POLL: Received a job offer. Long evening hours Mon-Sat. Do I take the job? Still in HS, still want social life UPDATED!!

[phatj]

I just got offered a job as a dishwasher at a local restaurant (about 3 minutes away). Here are the details:
.$8.25/hr (very nice!)
.Hours are M-Th, 4:30-10:30 PM. Fri-Sat, 4:30-11:30 PM. Closed Sunday.
.Located in a pretty run-down/bad part of the neighborhood (some guy got shot nearby a year ago)

I usually go out with my girlfriend and buddies on fridays and saturdays. If I take this job, I will not be able to do that. Im 17, still in high school, and I need money BADly, but I love hanging out with my friends, especially since everyone is going to different colleges next year (Will only be able to hang out with them until they leave, in August).

So, do I take the job, make crazy money, and sacrifice some hanging out time. Or do I screw the job, keep my fingers crossed for a better offer (I put in ~10 applications to various places), and keep my usual routine?

edit: need money for graduation/college expenses

2nd edit: Today is Wednesday, I finished my first day at work yesterday. The manager changed the hours on me, so now I have to go in at 4:30 on the weekdays and leave around 10:30. I decided not to keep the job. Although the money is good, I agree with a lot of you that this is a time to be with friends and socialize. Working about 40 hours per week while going to school and not seeing friends is not worth the money. Thanks for all of your responses. I am now hoping to get a job elsewhere (Im actually hoping to get hired by a nursing home, where a couple of my buddies work). THANKS AGAIN!

 

[opticalmace]

Why do you "need money BAD"?

Personally, in your shoes, I wouldn't take it. I would just relax & all that.
Enjoy your leisure time.

 

[bradruth]

Hang out with your friends while you still can and enjoy your leisure time like opticalmace said.

 

[jadinolf]

Let your folks support you.
That's what they're for.

 

[dquan97]

You should enjoy your time...you got all your life to work

 

[ajpa123]

Find another job. Doesn't matter if it pays a little less... but enjoy your weekends while you're young and carefree. Trust Me, don't give up spending fri & sat with ur freinds.. you won't ever get that back !

 

[DuffmanOhYeah]

I dont think $8.25 an hour has ever qualified as "crazy money"

 

[PanzerIV]

You're going to get years upon years of working long hours and suffering in the "real world" so enjoy your youth and social life and wait and see if something better comes along. You can never get these days back. Now is the time to live a little more freely.

 

[phatj]

Originally posted by: DuffmanOhYeah
I dont think $8.25 an hour has ever qualified as "crazy money"

Crazy money for a high school student. At least in my area, it is.

 

[MikeMike]

how old are you guys who replied?

he needs the money for college most likely. parents cant be bet on for 100% of everything, if you think that way its gunna go to hell for you later in your life.

im 17 btw, but i do work.

MIKE

 

[Orsorum]

Take the job, save some money in a savings acct and a Roth IRA, prepare for college and get an early start on your retirement savings.

 

[Electric Amish]

Originally posted by: DuffmanOhYeah
I dont think $8.25 an hour has ever qualified as "crazy money"

That's not bad for a HS kid.

I'd say take the job if you want/need the money.

That should get you like $400 every 2-week.

 

[bradruth]

Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1
how old are you guys who replied?

I'm 20, a sophomore in college. We all need money, but this is a time of his life that he'll never be able to recreate. Luckly for me my parents are covering my college and 3 of my best friends from high school are going to the same college. I worked during summers, but realistically he's not going to make enough money doing dishes to make a really big difference in college. Take out loans if you have to--you'll make more than enough money during & after college.

 

[pyonir]

I'd say take the job. I worked during HS and that allowed me to have more time to party and have fun in college my freshman year because i didn't have to work. College is where the fun is IMO, so work some now, to save up some money. Then party like a rock-star in college.

 

[FuZoR]

wow $8.25/hour for cleaning dishes!!

My HS job paid me like $6/hour.. bah! min wage is like $5.15? lol

 

[mcveigh]

get the the job, you can still go out afterworads and ou'll have money to blow on the honeys

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

I had a somewhat different dilemma.

Jobs pays $13-15 an hour. Work when you want, office job, free internet access. Work at home if you want, as long as the job gets done in a timely manner.

Sophomore in HS at time of accepting job.

No GF, No social life

Wasn't nearly as hard of a decision for me.

If I were you though, I would wait.

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1
how old are you guys who replied?

he needs the money for college most likely. parents cant be bet on for 100% of everything, if you think that way its gunna go to hell for you later in your life.

im 17 btw, but i do work.

MIKE

What I typed was tongue in cheek.
I worked since I was 11. Retired at 59.

 

[Ns1]

you could do better

sacrificing all that for 8 bucks an hour is not worth it. look harder.

 

[BigPoppa]

I love all the live off your parents responses. Maybe he'd like to take a little initiative and earn his own spending money? I too worked a dishwashing job in highschool. I started it a few weeks before spring break of senior year, and worked until a week before I left for college. Believe me when I say I had PLENTY of time to "socialize" with my friends - pulled many a trifecta over the summer.

 

[ghostman]

My suggestion is that you look for a job that's less demanding on hours and adds more value to your job experience. It might not pay as well, but you'll be able to hang out with friends and your grades are less likely to drop. And the difference between $8.25/hr and $6.25/hr isn't that much. Perhaps an office job? Receptionist?

I started working at the YMCA when I was 15 doing "maintenance" (read: janitor) work, which included dishwashing. It paid $6.25/hr. I hated it. I never ended up putting it on a resume because it was never relevant to any job I was going for.

 

[phatj]

bumperz

 

[skace]

You are going to want money in college. This is how it works in college, if you don't have money you have to work these retarded school jobs, like work in the cafeteria or work in the library for like the lowest possible wages ever. So if you get a good job now and a good job each summer, you should be able to go through college without working a job. Which means you can enjoy your BEST years.

I worked since the age of 16. This was pretty much the standard for most people I knew. Have a car? Need gas? Get a job. Being the dishwasher is usually a good job to get because usually you cannot do it until 18 I think? Because dishwashing is considered heavy machinery if I recall correctly.

I hope you get another good offer now that you've decided to quit.

 

[badmouse]

I'm surprised nobody pointed out that he needs time to do schoolwork .

There's nothing wrong with working fulltime, if you do it right. Your work hours count as "social", unless you're a night watchman, and even when I did that, it was amazing how many other people there were around (in fact I quit the job because I wanted to get my homework done and there were too many interruptions - it's a long long time ago). It may not be social life of choice, but it's something.

Another plus of working that long is that you're too busy to blow your bucks on the stupid stuff that bored people do to kill time.

However, it's your choice, and you'd probably be better off with a less demanding job.

 

[phatj]

Like badmouse said, I definitely need time for schoolwork.

Skace: At the college that I will be attending, the school has set a minimum wage of $9.00/hr.

I do plan on finding a job that doesn't expect me, a student, to work ~40 hours a week. Wish me luck!