Best job for a 19yr old male?
April 18, 2012 4:38 PM Subscribe
Best job for a 19yr old male? (Turning 20 in August)
Moving to San Francisco in May. What would be the best sort of job for a 19yr old male?
Had a 3.4gpa in High School and did tons of activities (If that even matters).
I'm very physically fit, and clean shaven/hygienic etc.
Worked at a Post Office for 3 years, but I definitely do not want to work for any postal service again.
Some places I was thinking of were Starbucks, GNC, and Gamestop.
I know I won't be making much and I don't have many options, but any recommendation would be greatly appreciated, thanks guys!
Also the minimum wage in SF is now $10.24, and I won't have a car for the next 4 or 5 years (bus/biking it). I know
Moving to San Francisco in May. What would be the best sort of job for a 19yr old male?
Had a 3.4gpa in High School and did tons of activities (If that even matters).
I'm very physically fit, and clean shaven/hygienic etc.
Worked at a Post Office for 3 years, but I definitely do not want to work for any postal service again.
Some places I was thinking of were Starbucks, GNC, and Gamestop.
I know I won't be making much and I don't have many options, but any recommendation would be greatly appreciated, thanks guys!
Also the minimum wage in SF is now $10.24, and I won't have a car for the next 4 or 5 years (bus/biking it). I know
Bike messengering?
posted by Sidhedevil at 4:44 PM on April 18, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Sidhedevil at 4:44 PM on April 18, 2012 [2 favorites]
My son worked as a one-on-one aide for boys with autism for a company that subcontracted from the local public school system. He had worked as a camp counselor, which got him the interview, but they trained him. Full benefits, $20 an hour to start and it went up. If you're good with kids, it might be worth looking at--he was the only non-ex-teacher in his training class and classrooms were clamoring for him as he was young, energetic and good with the boys.
posted by Ideefixe at 4:49 PM on April 18, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Ideefixe at 4:49 PM on April 18, 2012 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: I don't mind if the job is indoor or outdoors, my interests are fitness, but I'm waiting till I get to a certain fitness level and image before I market myself as a personal trainer.
I think working with others helps the time go by, but I', okay without it.
I did almost all of the sports, and I enjoyed all of my courses actually... haha.
Just need a job to get along until I'm ready to start marketing myself, which wont be for about a year. Want to stray away from certain negative jobs I may not know about?
posted by JamesBlakeAV at 4:49 PM on April 18, 2012
I think working with others helps the time go by, but I', okay without it.
I did almost all of the sports, and I enjoyed all of my courses actually... haha.
Just need a job to get along until I'm ready to start marketing myself, which wont be for about a year. Want to stray away from certain negative jobs I may not know about?
posted by JamesBlakeAV at 4:49 PM on April 18, 2012
Best answer: Do you have to move in May? You sound like a guy who is made to work as a camp counselor/hiking guide/golf caddy until Labor Day somewhere that provides room and board, then move with more money in your pocket after getting paid all summer, and find jobs with kids (as mentioned above) or with tour companies, at a park/campground, an amusement park, or on a tour boat.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 4:54 PM on April 18, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by Snarl Furillo at 4:54 PM on April 18, 2012 [5 favorites]
Best answer: Consider applying to gyms in the area even if you have not reached a certain fitness level. You can start off by working as a front desk associate by doing mostly sales and generally helping out clients, then work your way up to a different position such as personal trainer position.
If you still don't want to work in a gym until you have reached your fitness goal, then apply for customer service related jobs or sales. These are very important skills to have while working at a gym and are transferable skills for many different industries.
posted by livinglearning at 4:54 PM on April 18, 2012 [4 favorites]
If you still don't want to work in a gym until you have reached your fitness goal, then apply for customer service related jobs or sales. These are very important skills to have while working at a gym and are transferable skills for many different industries.
posted by livinglearning at 4:54 PM on April 18, 2012 [4 favorites]
Waiting tables. I think you're allowed to serve booze at a restaurant at 18.
I spent a decent part of my 20s waiting table and tending bar, its fun it pays well and you've always got cash in your pocket. It also leaves your days free to consider training or school or whatever. I highly recommend it.
posted by bitdamaged at 4:54 PM on April 18, 2012 [4 favorites]
I spent a decent part of my 20s waiting table and tending bar, its fun it pays well and you've always got cash in your pocket. It also leaves your days free to consider training or school or whatever. I highly recommend it.
posted by bitdamaged at 4:54 PM on April 18, 2012 [4 favorites]
I'm female, but started working in distribution when I was 17. I made a lot more than minimum wage and didn't have to deal with the public.
Warehouse, inventory, shipping, etc.
posted by KogeLiz at 5:07 PM on April 18, 2012
Warehouse, inventory, shipping, etc.
posted by KogeLiz at 5:07 PM on April 18, 2012
Another great website to check is Idealist. They specialize in activist, non-profit, political jobs. Young, energetic, gregarious people are perfect for a lot of those jobs. Many wont care so much about degrees or experience as much as they will about your drive and beliefs.
posted by munchingzombie at 5:16 PM on April 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by munchingzombie at 5:16 PM on April 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
My favorite non-degree-needing job was working in a large natural (hippie) foods store. I really liked the variety of tasks (some physical, some sort of puzzley, some social), the interesting products we stocked, and the great coworkers. I'm sure there's no better place to find such a job than in SF.
posted by threeants at 5:34 PM on April 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by threeants at 5:34 PM on April 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
Lifeguarding? It's fairly simple to get certified (obv helps if you already know how to swim), and my 18yo brother loves it. Not sure if that field is saturated in SF, though.
posted by coupdefoudre at 5:51 PM on April 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by coupdefoudre at 5:51 PM on April 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
Yeah, take a lifeguarding course. The pay is usually middling, but hey, all your coworkers usually look pretty good and wear swimsuits all day.
posted by GuyZero at 6:57 PM on April 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by GuyZero at 6:57 PM on April 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
around these parts, the male high school grads. go to lineman school for a few months. all of them are working and making good money with benefits. after your first job you can virtually pick where you want to go.
posted by goutytophus at 7:17 PM on April 18, 2012
posted by goutytophus at 7:17 PM on April 18, 2012
The best job I had at that age? Working in the produce section of a grocery store. I was in great physical shape because I had to unload trucks, stack bananas (a box of those is heavy!), and basically stay on my feet all day. It was cool because the old retired dudes would come in and ask me stuff about produce, tell me stuff about produce, and generally keep me entertained as I did what you would think is a mind-numbing task.
posted by brownrd at 8:27 PM on April 18, 2012
posted by brownrd at 8:27 PM on April 18, 2012
Is this a job to earn some extra money while you're going to or thinking about going to school, with no pressure for it to turn into a career? How about a climbing gym? Or a bowling alley? Or a movie theater? Starbucks is a good company to work for.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 9:16 PM on April 18, 2012
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 9:16 PM on April 18, 2012
Best answer: Whole foods market front end. Or a record store. Something that will "plug you in" to the community.
posted by roboton666 at 10:16 PM on April 18, 2012
posted by roboton666 at 10:16 PM on April 18, 2012
Seconding waiter, especially in SF, where restaurants abound and the Healthy SF tax applied to each diner's tab gets you a better chance at (gasp!) health insurance.
posted by samthemander at 11:02 PM on April 18, 2012
posted by samthemander at 11:02 PM on April 18, 2012
Best answer: May be a bit to like the post office but I started working out at the airport loading, offloading airplanes and other vehicles and performing a few other functions for one of the major air cargo carriers (2 guesses) at 19. I truly enjoyed the work for the first 10 years and then I moved to the white collar realm. Since the move there have been three or four days a year where I'd rather stay home. Even the part timers get benefits. Basically the same one I get as a legal professional with 30+ years seniority.
Physical work that also takes a decent amount of smarts and work ethic. That's were I'd point my sons at that age. (Builds character and confidence but you still need to stay off the lawn)
posted by Carbolic at 12:58 AM on April 19, 2012
Physical work that also takes a decent amount of smarts and work ethic. That's were I'd point my sons at that age. (Builds character and confidence but you still need to stay off the lawn)
posted by Carbolic at 12:58 AM on April 19, 2012
http://www.rockymountainyouthcorps.org/
There are hiking trail building crews made up of youth in almost every state. Not all are created equal; this one is really good though. California has one, it used to be a little more hardcore, you needed previous experience probably and had to be a current resident. Hit me up if you want more info on what this job is like.
posted by victory_laser at 3:54 AM on April 19, 2012
There are hiking trail building crews made up of youth in almost every state. Not all are created equal; this one is really good though. California has one, it used to be a little more hardcore, you needed previous experience probably and had to be a current resident. Hit me up if you want more info on what this job is like.
posted by victory_laser at 3:54 AM on April 19, 2012
Work in construction, there's generally a shortage in the skilled building trades, apprentice in something or just be a labourer if you're looking to kill a few years. Could likely make enough money to pay for a few years of college if you wanted.
posted by glip at 6:20 AM on April 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by glip at 6:20 AM on April 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
I worked unskilled/semi-skilled construction at that age. Wages were better than minimum, got lots of hours, and it was active work outdoors. Learned lots of skills useful for later life on the job site too.
posted by bonehead at 10:46 AM on April 19, 2012
posted by bonehead at 10:46 AM on April 19, 2012
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Question though, are you more interested in having a job that's outdoors or indoors? What are your interests? Do you enjoy working with others?
Since you are 19 (turning 20) and don't have post-secondary education, you are going to sell your high school experience to others. What types of activities did you enjoy in high school? What courses did you enjoy? Answering these questions can help us come up with some job suggestions for you.
posted by livinglearning at 4:44 PM on April 18, 2012