If the claim, that fast food jobs are just for teens to gain "job experience", should they not be open only from late afternoon to early evening?

I don’t understand the question. How would it benefit anyone to have them closed at random times?

Because the teens either have to be in school, until in the afternoon, or have to be home before curfew.

There wouldn’t be any jobs if it weren’t for the sales. And it isn’t just teens who buy fast food at those places.

It’s not about the buyers, but about the staff.

The reality is there are plenty of adults working in fast food. It’s not like they have to rely on teens alone.
My first job was Sonic when I was 16.

Not all teens have the same school schedule.

I don’t know of any serious person who makes that arguement. No one claims that the sole purpose of fast food employment is to train the teenage workforce. If they did, perhaps a schedule like thay would make sense.

They don’t. No one does. It doesn’t.

Yes, that makes perfect sense. There are teens in college who can work those hours, but college teens don’t usually work in fast food. I knew someone 25 years ago who owned some McDonald’s and he said it was not like the old says (meaning 35–45 years ago) when middle class teens would work in fast food and at movie theatres. He said they won’t work those jobs anymore.

The argument that teens work those jobs is bullshit. Sure some do, but mostly it is lower income people who wind up in those jobs, and some do move up in the organization. People talk about fast food jobs like it is not difficult or not hard work, and yes it is! Any job on your feet for hours, and dealing with customers, or having to constantly watch things that are cooking work hard. It takes a lot of attention and stamina and not to mention often are crazy hours.

People suck being so disrespectful towards people who work in these types of jobs.

It’s a hard job, physically and emotionally. As a teen it’s still mostly fun. As an adult it’s pure hell. So be extra nice to them. Generally when you see adults working these jobs long-term they’re one or more of the following: owners or managers, supplementing income, semi-retired, have mental issues, low IQ, have fucked up life in one way or another, or honestly are shitty people and have burned all their bridges. Notice I say long-term. Outside of these situations most people get out and do better things. I have personally had about every shit job out there and fast food was in my top five hardest jobs. The hardest was construction but that paid relatively well. Currently I’m paid for what I know and it’s shocking how much I make for how little I do.

These jobs will be disappearing very soon anyway.

No one ever officially says that. That claim is just a derogatory way to say that the job offers no real value to the worker and society. The implication is that a functioning adult shouldn’t be working that job. That is disrespectful in every way.

Teenagers work that job because they are young and want to experience something while earning money, not because anyone is forcing them into it.

Many decades ago I worked at McD. It was a fantastic learning experience.
From the first day you could look around and see who was a good worker and who was a slug. The managers could see that, too.
Some people were self starters, some needed to be told, and some were out to do nothing. The last group did not get assigned hours and were gone quickly. (I’m sure they believed the cause was “the manager didn’t like me,” and not their behavior.)

@LuckyGuy I’m so glad you benefited from working at MacDonald. A lot of people don’t take it seriously and even hate what they do.

@Mimishu1995 At one time Mc’Ds paid tuition for their low tier managers who were usually promoted directly from grill and register duty. I know at least one person who went through engineering school on that ticket.

My fast food job in High School and the first part of college was at Dairy Queen. I went in for an ice cream and saw a bunch of cute girls working there so I asked for an application. It landed me my first job and girlfriend.

@Mimishu1995 I learned so much – way beyond flipping burgers. (By the way I still flip burgers the same way on my home grill when cooking for friends and family.)
I watched and learned about the business. I learned to keep track of multiple orders at the same time. I learned customer service and how some folks are just jerks. I watched how the franchise operation worked.
I saw how people were promoted or slowly made irrelevant – it was purely on merit, by the way. The owners were in it for the money, not to make a social statement. If you were a good worker it did not matter if you were white, black, or purple, they gave you hours and a raise after a relatively short time..
I also liked how they experimented with different product mixes for different areas: more orange soda and fish fillets here, more hamburgers and coffee there.
You get so much more from the experience if you take it seriously and work at it.
Now I see kids standing around looking at their phones… Ugh!

“should they not be open”?

What claim is that?

@LuckyGuy To this day, I can usually spot a jerk from across the room.

@Blackwater_Park Yep. They leave the mess on the table and make no attempt. I feel sorry for their spouses.

Ladies. Here’s a useful life tip for you: Watch how the guy behaves at McD. If he is a jerk there, he will be a jerk to you once he’s no longer on his best behavior and trying to get in bed with you.
Avoid guys like this and don’t let them reproduce.

I’ve never heard such a claim. Those are job force entry type jobs with no age restrictions.