Non-retail entry-level jobs
December 29, 2023 4:21 PM Subscribe
Give me your ideas for entry-level part-time jobs that are not retail (specific suggestions in the SF Bay Area welcome but general suggestions also helpful). The job seeker is interested in the trades. Executive function challenges - details below.
Supporting a young job-seeker to find a part time job. Ideally job is a part-day (like 4-5 hours) but we understand that's unlikely.
Job seeker has retail experience, could go back to that but would prefer not to.
Ultimate career goal is to work in the trades but job seeker feels unlikely up for the arriving early every day, working hard physical labor 40+ hours a week lifestyle yet. But jobs that are adjacent to this (light manufacturing?) welcome.
Currently the job seeker income is somewhat subsidized so OK if this starts as minimum wage.
Jobs that require a ton of self-directedness would be hard. Good if there are clear instructions - know what to do, where to be, when.
Would love your ideas!
Supporting a young job-seeker to find a part time job. Ideally job is a part-day (like 4-5 hours) but we understand that's unlikely.
Job seeker has retail experience, could go back to that but would prefer not to.
Ultimate career goal is to work in the trades but job seeker feels unlikely up for the arriving early every day, working hard physical labor 40+ hours a week lifestyle yet. But jobs that are adjacent to this (light manufacturing?) welcome.
Currently the job seeker income is somewhat subsidized so OK if this starts as minimum wage.
Jobs that require a ton of self-directedness would be hard. Good if there are clear instructions - know what to do, where to be, when.
Would love your ideas!
warehouses of distributors that stock items for the trades (electrical / mechanical / lighting / etc.) might have some part time work.
posted by nickggully at 5:08 PM on December 29, 2023
posted by nickggully at 5:08 PM on December 29, 2023
You could also look at rope access style jobs. So exterior building maintainance, window cleaning, etc. all hanging off a couple of ropes a few stories up.
And depending on what area of rope access speciality (particularly with tradies crossover) they can be fair weather only, limited hours. And in terms of safety there are very clear guidelines. Can be physically demanding for some roles, but others far less so.
Or could look at appliance repairs & servicing, such as commercial (and semi-commercial) coffee machines. ie one of the coffee repair places near me have such a queue of machines they said they'd happily take on someone one day a week, just to help clear some of the backlog.
Could also look at some basic joinery style work, restoring old furnitimure for example (sanding down and revarnishing, repairing basic damage, etc). Pretty flexible hours depending what and where they do things. Of maybe starting a proper joinery apprenticeship.
posted by many-things at 5:14 PM on December 29, 2023
And depending on what area of rope access speciality (particularly with tradies crossover) they can be fair weather only, limited hours. And in terms of safety there are very clear guidelines. Can be physically demanding for some roles, but others far less so.
Or could look at appliance repairs & servicing, such as commercial (and semi-commercial) coffee machines. ie one of the coffee repair places near me have such a queue of machines they said they'd happily take on someone one day a week, just to help clear some of the backlog.
Could also look at some basic joinery style work, restoring old furnitimure for example (sanding down and revarnishing, repairing basic damage, etc). Pretty flexible hours depending what and where they do things. Of maybe starting a proper joinery apprenticeship.
posted by many-things at 5:14 PM on December 29, 2023
One of my kids had a job cleaning the insides of buses this past summer and has continued to do it on an occasional part-time basis. She works for a company that owns both school buses and tour buses. It pays well above minimum wage. The work is pretty straightforward - clean the specific bus you're told to clean, doing the set of tasks you've been taught need to be done on each bus. I think they'd be very open to hiring someone who only wanted to work half the day. We're not at all near your area but there must be similar vehicle cleaning jobs all over the country.
posted by Redstart at 8:09 PM on December 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Redstart at 8:09 PM on December 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
Entry level positions at libraries (often called "page" or "aide"), shelving and checking things in, would probably qualify.
posted by one for the books at 10:30 PM on December 29, 2023
posted by one for the books at 10:30 PM on December 29, 2023
Trade show installer. This is an opposite of early-riser kind of job, but rather late into the night getting trade show set-up ready for the next day.
posted by gloturtle at 10:46 PM on December 29, 2023
posted by gloturtle at 10:46 PM on December 29, 2023
Our state parks system is often looking for part-time workers, including maintenance, which could be a good in for a trade job.
posted by hydropsyche at 4:06 AM on December 30, 2023
posted by hydropsyche at 4:06 AM on December 30, 2023
In my area there are a couple of trade schools sponsored by the trade unions. They offer typical trade union training such as plumbing, sheet-metal, electrical and so forth. The schools are free and include automatic mentoring by union workers and pay, when the student gets to that stage of their education. Graduates are automatically hired into the various unions. Community colleges have also stepped into the educational breach for the allied trades by offering certificates in a number of technical programs. Mine offers auto mechanics in a fully-equipped commercial garage, as well as solar systems installation and repair, and a few others. I'm not sure if there are unions involved in this education, but I know auto mechanics are tough to find and I'm sure finding a part-time job for a skilled mechanic would not be difficult.
The schools offered by the trade unions are usually free and competitive, and are a ticket to a skilled, well-paying profession. I don't know if they offer part-time instruction, but each school is probably different, and there are many adults shifting professions who want part-time education. The trades are known to be secure and well paid. My electrician probably takes home twice what my busy accountant does!
I would suggest your job-seeker do some in-depth research - the individual skilled trade unions themselves might be a good start. With a needed skill and credentials under his or her belt, that person could work as full or part-time as they wished. And if your job-seeking friend is of a minority gender in that field, or a racial minority, they would probably find specific training programs geared to support their entry into the field. My city's electrical union, for example, launched a specific program to prepare minority women for entry into the electrical union, paying them a living wage while they learned and helping them secure good jobs on graduation.
posted by citygirl at 7:48 AM on December 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
The schools offered by the trade unions are usually free and competitive, and are a ticket to a skilled, well-paying profession. I don't know if they offer part-time instruction, but each school is probably different, and there are many adults shifting professions who want part-time education. The trades are known to be secure and well paid. My electrician probably takes home twice what my busy accountant does!
I would suggest your job-seeker do some in-depth research - the individual skilled trade unions themselves might be a good start. With a needed skill and credentials under his or her belt, that person could work as full or part-time as they wished. And if your job-seeking friend is of a minority gender in that field, or a racial minority, they would probably find specific training programs geared to support their entry into the field. My city's electrical union, for example, launched a specific program to prepare minority women for entry into the electrical union, paying them a living wage while they learned and helping them secure good jobs on graduation.
posted by citygirl at 7:48 AM on December 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Job Corps might be a good source of inspiration (and may be an eventual option).
If this person enjoys working with kids, there are tons of part-time opportunities in the "after-school activities" bucket.
posted by oceano at 1:01 AM on December 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
If this person enjoys working with kids, there are tons of part-time opportunities in the "after-school activities" bucket.
posted by oceano at 1:01 AM on December 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
They might want to look on local Craigslist for jobs as a [trade] assistant. Lots of electrician, carpenters, plumbers etc who are mostly solo want someone to hand them wrenches, make cuts, drive and pick up screws, etc a couple days a week. That was my entry point into carpentry. If they don't like that experience they can try out a different person/different trade. If they're not a cis guy or especially if they're trans feel free to shoot me a message for more specific advice for getting into the trades as a gender minority.
posted by Summers at 4:04 AM on January 1 [1 favorite]
posted by Summers at 4:04 AM on January 1 [1 favorite]
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Light manufacturing could be jobs working in retail or mfg co's that need people to pack orders, not dealing with the general public.
Apprentice to someone in an interesting trade, like a locksmith.
Task-rabbit style ad hoc errand runner to local neighbors.
posted by ApathyGirl at 4:56 PM on December 29, 2023