Decent Work for Decent Pay
August 19, 2011 6:08 AM Subscribe
Non-retail-counter jobs for a school-bound 18 year old?
I'm turning eighteen in a couple of weeks and I'd rather like a part-time job again, given that I'm slowly running out of money. But my last job at a video store didn't go terrifically, and I'd rather something less directly exposed to the public, to which I can only think of something like cleaning, or less reliable things like dog-walking.
So, looking for ideas that might be out of the ordinary. Doesn't have to be particularly interesting or high-paid, of course; ideal would be stuff that's not obvious you can apply for.
I'm turning eighteen in a couple of weeks and I'd rather like a part-time job again, given that I'm slowly running out of money. But my last job at a video store didn't go terrifically, and I'd rather something less directly exposed to the public, to which I can only think of something like cleaning, or less reliable things like dog-walking.
So, looking for ideas that might be out of the ordinary. Doesn't have to be particularly interesting or high-paid, of course; ideal would be stuff that's not obvious you can apply for.
What do you mean by school-bound? That you're tied to school, or you're heading off to school? High school or college?
If the latter, then look into work-study jobs available on campus, which will be the best thing going for you. If the former, good luck.
posted by The Michael The at 6:12 AM on August 19, 2011
If the latter, then look into work-study jobs available on campus, which will be the best thing going for you. If the former, good luck.
posted by The Michael The at 6:12 AM on August 19, 2011
Construction, if there is any going on around you. Construction companies often need unskilled laborers.
posted by mareli at 6:19 AM on August 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by mareli at 6:19 AM on August 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Any back-of-the-house type job, even in retail, would seem to fit the bill. Dishwashing is certainly one angle, but so's being a line cook at some place like Waffle House. The bar tends to be pretty low, even if you don't have experience, as showing up to work on time and actually working is more than a lot of places can reasonably expect.
posted by valkyryn at 6:21 AM on August 19, 2011
posted by valkyryn at 6:21 AM on August 19, 2011
Know any academics, lawyers, office types? Friends of your parents who could use someone to prep mailings, cover the phones during lunch, etc?
posted by vitabellosi at 6:24 AM on August 19, 2011
posted by vitabellosi at 6:24 AM on August 19, 2011
Response by poster: What do you mean by school-bound? That you're tied to school, or you're heading off to school? High school or college?
Sorry, that is quite ambigious. Tied to high school currently, though it's the last year, so uni might be on the cards afterward.
posted by solarion at 6:25 AM on August 19, 2011
Sorry, that is quite ambigious. Tied to high school currently, though it's the last year, so uni might be on the cards afterward.
posted by solarion at 6:25 AM on August 19, 2011
Yes, if you are heading to college, sign up for work study, the sooner the better. My daughter worked for several semesters in the "bird lab" where her talk was to watch videos of nesting birds and note time codes for certain behaviors. Relatively mundane but not difficult and it paid better than working off-campus, not to mention the schedule was more accomodating to her classes.
Otherwise, as ghharr said, dishwashing is has a long tradition of being the noble profession of college students. Also check with the local newspaper's distribution department. Not to deliver papers, but to stuff ads and flyers into the papers prior to distribution. (A lot of this is automated now, but a surprising amount may not be.) It's generally very early AM work.
Other ideas: retail stocking; cleaning contractor for office buildings; lawn service/snow removal comanies.
posted by The Deej at 6:25 AM on August 19, 2011
Otherwise, as ghharr said, dishwashing is has a long tradition of being the noble profession of college students. Also check with the local newspaper's distribution department. Not to deliver papers, but to stuff ads and flyers into the papers prior to distribution. (A lot of this is automated now, but a surprising amount may not be.) It's generally very early AM work.
Other ideas: retail stocking; cleaning contractor for office buildings; lawn service/snow removal comanies.
posted by The Deej at 6:25 AM on August 19, 2011
Best answer: Between my second and third years of university I worked on the grounds crew at a golf course. Best job ever. Any manual labour outdoors is The Best.
posted by fso at 6:25 AM on August 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by fso at 6:25 AM on August 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Know anything about golf? My brother made great money and had fun caddying in high school and early college. (Caveat: I'm not sure whether you're male or female, but it seems most golf courses prefer/exclusively hire male caddies)
posted by olinerd at 6:27 AM on August 19, 2011
posted by olinerd at 6:27 AM on August 19, 2011
Response by poster: Know anything about golf? My brother made great money and had fun caddying in high school and early college. (Caveat: I'm not sure whether you're male or female, but it seems most golf courses prefer/exclusively hire male caddies).
Good prospective one that I hadn't considered; outdoors is good, and there's a golf course relatively near.
(I'm male, incidentally.)
posted by solarion at 6:29 AM on August 19, 2011
Good prospective one that I hadn't considered; outdoors is good, and there's a golf course relatively near.
(I'm male, incidentally.)
posted by solarion at 6:29 AM on August 19, 2011
I was a construction gopher (go-for this, go-for that) during those years and learned a lot about various trades. Money was good, I was ripped and tanned, and now 20 years later I save thousands of bucks a year doing my own plumbing, electrical, carpentry, tilework, etc on my own home.
posted by PSB at 6:47 AM on August 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by PSB at 6:47 AM on August 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Ask your teachers and your parents' friends; I mentioned in passing to my physics teacher in high school that I had quit my last part time job (small retail store owned by CRAZY PEOPLE) and was looking for another one ... he said, "I was just talking to a friend who needs someone!"
I ended up spending two years at a small local business testing the chemical composition in the water in water-cooled air conditioners and recommending what chemicals to add to it to protect the equipment from rust, etc. I also did filing, updated the MSDS binder, sorted all the long-term files that hadn't been gone through in 8 years, ordered chemicals, packaged stuff ... the staff was basically salesmen, the owner-scientist, and two secretaries. So I did a little bit of everything the scientist and secretaries did, especially small tasks or non-urgent tasks, which freed them up for other things. It was fascinating, I learned a lot, it was an awesome place to work, it paid absurdly well for high school, and when I graduated and went off to college, they hired my brother into the same job.
It's the only job I've ever had where I accidentally chloroformed myself.
A friend got a job at a massage therapy place the same way -- she was just letting people know she needed something part-time, and it turned out a local massage therapist who knew one of her friend's dads needed an after-school receptionist because his receptionist wanted to go pick up her kids in the afternoon after school. Perfect!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:57 AM on August 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
I ended up spending two years at a small local business testing the chemical composition in the water in water-cooled air conditioners and recommending what chemicals to add to it to protect the equipment from rust, etc. I also did filing, updated the MSDS binder, sorted all the long-term files that hadn't been gone through in 8 years, ordered chemicals, packaged stuff ... the staff was basically salesmen, the owner-scientist, and two secretaries. So I did a little bit of everything the scientist and secretaries did, especially small tasks or non-urgent tasks, which freed them up for other things. It was fascinating, I learned a lot, it was an awesome place to work, it paid absurdly well for high school, and when I graduated and went off to college, they hired my brother into the same job.
It's the only job I've ever had where I accidentally chloroformed myself.
A friend got a job at a massage therapy place the same way -- she was just letting people know she needed something part-time, and it turned out a local massage therapist who knew one of her friend's dads needed an after-school receptionist because his receptionist wanted to go pick up her kids in the afternoon after school. Perfect!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:57 AM on August 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Definitely hit up parents, friends' parents, parents' friends, etc to see if anyone needs an office assistant.
posted by radioamy at 7:28 AM on August 19, 2011
posted by radioamy at 7:28 AM on August 19, 2011
Around that age I was an office assistant for a lawyer. I got it through my high school job notice board. It was from right after school until about 7. Mostly filing and dictating and general personal assistant stuff (picking up office supplies, balancing his checkbook). Pretty easy and great money. One girl I know who started like that ended up being a lawyer at his practice. I learned that I didn't want to be a lawyer.
posted by like_neon at 7:50 AM on August 19, 2011
posted by like_neon at 7:50 AM on August 19, 2011
In high school I worked in the bakery in a supermarket - we would package the bread, rolls, cakes etc, stock shelves and check current stock, and clean at the end of the day. There was some customer interaction but not as much as say, working on the checkout. It was a really fantastic job - you might find something similar in your area?
(I think you could also find similar positions in the fruit and veg department, and the deli department in supermarkets, but imho these were not as good as the bakery. The bakery smelt delicious and the worst you got covered in was flour. In the deli, you smelt like ham and BBQ chickens, and you got covered in chicken guts!)
posted by unlaced at 7:51 AM on August 19, 2011
(I think you could also find similar positions in the fruit and veg department, and the deli department in supermarkets, but imho these were not as good as the bakery. The bakery smelt delicious and the worst you got covered in was flour. In the deli, you smelt like ham and BBQ chickens, and you got covered in chicken guts!)
posted by unlaced at 7:51 AM on August 19, 2011
I spent a couple of months working at my school's student union cafeteria. I think I started out as a dishwasher, which was OK, and then moved to the bakery which was awesome despite having to show up for work at 5:00 AM. It was nice quiet time more or less to myself, and what's not to love about making muffins and cookies, even if you're just scooping them out of a bucket?
You might also check out a local temp agency; one summer I got placed at a book warehouse, which was OK. The next summer I spent a few weeks unloading trucks for EMS, and then processing returns at a CCM/Maska warehouse, which was a pretty sweet gig. But you have to be prepared for some stinkers, even if they sound OK at first blush; one day they placed me with a cleanup crew whose job it was to clean out abandoned public housing apartments, rancid food, cat pee-stained carpet and all. I called them up at the end of the first day and said, "No, I won't be doing that again." Same with the time they sent me to a cosmetics factory; after one shift doing nothing but sitting on a stool dropping mascara caps into the brush-attaching machine (8 hours straight, with maybe 2 breaks) I was going out of my mind from the tedium and constant drone of machine white-noise. But the agency I worked with didn't give me grief for bailing on either job... they just sent somebody else the next day.
The best college job I ever had, though, was as an usher at a movie theater. It's customer-facing, but for the most part people are predisposed to have a good time at the movies, and as an usher the default response to all but the most basic customer complaints was to go find the manager and let them deal with it. Once the shows are all in there was a good hour or so of downtime, where we'd roam the halls, spot-check theaters to make sure nobody's yelling/smoking/etc., and then go hang out with the projectionist until shows started breaking. Plus, free movie tickets!
posted by usonian at 7:55 AM on August 19, 2011
You might also check out a local temp agency; one summer I got placed at a book warehouse, which was OK. The next summer I spent a few weeks unloading trucks for EMS, and then processing returns at a CCM/Maska warehouse, which was a pretty sweet gig. But you have to be prepared for some stinkers, even if they sound OK at first blush; one day they placed me with a cleanup crew whose job it was to clean out abandoned public housing apartments, rancid food, cat pee-stained carpet and all. I called them up at the end of the first day and said, "No, I won't be doing that again." Same with the time they sent me to a cosmetics factory; after one shift doing nothing but sitting on a stool dropping mascara caps into the brush-attaching machine (8 hours straight, with maybe 2 breaks) I was going out of my mind from the tedium and constant drone of machine white-noise. But the agency I worked with didn't give me grief for bailing on either job... they just sent somebody else the next day.
The best college job I ever had, though, was as an usher at a movie theater. It's customer-facing, but for the most part people are predisposed to have a good time at the movies, and as an usher the default response to all but the most basic customer complaints was to go find the manager and let them deal with it. Once the shows are all in there was a good hour or so of downtime, where we'd roam the halls, spot-check theaters to make sure nobody's yelling/smoking/etc., and then go hang out with the projectionist until shows started breaking. Plus, free movie tickets!
posted by usonian at 7:55 AM on August 19, 2011
UPS back room stock pays well including benefits and school.
posted by stormpooper at 7:57 AM on August 19, 2011
posted by stormpooper at 7:57 AM on August 19, 2011
I worked summers for a temp agency. Usually they placed me at a local office that needed a replacement secretary while the employee being temporarily replaced went on vacation or maternity leave or something. It's office experience, it's 9-5 (except for one job that was 12-5), and you don't have to do stockboy or retail counter type stuff. I was typically paid $10-$12 an hour, 12 years ago or so. There weren't any benefits, but I was covered under my parents' health care plan and I had all my spending money for the summer.
And this temp agency actually led to my internship -- I'm a software engineer, and the summer after my junior year of college, I couldn't find an internship, so I went back to the temp agency to do more secretarial work. For my first assignment that summer, the agency placed me replacing a secretary in an HR department. I talked about my situation with the HR VP I was working for, and before I knew it I was interviewing with the IT department... when my temp assignment was over, I was hired as a tech support intern by the company I'd been placed with. It wasn't quite what I wanted to be doing for an internship, but it was a very related field, and I had that internship experience to call upon when I was interviewing for jobs in my field after college. So you never know.
posted by tckma at 8:40 AM on August 19, 2011
And this temp agency actually led to my internship -- I'm a software engineer, and the summer after my junior year of college, I couldn't find an internship, so I went back to the temp agency to do more secretarial work. For my first assignment that summer, the agency placed me replacing a secretary in an HR department. I talked about my situation with the HR VP I was working for, and before I knew it I was interviewing with the IT department... when my temp assignment was over, I was hired as a tech support intern by the company I'd been placed with. It wasn't quite what I wanted to be doing for an internship, but it was a very related field, and I had that internship experience to call upon when I was interviewing for jobs in my field after college. So you never know.
posted by tckma at 8:40 AM on August 19, 2011
If you can find a warehouse that is hiring, a picker (someone who takes an order sheet and walks the aisles collecting the items) or a packer (someone who takes the items from a picker and stuff it in boxes) are pretty good high school-level jobs. I did both and both were nice because there is absolutely no interacting with any customer whatsoever.
These jobs are a bit physical, and you may have to deal with a warehouse without air conditioning.
However, I did both of these jobs and would suggest this to my kids as well when they're old enough.
posted by MustardTent at 9:02 AM on August 19, 2011
These jobs are a bit physical, and you may have to deal with a warehouse without air conditioning.
However, I did both of these jobs and would suggest this to my kids as well when they're old enough.
posted by MustardTent at 9:02 AM on August 19, 2011
Construction was my answer to this problem. Outside work most of the time, learning trade skills I still use, a good group of guys. Pay was a bit more than minimum as an unskilled labourer, but lots of opportunities for advancement, even well-paying careers, if you stuck with it---welders, plumbers and electricians make more than most office workers.
posted by bonehead at 9:21 AM on August 19, 2011
posted by bonehead at 9:21 AM on August 19, 2011
Baby sitting. Yes, I see that you're a dude. A dude friend of mine did this. Lots of working parents need someone to regularly watch their school-aged kids after school before they get home from work. I'd imagine a couple of school-aged boys would love to hang out with a dude and do dude stuff with you (play outside, play video games, talk about whatever young dudes like to talk about).
You can check with your neighbors, parents' friends and co-workers. I don't know about age restrictions on craigslist or sittercity.
posted by ellenaim at 9:49 AM on August 19, 2011
You can check with your neighbors, parents' friends and co-workers. I don't know about age restrictions on craigslist or sittercity.
posted by ellenaim at 9:49 AM on August 19, 2011
Biology labs often need non-experts to do glassware (i.e. dishwashing, but with different standards and methods of course) or stuff tip boxes.
posted by en forme de poire at 11:19 AM on August 19, 2011
posted by en forme de poire at 11:19 AM on August 19, 2011
Lifeguard! The pay is decent because you have to get a Red Cross certificate. If you can swim, you can get the cert. I did mine in about two weeks, after school.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 12:04 PM on August 19, 2011
posted by Snarl Furillo at 12:04 PM on August 19, 2011
I did warehouse inventorying one break while in college, and it was the best paid no-skills-required job I'd ever had. I think I made $12-$13/hour in the mid-'90s, when most of the other work available to me paid $5-$8/hour.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 12:53 PM on August 19, 2011
posted by croutonsupafreak at 12:53 PM on August 19, 2011
Retail stores need people to work who don't interface with the public. I worked at Banana Republic this summer in a sales support position, and I mostly cashiered (which doesn't sound like it'd work for you), but I had coworkers who just worked at unloading, folding, steaming clothes, etc.
posted by kylej at 1:00 PM on August 19, 2011
posted by kylej at 1:00 PM on August 19, 2011
I recently started working in the back room of a large chain retailer, and enjoy it. I occasionally have to deal with customers, but not often. Even though I'm part of a team, I often work alone or with one other person.
posted by naturalog at 3:32 PM on August 19, 2011
posted by naturalog at 3:32 PM on August 19, 2011
Grocery store produce clerk!!!!!
That's what I did when I was 18 and I can't recommend it highly enough! It's easy work and you'll eat so well :)
posted by 2oh1 at 12:23 PM on August 20, 2011
That's what I did when I was 18 and I can't recommend it highly enough! It's easy work and you'll eat so well :)
posted by 2oh1 at 12:23 PM on August 20, 2011
Construction. You learn some things that other folks going to college don't, you get paid okay, and you build p some muscle and a tan.
posted by jander03 at 3:02 PM on August 20, 2011
posted by jander03 at 3:02 PM on August 20, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ghharr at 6:12 AM on August 19, 2011