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Betty Werth

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July 20, 2008

Betty Werth: Lower summer job expectations

BY BETTY WERTH

The first job for a kid often is "summer employment" that gives him or her a little pocket jingle and something to put on the next job application under "previous employment."

But they do have a down side. For example, almost no organization is looking for a "summer boss" to collect a huge paycheck and sit in a large, air-conditioned office doing bossy stuff. No, most summer jobs begin at the bottom.

And there are other drawbacks that can make a summer job feel less like an opportunity and more like a good caning. In fact, many teenagers complain about their summer jobs, but I say they are lucky to have them because back when I was a teenager and complained about my summer job, that's what my parents said to me. However, as I think about it, it seems to me the reason I didn't like my various summer jobs was because of the vast chasm between expectation and reality.

What I hope to do for today's teenagers is paint a clearer picture of "summer job reality" so that as they work their way through the summer, fall will start to look good. Here are Five Things You Need to Know About Your Summer Job If You Are Going To Be Able to Stand It For Twelve Whole Weeks:

1. It is not supposed to be "fun." If it is, you are doing something wrong and as soon as someone finds out you will be fired. "Work" is called "work" because it is "work." Otherwise it would be called "fun." Be glad that it is work, however, because that means they have to pay you. If you went there to have "fun," you would have to pay them.

2. The hours are bad. Most summer jobs either start in the morning (gack!) or last into the evening (gack.2!) and continue into the weekends (are you kidding me?) which pretty much eats up all of one's social time. As a teen, I looked for a job that would start about 1 p.m. so I could sleep in and end at 4 p.m. so I could go out at night but I never found it.

3. The pay is low. Unless you are the boss's offspring, you as a summer employee will probably make the least amount of money in the organization. This is not a reflection on you personally. It is a reflection on you as a person they were able to do without before you got there and in a few months will be able to do without again.

4. You can't tell anyone what to do. Unless the boss has a dog, you are not, as a summer employee, in a position to command anyone, or to refuse duty. You do what they tell you, as long as it is not illegal, immoral, unethical, unsafe, or impossible. You could try rejecting assignments as "uninteresting," "unsuitable," or "unappetizing," but don't blame me if your employment is short.

5. It doesn't have to be your career. It's just 12 weeks. Once in a while a person gets a summer job that makes him or her think, "I want to do this for the rest of my life." Just as often, a person thinks, "I want someone else to do this for the rest of my life." Summer jobs are to careers as dating is to wedlock -- try a few first. It cuts down on the paperwork.

Reach Betty Werth at bwestrope@hotmail.com.

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