some change per hour. Get into retail, especially in season(summer is a good season for fruit and vegetable sales, as well as gathering them, so it may be a good start). However, definitely don't expect to be paid much and check the law of your country if there aren't limited hours which you can work per day/week(in my country it's 2 hours during a study day and less than 16 per week).

Also, check your network if you're able to. Let your family and colleagues know you're looking for a job - maybe they would have something for you? Don't let your pride get in the way. You need to start somewhere and it's easier with someone's help.

 

[Joshua the Writer]

I'm not sure about South California but it can be quite difficult for non-adults to get a job overall, so maybe it is better for you not to limit your options as such if you really want to get a job. It may be especially difficult for someone who never worked before. Try first the ones you count on but don't reject jobs only because you heard something bad about them. Every job has its shortcomings.

If you aren't able to get a job as you planned, try other ways: if you can teach, go to a student portal and offer to teach younger kids for some change per hour. Get into retail, especially in season(summer is a good season for fruit and vegetable sales, as well as gathering them, so it may be a good start). However, definitely don't expect to be paid much and check the law of your country if there aren't limited hours which you can work per day/week(in my country it's 2 hours during a study day and less than 16 per week).

Also, check your network if you're able to. Let your family and colleagues know you're looking for a job - maybe they would have something for you? Don't let your pride get in the way. You need to start somewhere and it's easier with someone's help.

Thank you, mam. I don't think I'd be able to teach. I am not sure about that. I'll try to talk to family, though.

 

[Misery]

Just as a quick note: The stories about Gamestop are all unfortunately true. Been there, done that... and that was BEFORE they got really bad.

And that's just about the employees... there's also the things they'll make you do. You know those "sealed" copies of games they have? "Unopened"? Yeah. In many cases, they've been opened (I don't remember why). But there's a shrinkwrap machine in back for some locations. Used to have to operate the godforsaken thing, I still remember the stink it produced. Felt wrong to me, because of course the things were then sold as "unopened". Or there's the bit about them FORCING you to sell their "special deals" to customers who tend to make it very obvious that they don't want them. Nobody in the store, manager included, liked doing any of that stuff, but Corporate doesn't care (which is something you'll quickly learn as you work any job, really). I cant say for certain that they still do the shrinkwrap thing (but I'd be bloody surprised if they didn't) but I know the whole "OMG CHECK OUT OUR SPECIAL DEALS" bit has gotten dramatically worse than when I was there.

But hey, that's Gamestop for you. Not that they're going to last all that much longer.


Whatever you do go for, make sure you research it first. Understand what you're REALLY getting into BEFORE taking any job. Cant emphasize that enough.

 

[Joshua the Writer]

But hey, that's Gamestop for you. Not that they're going to last all that much longer.

I don't expect them to be around for much longer, either. Digital marketplaces are so much better, especially on the developer's/publisher's part. A DRM such as Steam is far more superior than Gamestop, despite all DRMs having their faults.

 

[Misery]

I don't expect them to be around for much longer, either. Digital marketplaces are so much better, especially on the developer's/publisher's part. A DRM such as Steam is far more superior than Gamestop, despite all DRMs having their faults.

The nice thing about Steam's DRM is that it's actually optional: individual developers choose whether or not to use it. Not usually the case with many forms of DRM.

Of course now there's all this nonsense about the Epic store trying to rise up against them, which might get more than a little annoying for consumers (and I've no idea how DRM works with them). Exclusivity: doesn't truly help anyone in the long run, but corporate types *never* think about the long term. Exactly why Gamestop is falling apart, really...

Now if only Activision and EA would go down that same doomed road. Bah. But that's a subject for another day.

 

[inkfingers]

I had a part time job at a garden center. Everyone there was very nice, and the management was great. Unfortunately, I ended up quitting because I couldn't handle being "on" all the time.

 

[china autie]

A quiet job in a library sounds appealing to me perdpnally.

 

[Graphin]

A stereotypical thing here is newspaper delivery.
Usually the better ones people that age end up getting is by making some relative arrange some improvised work somewhere.

 

[Progster]

When I was 16, I worked in a garden centre/plant nursery, and seasonal work picking fruit. They were ok, and didn't involve a lot of social interaction.

 

[Theta.G]

If you're dropping out of school being a night shift product stocker at a any business with enough products to have these positions could be great for autistic individuals. It's quiet. Your only working with a few people and most of the time you'll be alone in your own areas. Unload boxes, put things on shelves. No special skills required. It's repetitive work but you won't have to deal with people all shift. You'll get long periods of silence.

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

I had a weekend job at a garden center, it was pretty chill, quite and easy going. I still hated it though because I had enough teenaged angst to drown in.

 

[All-Rounder]

I kept hearing about Walmart, it seems to be a hard job for young folk and for beginning, it may Also take more hours of your time and leave you exhausted especially if you have school too and need to study.

but I think its a good idea to get a job, it offers you exp and some money to aid you in college and in life especially Wynn expectations of your parents and makes it easier Later when you will need to get a job after finishing studies

 

[Mary Terry]

Think outside the box to find a job. You don't have to take the traditional teenager jobs and might find something really interesting to do.

My first summer job at age 16 was as a counselor at a YWCA camp for disadvantaged black girls. They had never been out of the city and didn't know what crickets, frogs and owls sounded like at night. I had about 8 girls to supervise and stayed in the cabin with them at night. I'm white and knew little about black people at that age. The kids knew little about white people, too, so it was a good learning experience for all of us. We fixed each other's hair, read stories to each other, and talked for hours at night, real girly stuff. During the days, I taught swimming and served as a life guard, I taught them how to use a canoe, how to identify trees and plants and birds on nature walks, the usual craft stuff at summer camp like making lanyards and little purses and painting. It was a good first job for me but it may not be for everyone because it requires a lot of interaction with the campers.

The next summer job I got was as an errand girl at a prestigious law firm when I was 17. I answered the phones and transferred the calls to whomever or took messages for them, did light typing (that was before computers) and copying, filed documents at the courthouse, updated the law library (that was before digital online legal research) and, strange to think of now, posted bail for criminal defendants represented by the firm. The firm gave me the paperwork and money to post bail. I went on to become a lawyer.

 

[owlet]

It might be good to try getting experience in an area you're vaguely interested in as a career. So if you were interested in computers, maybe working/volunteering in an environment like an IT help desk to begin with.

My first job was a paper round which gave very little transferable experience (I don't even mention it on my CV), then a supermarket which was equally not applicable to my areas of interest. On the other hand, I volunteered in a bunch of more interesting places for work experience, which has made my CV look a lot better to potential employers (although I couldn't predict that volunteering at a city farm would be interesting to a publishing house I later interned with). So if you have an idea of things you might be interested in, have a look in those areas and see what you can get, is my advice.

 

[Fino]

I've heard good things about Starbucks, but maybe that would be hectic, as well.

 

[MeghanWithAnH]

One thing to keep in mind is that even if you don't find the 'right' job for your first job, you can still gain valuable skills in things like time management and dealing with co-workers, bosses, and customers that you will use in some way in any job. Many of my jobs in my teens and 20s had nothing to do with the field I'm going into now or the one I thought I wanted, but if I hadn't done them then I wouldn't be remotely prepared to handle what I'm doing now. Actually, I wouldn't even know about the job I'm doing now. The key is to push yourself a little bit out of your comfort zone, but not so much that it makes you completely miserable or unable to do the job. It's great if you can find something related to your interests, but if you can't, don't freak out because you may find more opportunities for that after high school. The point of high school jobs is to learn how to have a job, and hopefully to make a good impression on your supervisor in case you need to use them as a reference for future jobs.

So basically, rule out jobs that you know for sure will make you miserable, like Gamestop and restaurants, then check out all of the remaining jobs and see who's hiring. Maybe it will be great, maybe it won't, but either way you'll learn from it and end up with a better idea of what you want in your next job. Just do as well as you can and try to be polite and helpful so you can use the people there as a reference to help you get the next job. Also, many of the companies you mentioned have many types of jobs, so even if they originally hire you to do something you don't really like, if you do your job well (and again, make a good impression by being polite) it can help you get a job you'd like better at the same company after you work for them for a little while. Companies like hiring people who they already know are good employees.

If you do decide to make an account on Craigslist, make sure to stay safe. I wouldn't recommend going to your customers' homes, especially not alone, and don't give out any personal information. Here's an article from Craigslist about how to use it safely, and there are many more online. craigslist | about | safety
Most people you meet will be good people, but there's no way to tell who could be dangerous, especially when money is involved. The safest place to meet people you don't know is somewhere public, like a coffee shop or a library. I do a lot of private tutoring and I know it's tempting to do whatever the customer wants when you are just starting out in a business, because you need customers, but you have to stick to certain boundaries to keep yourself safe. Having a plan for getting customers safely may also help reassure your mom.

Good luck with your job search!

 

[Catalyst]

Don't cross small businesses off your list. Go around shopping centers and business areas to see any hiring signs in windows. Local hotels or inns might have positions open for cleaning staff as well.