I want to at least try to get a job this fall after I turn 14. My mom says I shouldn't. Who's wrong here? More details.?

Listen to your mother. You have a whole life of work ahead of you. Enjoy your freedom while you can.

I don’t think the main problem is your mom.
The problem is that no one would hire you.
I tried to get a job at 15. Believe me, getting a job is almost impossible now, especially for those who are a.) under 18 and b.) don’t have a driver’s license.

A good friend of mine turned 18 last year and wanted to get a job right away. She still hasn’t found anything. The truth is at that age you gotta find other ways to make money if you want it.

I agree @Rarebear , time as a child is precious and should not be filled with memories of work.

Go outside and cause some mischief lol

If you do decide to get a job. See if you can have the money direct deposited, then bank at a different bank than your mom. You may have to get your dad to help with this.

Get a volunteer position and treat it as if it were a paying job. You will build up experience that you can put on an application for paid employment, use the hours for service hours for high school, and possibly qualify for a scholarship. The first thing you are asked when you apply for any job is, “Do you have any work experience?”

@Rarebear and @ChaosCross Well yeah I guess you have a point. I probably wouldn’t get a job, but I would like to atleast try.

@PandoraBoxx Well I’ve thought about that, but the only places I’ve thought of to volunteer at was the library, and mine doesn’t do that. So are there any more places you can suggest?

it sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders kiddo. i say go for it. you can ask your school counselor about how to get a work permit for a 14 year old. by taking the initiative, perhaps your mother will be a little less stringent.

also, talk to your dad. you made it sound like he is in support of you getting a job, so even if you can’t convince your mom, he might have some more pull with her.

plenty of places are willing to hire young kids as long as they have their workers permit. try some of your local pizza joints, or grocery stores to be a bag boy.

@alive The problem with that is that I’m homeschooled. How would I go about getting this workers permit?

Museums, nursing homes, zoo, vet’s office, animal shelter, american cancer society or other non-profit, theater program, after school program for elementary school kids.

@PandoraBoxx Well the only ones of those that are around here are…2 nursing homes, a vet’s office, and I might be able to do the after school program for elementary kids.

Well, I would say be as young for as long as you can. Don’t join the work force until you absolutely have to. If your parents are not telling you that you have to work now, I would wait another couple of years, until you are at least 16.

As far as where the money goes, you are 14, it will go where your parent’s say it goes. Either you keep it or it goes to the ‘family’, is their decision, as would be your actually getting a job. I think, at least it is here in Maine, you can work at 14, certain hours, certain jobs BUT you also have to have parental permission.

When you turn 18, you do anything you like. Go to any college you want to go to, and if that means taking out loans to do so, you can, just don’t start abusing your credit with credit cards.

If you spend more than 15 hours a week working, statistics say that your grades will suffer and you’ll be at a higher risk to engage in activities detrimental to your life. You will be exposed to more risk taking behaviour like smoking, drinking and delinquency.
wait until you’re 18, apply for any college you want and have several talks with your academic adviser and financial aid.

@Trillian It may be true that more than 15 hours a week will hurt your grades. But working 5–10 hours a week during school actually improved my grades. Part of the deal with my parents was I could keep my job if the grades didn’t suffer.

I liked the paycheck, so I applies myself.

@PandoraBoxx Hey would the fact that I can type pretty fast and I always (OK maybe not always, but you get the point) use good grammar and no txtspk help?

I personally think your mom is wrong on this one. If you want to and can get a job then that is a great idea. A lot better than going out and causing trouble and stuff. If you do try to as soon as you can become a member of a credit union and get your credit building as soon as you can. I am 19 now and that is what I am having to do to get anything I want because no one will help me build credit. good luck

i don’t know why everyone is being such a negative nancy. i still say go for it chocolate. if your mom is anything like my mom she is freaking out now, but she will chill out.

if you are not involved in any sports or after school clubs/activities then work a couple hours a week. like 6 to 12 hours a week. (you would probably be making less than $50 bucks a week. even if your parents did make you give them some money, that isn’t exactly going to help with the family finances, so im sure they wouldn’t actually make you pay them)

the fact that you are already thinking about out of state college and saving up for the future shows that you are not just trying to be ‘rebellious’ to your mom.

i got a job when i was young and i was able to pay for my driving class and i was able to pay for the majority of my first car! it feels really good to accomplish that when most kids my age still had to ask their parents for money!

I got my first job a couple of months after turning 14. But I’m not sure it was the right move. My intent was to start saving as well, but being 14 well, movies and concerts seemed more important. I never held on to a penny. But it helped me understand the concept of work done to money earned. My family was not well off, I was raised on the brink of absolute poverty. It all came out alright. I contributed some, but more often than not I spent my money on treats for myself, on things my family couldn’t give me. It was a waste financially, but in terms of experience it was valuable.

It was nice to develop some pride in my work while I was young, leading me to work 100% at every job I had later.

I do not agree with @squidcake, many places are hiring. And they’re the same places that were hiring years ago. If you can’t get a job at Dominos, a movie theater, at a library or something similarly low level, you’re doing something wrong. I think the bigger problem would be trying to find a job at 18 with no work experience. You would look like an oddball nowadays.

If you want a part time job, go for it. I didn’t get a job until I was 18 and I kind of regret it. I also know many people around 14–16 who get jobs easy enough – I worked with a lot of them at a bakery/cafe. There are many things you can do besides retail, especially since summer is coming up, you could find a general labor job like cleaning horse stalls (even though it’s gross) or other things like that.

Talk to your dad, try to get him to change your mom’s mind.

@tragiclikebowie: That was actually my favorite job! I worked in some stables when I was 15, and it was amazing! And they let me do a work trade, for every day I worked I think I got an hour long lesson in English riding. It was AWESOME.

…Even that time….times I fell in the manure pile.

My daughter turns fourteen in June and I would love her to have a summer job. I don’t see how that would affect her grades. It’s not the school year. In any case, I think it would be a sign of initiative on her part, and I would welcome it and support it. The sooner she learns skills that will really help her be independent, the better. Then, if the worst should happen, she’d be better prepared to take care of herself.

@asmonet
There must just be a scarcity of work in my area, then.

Listen to your mom.

a summer job i see no problem with, but at the age of fourteen there is no reason to work year round. that is when you should be socializing and making bunches of friends and having fun, dont worry about working all the time. like everyone else said, you have your whole life to do it. my first job was right after i turned sixteen and i had to quit playing sports because i worked too much. i lost friends and athletic abilities (lol) and i regret it.

@ChocolateReigns To get a work permit, you have to have a parents signature. As a home schooler, you need to go directly to the school district headquarters. My grandson got his work permit, with my permission, and got a job with Panda Express, but he was 16.

i understand fully its like my mom im 15 and she says i cant either but i think its because she wants to protect me have you tried asking her if the reason she wants you to not get a job is to protect you? because thats prolly the reason.