P.T. jobs
 

I'm looking for a part time job. I'm running out of $$ for tech-nerd purchases ;)

My hiccup is I want to find something I'm interested in. The nice people at my local telus would gladly take me on (they all know me and know I know a thing or two about mobiles and most of all enjoy fiddling with them and helping people set them up.) , but they can't take me on because I'm not 18. (the whole contract signing mess.)

I have an in at shoppers (family friend) , but don't necessarily enjoy the idea of working the cash. I love technology and computers/mobiles and stuff and that's what I'd like to do ideally.

Problem is I'm in a small town now, so there's less options.

Any ideas? And please not with the "Your first job isn't supposed to be something you like" or something along those lines.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

My children variously did well at lifeguard, sailing instructor and Hooter's girl. I don't suppose it's worth you looking at the latter.

Maybe try a dodgy phone store, where they offer dubiously legal services, they likely pay cash. Something like you see in Little Bangladesh.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Mm - got one of those in town :) Will check it out.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Altar boy.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

:rofl: Don't think that one pays either. :rofl:

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Life drawing model

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Actually, Gozzy is about the age where he would be looking at the latter. :lol:

Re: P.T. jobs
 

What age do you stop? :lol:

Life drawing model could be quite a good one but I imagine there's an age limit on that.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Yep I'm sure there is ;)

Do we have hooters in Canada? :rofl:

Re: P.T. jobs
 

You want to get yourself a moped and get a paper round.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

It'll soon be leaf-sweepy time.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

And there's the guttering. That should keep him in Woodbines and penny horribles. :thumbup:

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Or, he could get a snorkel and go golf ball diving at the local golf club before they shut for the winter.

I fear that young Gozo loves his phone so much he thinks it's a career path.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Paper routes are the biggest ripoff ever. $15 every 2 weeks? Ha! Last I checked that isn't even minimum wage :blink:

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Sperm bank, at $25 a pop... that's $300 a day for a teenager.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Gozit, seriously, don't be too picky. Learning to make the best of a job that pays money but is not necessarily ideal when you are young is massively good experience for later in life. Of course, it's ideal if you can find something you do enjoy. But whatever you take right now isn't forever. You can take a job, say at Shoppers, and still be looking for something more ideal, and earn some $$ while you do it.

Whatever experience you can pick up at your age is good. I'm not saying 'you shouldn't enjoy a job at your age'. I'm saying that at your age, there are clearly limits on what you can do (ie your ideal job of working at Telus isn't available at your age). So make the best of it, and go into a job that isn't ideal with a good, positive attitude, learn whatever you can, do the best job you can, and pick up valuable experience about life, thus making you more employable in your ideal job when you're older. In fact, I'm saying that you have the capacity to find a way to enjoy ANY job at your age.

My first job wasn't one that I would consider ideal. But I smiled my way through it, and I found a way to enjoy it. I learned a lot of things about good and effective ways to deal with people (even difficult ones). Those skills have stuck with me throughout my career.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

I don't know what town your in or the job market in the town but since you mentioned it was a small city (no idea what is classified as small) but generally you have less choices in small regions, and can't be picky if you really want a job, and really working at Shoppers would not be all that bad for a teenager.

I am in a small town (17,000 people) and know the frustration that comes along with trying to find something work wise that is total crap and its definitely more of a hurdle when compared to a larger city opportunity wise and being under 18 also adds limits on who will hire you which certainly doesn't help.




My first job was the best job ever, granted it was only cash, but it was at the San Diego Zoo and I was in heaven, and best part was it paid better then your average teenager job (5.75/hr vs 4.75/hr min wage at the time)...

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Yeah I know... The thing is i'm not 110% motivated because I only need the money for random purchases that I don't necessarily need, but I really want :sneaky:

Thanks for the advice... Being positive about something I don't enjoy is definitely one of my hugest difficulties. (school is a huge drainer, I've always disliked it and likely always will, and I have trouble being positive about it; but I don't want this to turn into a school thread so i'll leave it at that.)

Yep. People skills are something I need too. (I've grown extremely shy over the last couple years.)

Well i'm in St. Thomas, ON ("The railway capital of Canada" :rolleyes:) , pop. approx. 37,000.

No shoppers isn't that bad, lots of my school peers work at fried chicken places :eek: No offense to people on here that might work in one but personally I wouldn't be able to do that without gagging. So i'm glad I have the shoppers in through our family friend.


Yep. Like with the telus thing, they'd gladly take me on there and I intend to apply the day I turn 18, but corporate policy dictates.

Well I've always been a supporter of the "happiness over money" movement. :)

Re: P.T. jobs
 

:rofl:
I guess I wouldn't count it out as an option:eek:

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Other than the techie stuff what interests you. I work with a young man who got a summer job at 14 picking up golf balls at the local course. Then he went on to caddying, and he worked all through Uni working in the bar, it gave him lots of practical skills. He's off work on holiday at the present...as he's representing NB in a golf tournament in Ontario.

Don't your parents know anyone willing to employ a useful pair of hands?

Re: P.T. jobs
 

The family friend I mentioned is my "in" to shoppers... Otherwise I wouldn't be able to get a job due to the sheer amount of applicants there are to work there because its one of the only unskilled jobs in town that doesn't involve fast food. That plus my paltry resume compared to other kids my age who seem to have endless volunteerism in them and have volunteered everywhere under the sun, doesn't help me. But my family friend is close enough that should I want a place, i'll get it.

Other than that, my parents don't know many people in this town. I took dbd's suggestion and sent off an email to one of the more "dodgy" cell repair places in town, although still legal, just the phone providers don't like them :lol: so we'll see what comes of that.

That's quite interesting your friend who did the golf course thing, but I need something year round, because the summer is when i'll be taking my holidays to go to Malta :)

Re: P.T. jobs
 

You're supposed to get more carefree as you get older but I seem to have lost confidence too. I think emigrating made me second guess everything.

That doesn't help you :lol:

Re: P.T. jobs
 

I'm the same way. I used to not care about what people think and was rather outgoing, but then high school happened :lol:

Re: P.T. jobs
 

My son is rather quiet, to the point of being surly, but he seems to have a nice group of friends. As long as you have a few people to knock around with, you'll be fine :)

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Yeah, sounds like me :)
Thanks :starsmile::cool:

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Gozit, if I can be really deep and meaningful for a moment - if there's one piece of advice that I can give you, it is that positivity is not something that is generated outside of you. It really is within you. I'm not saying it is easy to be positive about things that you don't enjoy (like school), but it IS possible. And the key to happiness is not something that's 'out there' in the form of a job, or a different country, or a different set of circumstances. It's actually, fundamentally, about your own attitude.

If you are constantly looking for happiness somewhere outside of yourself, or thinking 'life will be better when I finish school/move/get a job I like, chances are you will always end up disappointed.

So I'd say go for the job at Shoppers. See what you can learn. Go in there telling yourself that no matter how crappy your day is, you're going to smile through it. Don't underestimate the difference you can make to someone'e day just by smiling to them and greeting them nicely at the cashier's desk, and the positive effect that will have on you. You don't 'need' the money, but it will mean you can indulge in more techy stuff that you love. And in the long run, if you've done a great job, you'll get a great reference, which will make it easier for you to get a job you really like in a few years.

One way to help you find the positives in difficult situations is to ask 'What can I learn from this?' If you can learn something, then that's a positive thing. You gain from it anyway, even if it was hard.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

What about some low key drug dealing? Its Canada you won't get caught and if you do it'll just be a slap on the wrist.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Nothing will come of that. You need to step away from the computer and go and see them, in person.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Does anybody really believe that? :lol:

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Premium Maltese :rofl:

Re: P.T. jobs
 

:rofl:

Gahhh. I know you're right.

Like she says, its in the attitude, which I clearly don't have :lol:. I don't think I can make myself happy with something I do not like... Don't think I've that sort of thing in me.

I'm speaking of school of course. I could very well enjoy the job at shoppers, it wouldn't be half bad, but not what I want at the moment....

:rofl:

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Ummm. Yes. Me. I have personal experience to back it up. And I know I'm not the only one.

I went through a period of massive negativity in my life. I spent years thinking it was due to something outside of me. I spent years looking for 'answers' and thinking 'things would be different if x was better or y was different'. And when x got better or y was different, I still felt crap.

Life only got better when I was able to change my attitude, and start seeing the positives in things instead of the negatives.

Negative thinking is a habit. If you are in the habit of seeing the negatives first, you'll never feel positive about anything for very long. But if you can break that habit and train yourself to see the positives in a situation first, you find that eventually positive thinking becomes your habit instead. And that way happiness lies.

How many people move continents, for example, thinking that will make them feel happier, only to find that it isn't the answer they thought it would be?

Re: P.T. jobs
 

I can sort of see what you mean. Sometimes I do sit and wonder, once its all said and done, once I finally get where I want to go, will I be happy, or will a new set of problems come in and make me equally as annoyed (that's putting it lightly :)) as I am right now.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

That's what I was trying to imply in my other post.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

If you can figure this out now, at your age, you're going to save a lot of time and heartache later in life :)

Re: P.T. jobs
 

To some extent.

After 9 years flogging a dead horse I wish I'd given into the negative gut feeling earlier.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Is that servalan?

Edit: it is.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

Yeah. Whilst I see what prairiechicken is trying to point out, and agree with her to an extent, I don't think that strategy will make Canada a "positive". I still have the desire to move away ... That's also one of the things I want to accomplish with a P/T job - savings to move. Because I don't know whether i'm gonna go to uni or not, I might start a business, I might stay here for another year or two after high school and just save, in order to move and/or travel. So I want a little bit of a backup in terms of savings.

Re: P.T. jobs
 

I never said that everything is always fantastic and great and wonderful completely regardless of the situation. Some situations are crappy, of course. And knowing when to quit is important. But accepting that you feel you left it too late, the positive to take from it is that you listened to the negative gut feeling in the end.... :)

Re: P.T. jobs
 

There's a difference between wanting to do something because you just want to do it, and wanting to do it because you think that will be the answer to how crap you feel. :) That's an important distinction.

And having motivation to do something you don't enjoy doing just for the sake of it (like getting a pt job at Shoppers) is important - if you can build up a few savings, that gives you choices - that's a good thing.

Edited to add: I wanted to move to Canada because I felt it would be a positive thing, and that my family and I would have more opportunities, more time to spend with each other (because of the change it would make to my husband's work hours). It's ok to want something because you think it will be better than what you have right now. I'm not trying to say you shouldn't move, or whatever you feel is going to be a positive thing for you.