Should I be embarrassed to get a job?

[Joe!]

I only know of one place that pays under £4 an hour for 16 year olds, and that's subway. I personally think you're just lazy Soy. As Excellent2 said, even mcdonalds pays about 4.50 an hour. Myself i get paid 4.85 for working at sainsburys. My girlfriend who is 17 gets paid 9.45 an hour, there are plenty of jobs out there that pay above minimum wage, you just have to look for them.
Joe

[The Professor]

If you don't like the sound of a low hourly wage, work it out as a yearly one. I only get paid £4.10 per hour and I work 10 hours a week. That's £41 a week. There are 52 weeks in a year, call it 45 to account for various holidays and stuff. Thats £1845 a year. A 16 year old with nothing else to spend money on (no bills or anything) can do an awful lot for that. And thats on a relatively low wage! Yeah you can always do better, but in todays economy you take what you can get and if it's paid well it's a bonus

[Soy]

I only know of one place that pays under £4 an hour for 16 year olds, and that's subway. I personally think you're just lazy Soy. As Excellent2 said, even mcdonalds pays about 4.50 an hour. Myself i get paid 4.85 for working at sainsburys. My girlfriend who is 17 gets paid 9.45 an hour, there are plenty of jobs out there that pay above minimum wage, you just have to look for them.
Joe

I would never want to work for £4.00 an hour,

But some people out there would so that's their choice

[Jonster]

I would never want to work for £4.00 an hour,

But some people out there would so that's their choice

Frankly at the age of 16, anything goes. You said earlier in the thread that you make your money online - at the age of 16 you dont do the Monday - Friday, 9 to 5. Yes, there are many places of work that offer over £5/6/7, but frankly if its the best you can get, then its a plus by all means.

Then ontop of that there is the social and experience sides of work, which are a big help to when you seek work in the future.

[Kent]

They pay you next to nothing, not worth it.

£3.50 or something like that an hour.

If your wanting more cash and your family can't provide just wait for EMA next year

that's what a lazy person does, and not everybody gets EMA

[StefanWolves]

i get paid like £4.30 an hour, at the cafe my mom owns, only do it two days a week max for 5 hours a day, i don't moan about the money because i do it mainly as a favor for my parents.

[NIKKEE]

Hey I'm 17, and I got my first job almost a year ago. At my interview it was professional but fairly lighthearted and I got the job a couple hours later!
At work most people are from their late twenties to 50's and it doesn't matter what age they are, they're all such cool people and talk about things I talk about with my friends, I love working there, they help me when I need help and they don't talk to me like I'm a child, nobody shouts at me like I hear happens to my friends in other jobs. But then, my friends work in like Tesco's or a cafe, my job is a bit different and SO much better! It can be very mature, but it's also very fun! I get paid £4.50 an hour, but that's supposed to go up after I complete this test, and I work 12 and a half hours a week, but right now doing an extra 4 on a Saturday because they needed a short term replacement until they start the interviews!

[Alison:D]

I'm 14 and i do office work experience so you shouldn't be at all worried about getting a job at 16. 16 is a good age to get a job as you will get a decent wage for your age and you will be taken seriously at this age.

No worries!

[BlueLord]

Finding a job isn't as easy as you'd like to think.

This link may give you advice, regarding knowing your rights etc.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employme...ng/DG_10027738

[Cyndia]

Frankly at the age of 16, anything goes. You said earlier in the thread that you make your money online - at the age of 16 you dont do the Monday - Friday, 9 to 5. Yes, there are many places of work that offer over £5/6/7, but frankly if its the best you can get, then its a plus by all means.

Then ontop of that there is the social and experience sides of work, which are a big help to when you seek work in the future.

He's right - everyone has to start somewhere so it's okay if you have to start off with a job that pays lousy, it'll help in the future towards getting a better job as you'll have experience. Also as BlueLord said, finding a job really isn't easy, especially in this day and age when a lot of people are out of work and looking. Don't stress about people not taking you seriously since you're 16. If you convey yourself professionally, they won't pay attention to your age. Just make sure you look around and find as many opportunities as possible and apply to them all. It may take a little while and you may experience a lot of disappointment, but in the end you'll get a job and you'll have money to do whatever you want with on the side which is really nice.

PS. When you're looking for a job, use all the help you can get/use any connections you might have. For example, my first job was a month long unpaid internship working for the US government that my mom managed to get for me as she works for them and submitted my resume to her boss. Once my internship ended, they offered me a job to work for them that was paid, and pretty well paid at that, which is what I did up until I graduated and left for Uni. After that my second job I got because one of my professors recommended me to one of their colleagues so I got a job working in their lab, and finally after that I had a pretty solid resume and I was accepted to the very next job I applied to. So if you have any friends working places that might be hiring, get them to recommend you to their bosses. Or maybe your parents can help you find work. Whatever it is - take advantage even if you don't think its likely and it'll pay off in the long run.