What Summer Job? Kids Would Rather Get a Foot in the Door at a Big Company

Dave_Berry · July 2017

... "'The summer job is disappearing, and has been over the last 30 years,' said Marc Prosser, co-founder and publisher of FitSmallBusiness.com. An analysis from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that as of July 2016, the teen labor force participation rate was 43.2 percent, down nearly 30 percentage points from its peak of 71.8 percent in July 1978.

There are a number of factors contributing to this decline, but most prominent among them is the increasing popularity of internships." ...

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/what-summer-job-kids-would-rather-get-foot-door-big-n775646

snowfairy137 · July 2017

Well in my opinion, if I'm getting paid I would much rather do an internship than work in fast food or retail.

bjkmom · July 2017

Summer jobs can be hard to get; most kids can't be too choosy. High school kids in particular, tend to have to take what they can get.

And paid internships, particularly at the high school level, are pretty rare.

I'm a HUGE proponent of high school kids having jobs. I think it teaches them so much that they can't learn in high school. And fast food and retail are pretty much where those unskilled jobs are.

snowfairy137 · July 2017

Well I did try to get a job in those areas but I ended up with a job teaching robotics at a summer camp and an internship doing SolidWorks at a small local company. These probably speak to my strengths better, I don't imagine I'd be very good at customer service.

Formation · July 2017

In the next 20 to 50 years those jobs will no longer exist due to the usage of robots to complete small tasks.

JenJenJenJen · July 2017

@Formation Well, hopefully little kids will always prefer having real-life teenagers be their camp counselors, because that was my high school summer job and that's what my D17 is doing right now!

Studious99 · July 2017

Minimum wage is too high. There aren't enough entry level fast food and retail jobs around here to fit the high demand. Teens get passed over for the mid-20s college graduate who can't find anything better.

Chembiodad · July 2017

@Studious99, and seniors that still need to work - I can't tell you how many gray haired people there are working at the grocery store.

For an actual job, baby siting and dog walking is about as good as it's gets around us...Every employer told our DD's that they needed a commitment longer than 2-3 months and were only interested if they were commuting to college.

ski_racer · July 2017

Why not both? I work days at a computational research lab and nights at a minor league baseball concessions stand

Lindagaf · July 2017

My kid struggled to find summer work and after filling out over 20 applications, managed to find a job at a summer camp. No major retailers or chains seem to want to employ college students, unless they attend college in the area.

JasmineArmani · July 2017

Yea. That or most kids will actually TRY to enjoy their summer instead of worrying about money. Nevertheless working does teach skills that can be very useful in life, such as learning how to be an effective communicator.

prof2dad · July 2017

“Many more students are seeking out internships... making contacts at companies that students might want to work at post-graduation can be a smart move.”

This is particular so for rising college seniors who want to work in banking (or consulting). There is an about 70-80% chance of doing a rising senior internship at a major firm and then turning it into a permanent jobs at the same firm (for at least HYP and Wharton kids). Furthermore, internships at these industries pay well, usually at the base salary rate of the first year analyst. Students thus make around $15-$18k for a usual 10-week internship. A typical summer job surely does not pay anywhere near this amount.

snowfairy137 · July 2017

@prof2dad this is talking about high school students

prof2dad · July 2017

@snowfairy137 I read the article. I do not think the article is only about high school students. The title of the thread, "Kids Would Rather Get a Foot in the Door at a Big Company," also suggests that OP is more interested in college students.

snowfairy137 · July 2017

@prof2dad they're a little all over the place aren't they? I went off the fact that this is in high school lice.

Chembiodad · July 2017

@JasmineArmani, it teaches more than life skills, it puts spending money in a student's pocket. In our house, while tuition/board at the school of their dreams is something we saved for and are happy we can do, not having a summer job or any money in one's pocket will make for a bleak campus experience - that's also a life skill...

snowfairy137 · July 2017

@Chembiodad But internships also serve that purpose.

Chembiodad · July 2017

Yes, internships that provide compensation are best.

snowfairy137 · July 2017

@Chembiodad Which are most internships these days cause of labor laws. The general rule is that if you're doing something that the company has to pay someone else to do otherwise they have to pay you.

Chembiodad · July 2017

Yup, money is good - all denominations

JasmineArmani · July 2017

@Chembiodad Agreed.

What Summer Job? Kids Would Rather Get a Foot in the Door at a Big Company

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