Working crappy jobs while in your teen years is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself. It prepares you for the real world. You don't have your mom there to fight your fights for you. If you're having an issue with a coworker you need to learn to handle it on your own and you have to do it in a civilized manner. As someone who got their first job at 16 and has had one since, I honestly believe that everyone that can, should get a part time job in high school. It teaches you things that only get harder to learn the older you get.
1. It grounds you
The majority of the jobs you'll work as a high school student are the jobs that the adults don't want to do. These usually involve fast food, gas stations, and grocery stores. Obviously, it's not that glamorous. Having to work in these types of establishments taught me that I was the low man on the totem pole and I had to take the Saturday night shift that nobody else wanted. They made it pretty hard for you to think of yourself as any better than any other person there, I believe this is a great lesson to learn early on.
2. Patience
If you've never had someone pay for twenty dollars of gas on pump three in solely dimes and nickels, consider yourself lucky. It seems like the biggest waist of your time in the moment but somehow after the third or fourth time it happens to you, you'll realize that it isn't the end of the world.
3. Compassion
When I worked in a gas station we always had a few people that weren't very well off money wise. I learned that it could make a man's day if you offered to cover the cost of his coffee, and that feeling was far better than the dollar I would have saved if I would have just let him struggle.
4. How to talk to strangers
Working in customer service I learned how to hold a conversation with someone I hardly knew. I met so many amazing people working in that little gas station. Regular's made my day, we had an older man come in every Sunday and would order a sub (the same one every time) and a coffee. He always hung around for about an hour just to chat and that was what my coworkers and I looked forward to all day.
5. Responsibility
I worked a cash register at both of my high school jobs and trust me, nothing is more pressure than handling your boss's money while they're looking over your shoulder. On busy nights I would handle up to $1,000 in cash, only God knows how much income we had through cards! If the register was off by all but ten dollars my boss knew it and wouldn't quit until she found out where the mistake was made, so there was no room for error. You always had to be paying attention.
6. How to be thick skinned
Anywhere you go there will always be rude customers and the sooner you learn to not let them get to you, the better off you'll be. Whether you did something wrong or if it was something out of your control, it's easier to just let it go. I believe this is something that will help me for the rest of my life.
7.Time management
Being in high school I had homework and chores at home that I needed to balance, in the beginning it was a lot harder than you would think but after a while I learned what I could and couldn't handle and how to make it work.
8. You won't make it to everything
As the type of person that feels like I'm missing something huge every time I wasn't there when my friends hung out I had a hard time swallowing this one. At first I thought I was entitled to have off for the homecoming football game or state qualifying matches for wrestling. I quickly learned that I was the newbie and what I wanted wasn't everyone else's problem. I also had to miss a couple holidays like Easter, the Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving because my job only closed for Christmas and New Years.
9. Multitasking
I can't count how many times I would be stocking the freezer, making a pizza and running the register at the same time. It gives you a greater appreciation for the slow nights.
10. It can be very rewarding
I saved my money for a while and bought my own first car. It wasn't the newest thing on the market and it needed some TLC but you better believe that I'm proud of that car. I've had Stella for two years now and every time I drive it, it reminds me that I worked for it and earned 100% of that car all by myself. It was definitely the most grown up thing I've ever done.
11. It can be fun and you'll meet some amazing people
When I first got a job I was worried about not being able to see my friends all of the time. I told my mom about my concern and I remember her telling me that my coworkers will turn into my friends and she could not have been more correct. I now have some great friendships with people that I miss pretty often now that I'm away at college and I try to stop in when I'm home just to say hi.
