And, often, dealing with parents (pick-ups, drop-offs) as well as kids, and ones bosses. Managing up, down and sideways. It actually can be a shocking amount of responsibility depending on camp. Really much more than many fancy internships IMO.
One of my kids worked at a STEM camp in a high-income area, parents at end of week were the hardest part I will tell you:) There was a lot of managing expectations!
That’s not what I wrote. Almost any job is good, even though there may be some that could be seen as better.
I always believe summer jobs are a good thing, my daughter may end up writing an essay about her summer job when the time comes to apply next year. She pet sits but not one-off watching the neighbor”s cat. She has a long list of clients, can spend anywhere from 5-15hrs/wk during the summer, over holiday breaks or very rarely for short stints during the regular school year. It is serious income at her age.
Essay angle, she once accidentally lost a house key. At age 14 had to call the owner, admit the key was gone and the dogs were inside the house, apologize and offer solutions. DH and I offered advice but she had to handle all of that on her own. Stressful? Yes. Learning experience? One hundred percent.
My point is that no matter how lowkey the job seems, there’s learning and growth and responsibility.
Same thing happened to my daughter at that age, fortunately it was a big dog with a big doggy door, and she was a small girl.
It doesn’t matter. My advice to both sons for their first job was don’t be picky. Just get a job. Any job. Showing you’re reliable, able to get along and take direction are basic skills pretty much for every entry-level job. It’s amazing how many people can’t do these basic things.
And learning the difference between showing initiative (ketchup dispenser is empty, so you refill it without being asked) and being obnoxious (explaining to the store manager of a billion dollar restaurant chain that if they put more salt on the fries they would sell more soda). One is laudable, the other is tone deaf (the chain employs an entire team of nutritionists who develop recipes and determine how much salt, fat, etc. goes into every menu item). First jobs are so important!
A very dear friend of ours is a bassist in a high level orchestra. He is close to retirement and has had an interesting life performing and teaching.
I don’t know if people generally read the short musician biographies for various orchestras. Most of the time, it is reads along the lines of “attended Big Name Conservatories A and B. and studied with so and so famous teachers”
This bassist friend has on his bio that he grew up as an immigrant kid picking grapes in the Central Valley and then worked as a gas station attendant. Of course he also attended music school and includes those details.
But he has always said that the early part of his working life was so important to who he has become. And he is an inspiration to lower income kids with a passion for music that it is ok to dream big!