Pocket Money

muse

Grandma70s
Already, I'm thinking how extremely lucky some students are to have parents who can fund everything for them whilst studying. I'm not thinking of extra money but money for food, clothes and items needed for studies.

I couldn't help my two children at all throughout their studies. My daughter did a degree and son a B.Tech. My daughter took a part time job and both did make use of the loans which they paid back. She worked at the local restaurant during the vacations when she came home. I took nothing from her whilst she was at home during the vacations.

I did not have rich parents. I had grants (this was before the era of the student loan), not huge but enough. For my postgraduate degree I had a scholarship. My parents probably subsidised my undergraduate life to some extent - I didn’t pay when I was with them in the vacations - but not later. I was independent.

My own children had student loans and vacation jobs.

From the age of 13, saturday jobs, Greengrocers, cafe waitress, greengrocers again and wimpy bar, all before i was 15 when i left school and got a full tine job commuting to London. I never knew anyone who went to university and further or higher education never discussed. It was another 25 years before I graduated as a very nature student.
Both my dds worked saturdays and school holidays from 15. I think it should be encouraged so they learn the value of money and get some independence.

It is probably much harder for a 16 year old or anyone else to get a job than it was when we were that age- I was sixteen in 1967 after all, when there was a shortage of workers, not of work.

Probably much the same jobs are available now as then, just not as many of them.

The sixteen year olds I know work in supermarkets, filling shelves and manning the tills. Some deliver post on Saturdays and during the postmen's summer holidays.

Some manage to find jobs that might be relevant to what they want to study, cleaning kennels at boarding kennels or vets, some deliver pizzas and other forms of fast food, but that usually means they need to have a scooter.

Some help out in care homes or kindergartens.

The prospects are not good if the girl really is work-shy as the youngsters I know who are contributing to their keep or ekeing out a student's grant are anything but work-shy.

Up at 6 am to do a paper round before school was my pocket money.
I rode a bone shaker of a bike, heavy no gears, to deliver to people with long drives before 8 am. 5/- per week in the early 60s. That bag was so heavy.

Grandma70s
Already, I'm thinking how extremely lucky some students are to have parents who can fund everything for them whilst studying. I'm not thinking of extra money but money for food, clothes and items needed for studies.

I couldn't help my two children at all throughout their studies. My daughter did a degree and son a B.Tech. My daughter took a part time job and both did make use of the loans which they paid back. She worked at the local restaurant during the vacations when she came home. I took nothing from her whilst she was at home during the vacations.

Worked in a firework factory, Christmas post, three times, Kodak printing factory twice, office work four times All to supplement my grant. I think we all did it then. The area I worked in at Kodak was all students, we had a lovely time .

I worked in a greengrocer’s shop on Saturdays, must have started there when I was about 14/15.

My own daughter worked at a local mushroom farm at 13, then she worked weekends in a nursing home when she was 16. Also did babysitting.

DS had a paper round at 13, then a Saturday job at the Co Op when he was 16.

Our GS trained as a football referee, and referees at mainly the under 10’s/under12’s matches at weekends, he is 16.

I agree that apart from paper rounds, there is not much in the way of part time jobs for youngsters nowadays.

A shame, as I think they can learn so much from having a part time job, teamwork, punctuality, relating to colleagues and customers, earning your own money....

Riverwalk

Regarding your GD - as she's only 16 it will be difficult for her to find a part-time job.

What jobs does your DD think she can realistically apply for?

You can work from the age of 16 as that school leaving age.

www.studentjob.co.uk/ages/jobs-16-year-olds.

I did babysitting at her age. Easy money - didn't really seem like work!

My parents would have been horrified if I had thought there was time to do an outside job when I was at school. Academic work, and extras like music, were full time. The same applied at university, though I did know some people with jobs then. I could survive without extra money, and didn’t expect more. So no jobs for me, just a great deal of academic work, and quite a lot of unpaid singing.

When my son was at Cambridge in the early 1990s, his college did not allow undergraduates to have outside jobs during term. They could in the vacations, and my son did. He always felt broke among students who were mostly better off than he was,

Regarding your GD - as she's only 16 it will be difficult for her to find a part-time job.

What jobs does your DD think she can realistically apply for?

I worked as a waitress in a local hotel when I was 14. I felt incredibly grown up but looking back I was really well looked after there. The chef knew my dad and fed me excellent meals constantly! Then I worked in a supermarket until I left for university. It was also really good and nurturing. The women were kind and generous to Saturday girls. At university I worked in a local library as a summer job and I liked that too. I used the money instead of asking my parents and they weren't necessary but I was definitely encouraged to work by my parents.