What are some jobs that 16 year olds can do?

[fuzzybabybunny]

Besides working at McDonald's or washing dishes, what other things would 16-year-olds qualify for that also don't entail that much extra training for the employer...

but also...

...gives valuable experience for the kid?

 

[7window]

sign spinner, lawn care, car wash. paper delivery

 

[SheHateMe]

I used to work on the cleanup crew at the Detroit Zoo when I was 15. The work sucked but it was a job and they didn't really have to train us on how to sweep or clean up vomit.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Politician

Most teenagers are about as mature/grown up as most politicians. And they clearly are much smarter.

 

[Chess]

Computer repair ?

 

[OCGuy]

Get their semi-attractive female high school teacher onto the sex offenders list.

 

[mikeford]

Depends on your location. Many places there are zero entry level jobs unless you know someone, or constantly pound pavement, or get into some program.

 

[MisterJackson]

My son (16) does PC repair. He grew up around it, and is actually pretty good at it. My first job was at a nursery (plant kind, not a snotty nosed brat kind) when I was 13. It was hard ass work, but very rewarding. My 2nd job was on a land survey crew. Again, hard ass work, but fulfilling. I even learned how to survey, and got to use GPS equipment when it first became available to use by civilians. The backpack GPS unit I had to carry out was $150,000, so we had to rent the damn thing. There also weren't that many GPS satellites in the sky, so you only had certain windows of time to use it. Often times that'd be between midnight and dawn.

 

[mmntech]

Retail mostly, in a store. Golf course is a good outdoor job for teens. When I was that age, I used to do clerical work and office cleaning for my parents' business. Filing, data entry, all that good stuff.

 

[nageov3t]

what's wrong with McDonalds?

everyone should have to spent time working fast food/retail to experience how truly awful people can be so they can emerge from the experience as a nicer, more polite person to the guys working minimum wage who really have nothing to do with the corporate policies you're berating them over.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Guys: Landscaping or general laborer on a construction site. Stay in shape and make more money than a McJob.

Girls:

 

[Carson Dyle]

My first job was at a nursery (plant kind, not a snotty nosed brat kind) when I was 13. It was hard ass work, but very rewarding.

Similarly, landscaping work. Can definitely be back-breaking, but you quickly grow into it. Lots of digging, shoveling, raking, lifting of everything from hay bales and potted trees to bags of mulch and railroad ties. Good, honest work.

 

[Carson Dyle]

everyone should have to spent time working fast food/retail to experience how truly awful people can be so they...

It shouldn't take anyone very long at _any_ job that deals with customers for a kid to realize how truly awful people can be.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Auto repair or tire shop work. My brother worked at a Sears Auto Center back in high school doing tire changes. I always thought it was a crap job, but along with the stock trading he did on the side, he was worth about about $75k when he graduated high school (in 1980, no less).

 

[Scarpozzi]

I was a PC technician and bussed tables when I was 16. I made good money on the computer gig as it was 1996 and there was less PC knowledge.... bussing tables was hard work, but I made minimum wage and got tipped out.

 

[waggy]

at 16? what job would be good for them and a valuable experience? ANY FUCKING JOB even McDonalds.

they learn to show up on time, to work, etc. i would say that is a valuable experience wouldn't you?

 

[Carson Dyle]

at 16? what job would be good for them and a valuable experience? ANY FUCKING JOB even McDonalds.

they learn to show up on time, to work, etc. i would say that is a valuable experience wouldn't you?

Just out of high school I worked in a union shop (UAW). Know what I learned? That if you can do the LEAST amount work of anyone then you're the biggest, baddest, most well-hung union stud in the plant.

There are plenty of jobs where you can learn all the wrong things.

 

[Agent11]

If I had a 16 year old I would try to get them on as an intern for one of my local representatives.

 

[iGas]

Gardener/landscaper/laborer/mover/janitor/carpet cleaner/car washer/dishwasher/shelf stocker.

 

[FreshCrabLegs]

Sell wetsuits at a surfshop.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Computer repair. Hard to get an actual job doing it, but can actually start a business. That's what I did. Was nothing serious but it was legal and all, PST (this is before HST) license and business license. Did not have to charge GST since I made less than 30k a year. The whole process of starting the business can be a good lesson though. Like how to manage taxes and all that stuff.

Another thing to get into is janitorial, I did that too. My school always had a few openings in the summer to clean the school and get it ready for the next year. Actually fairly easy to get because people see it as "degrading" and don't want to apply. Hey, it's a job! Sure beats working in a fast food joint. Less pressure.

There's always writing a facebook or iphone app too.

 

[Peter Nixeus]

Computer repair, warehouse pack and ship... Professional Gamer seems to be popular these days...

 

[Childs]

McDonalds builds character. I worked there when I was 15, and if you can survive your friends coming in and demanding to see Ronald McDonald in front of your manager, and calling your Mayor McFry at school, you can take pretty much anything. I was also a bus boy/dishwasher when I was 16. lol What makes your kid so special that they can't get a real job? Might as well get them a job as the Chief Fun Officer of Disneyland!

 

[nickbits]

Teen model

 

[schneiderguy]

Porn.