He left Dubai because he didn’t want his children to grow up in that kind of “scary” (his descriptive) religious/political environment (he emigrated in the ’70’s).

I have to wonder if his children will seek to “push themselves to be a little better” than dear old corner store dad? I think he provides a different kind of motivation for them.

Or you could grow up in India, still on operating on the caste system. So you don’t get a choice of “first job”, you simply take over from your parents (and hope you were born near the top!).

I hear that the system may be changing soon.

@young: I was thinking just that point. As a matter of fact, I do know a medical doctor who immigrated to Canada from Dubai because he wanted a better/safer life for his children. He found he could either spend 6 years in school “upgrading” his medical skills and knowledge to Canadian standards (I was unaware Dubai was so Third World), or he could get a “real” job. So, he opened up a corner store. And that is what he does. It does not challenge him mentally and it requires none of his educated skills. He does it to better his family. I’ve talked with him a few times and he is one of the truest people I know.

Great point.

The Canadian government makes all these hoops for immigrants to jump over before they come here (Points system) and when they do, they are asked to do unskilled jobs.

Like they say, “the best place to have a heart attack is in a taxi cab”.
because the taxi driver was probably a cardiologist from his home country.

Austin @ Foreigner’s Finances

Your first assumption was correct; your last, not so much. I would doubt any of us are qualified to be particle physicists or used car salespeople. Think bell-curve.

As for “old” people doing brainless/laborious jobs…there are far, far worse evils in the world. And, you have no idea as to WHY that person is actually doing said job. Perhaps that 40-something waitress actually loves her job because it’s high energy, keeps her fit, and she gets to interact with people all day long (plus all those un-taxed cash tips!).

Not everyone in life is here just to make reams of money. If that were the case, we would all be running around in suits trying to sell each other stuff. If we didn’t have all those people doing all that stuff, life would be very different. Think of a life with NO art of any kind whatsoever.

Besides that, think of how our society would operate if you removed the massive portion of “low paying” jobs and the people doing them. Basically, you would have no food or shelter and a whole lotta other stuff. Think about it. Think of one of the most needed links in society — the truck driver. Would you rather have some 17-year old kid driving that semi truck full of produce across the country, or someone who has been doing it for 20 years? (Me, neither — I’d rather buy local! ha ha).

A summary of my “menial” job: service industry, earn above the federal and prov. income, work 30-33 hours/week, weekends and stats off, 6 weeks holidays, will retire when I’m 55 with plump pension (thanks govie!).

THAT is why I do a brainless/soulless job. I don’t love the job, but I do love what I get in return. The low hours give me ample time to pursue and engage in a lot of other activities that do stimulate my brain, soul, and bank account.

My first job was a paper route. What it taught me was I am not a morning person.

What my last job is teaching me is there is a balance and a sacrifice to everything.

Teenagers should be expected to do something outside of class – be it an extracurricular, a volunteer job, or paid work. But high school is one of the only times in our lives that we have the opportunity to explore activities that we enjoy and are good at, without having to worry about whether they pay enough. And I think figuring out what it is you actually want to do is every bit as worthwhile as learning how much effort it takes to pull in minimum wage.

Summer work for my 16 year old is fine. He worked for 4 weeks full time last year in a Production facility. It was terrific experience for him – I believe he began to understand the concept of trading time for money. (Why not become as educated as possible and trade that time for a higher hourly wage?)

I started working at the age of 14, a month before I turned 15. It was the summer and I went door to door canvassing for a Charity Children’s group. I learned a lot that summer- I learned to let things roll off my back and not take things too seriously (for example, when I rung the bell one time- I know that the lady behind the door purposely turned the hose on me! I got hosed!).

I also learned that people can be very generous, especially when they may seem like they don’t have very much. I went canvassing through all different neighbourhoods (huge sprawling mansions to small houses).

I learned that there are administrative costs to charities! (So check their pie chart next time you donate!)

make sure your kids have the maturity to hold down a job. i obviously wasn’t ready.

It became tremendously clear why some parents needed to call the city to find a babysitter. No one in their own neighbourhood wanted to deal with their children. I was absolutely floored at some of the “rules” or lack of rules some of these children had.

What did I learn? To be discerning as to who I chose to work for. If the parent was trying their best and treated me respectfully I went back even if the child was a brat. It felt like to some degree I was making a difference. If the parents were rude, cheap in their pay, and treated me like a servant I did not return.

I never worked during the school year, except babysitting and only on weekends. I was heavily involved in extra curricular activities and homework was a necessity for me as high school marks did not come easy.

Now, as a teacher, I highly recommend summer and weekend jobs (minimal hours) only. High School students have to meet so many volunteer hours, anyway, so why not let your child have a taste of working voluntarily, hanging out with well chosen friends, and completing their homework. There is lots of time for work full time as adults.

Good lesson for any teenager.

But in my senior year I worked during the school year so that I could save up money to buy my first car.

When I was able to save enough money to buy my first car (acura integra) I was really proud of myself.

But looking back – I wished I hadn’t worked so much because I definitely could have used that time to learn a new language or do better in school.

However, I guess I can’t complain much because I came from a poor family. So I guess you gain some things and lose other things.

My first job (apart from babysitting and things) was in a nightclub as a coat check person. I was about 15 and one of my many duties was occasionally cleaning out the washrooms – which, as this was in a nightclub, could be fairly nasty to say the least :) This taught me I’m never too “good” or “educated” for ANY tasks or job, something I think some of my acquaintances should have learned early in life! The job also led to me learning to bartend which is a valuable skill and one which made me a lot of money over my college career. It was also enormous fun.

I also credit my mindfulness and care around money to those early jobs. Nothing like making three pounds an hour to make you reluctant to waste your wages.

However, more and more I appreciate just how much commitment it takes to succeed, and reading your post certainly helped put things into perspective for me. :)

I use to have the mentality that teenagers should have jobs to help them transition to the ‘real world’, but if my children’s high school experience is as demanding as their elementary experience has been, we will have to re-think our position.

Looking back I think I worked too much as a teen and could have done better academically if I’d had more time. I could have learned the same lessons with less time commitment. I like the idea of having them work in the summer but not during the school year.