Teenagers Allowance

Andypandyboy

zagfles wrote: »

DD's college want her to apply to Oxford, they gave us loads of advice none of which was for her to get a job!

As a matter of fact neither Oxford nor Cambridge apprve of their undergrads working if it is at all possible.

AmyTurtle

Wow some of you are incredibly generous! I'm 31 so I'm talking about 15 years ago ish:

My parents are divorced and I grew up in a low income household.
Walked to school (stayed for A-levels) and got free school lunches.
My dad gave me & my brother £5 per week pocket money - for that we had to clean his transit van and car at weekends and wash up, dry up etc after meals when at his house. Mum/Dad bought only necessary toiletries and clothes.
My brother & I shared a paper round when he was 11 and I was 13. I then worked Saturdays in a local family dept store from 14 and worked extra in school holidays. When I was 16 I got a job in a local newsagents working 3 evenings a week 5-9 and extra if needed. My brother worked in a pet shop and at a carpentry workshop from 14-18. I earned about £60 a week and from that I paid for mobile phone, toiletries, make up, clothes, driving lessons, my social life, any food I wanted at school apart from the free school lunch, even a holiday to Newquay with friends when I was 17. I went to grammar school and most of my friends were from wealthy families but I didn't miss out on much that they did. Between AS & A levels some of my friends went inter-railing around Europe but I couldn't stretch to that.
During my gap year I worked 70+ hours a week doing cooking, bar work and waitressing in a local pub - paid my mum £40 a week keep and saved the rest. Then when at Uni I caught the train back home every Friday lunchtime, worked 4-12 Fri, 10am-12pm Saturday and 8-6 on Sunday cooking and doing bar work at the pub I had worked in during my gap year (32 hours, virtually full time!!). I did get a student loan but other than that completely self financed. I got good grades at GCSE, A level and Uni. I'm now a Buyer and my brother is a head chef.

My half sister who is now 17 and came along when my dad had a lot more money has always been given everything and has a terrible sense of entitlement! She's at college and has the odd part time job but always gives them up because someone looked at her the the wrong way or something...she got terrible grades at school and I have no idea how she is ever going to hold down a job.

theoretica

Andypandyboy wrote: »

As a matter of fact neither Oxford nor Cambridge apprve of their undergrads working if it is at all possible.

I would add 'in term time' to that. In my experience were very supportive of undergraduates working or doing something else productive the other half of the year - so on average supported up to half time working.

onlyroz

In the sixth form I was given the child benefit money plus enough to buy a school dinner. I was expected to buy my own clothes and any toiletries on top of the basics like shampoo and soap etc. I didn't get a mobile until I went to uni - but they were only just starting to become popular back then.

onlyroz

Andypandyboy wrote: »

As a matter of fact neither Oxford nor Cambridge apprve of their undergrads working if it is at all possible.

I thought it was explicitly forbidden, as is going home during term time. I would prefer my own kids to focus on their studies while they are still in full time education. Apart from summer work experience I didn't work while at school or uni and I have never been asked about this in any interview ever.

peachyprice

McKneff wrote: »

Do none of you encourage your teenage children to work on a weekend or an evening.


I got nothing, I had to work for anything I wanted.


I encouraged my kids to do the same

It's a very different work place out there now from when we were teenagers.

I worked in Boots from the age of 15, I got the job because my boyfriends sister worked there. Unless it's a small business it just doesn't work like that any more.

Most of the part time jobs we would have walked into are now taken by adults, there's a plentiful supply willing to work part time just to make ends meet that don't come with all the restrictions of employing under 18's.

The big employers like supermarkets have to go through their central recruitment, gone are the days of walking in and asking if they had any jobs, it's all 'apply online' and 'go through head office' which puts them up against the adults.

If they're lucky enough to find a small independent that takes on young adults the job end up with a waiting list. There's a school uniform shop near me who has years worth of teenagers lined up ready to take the Saturday job when the current worker goes off to uni.

Pubs don't want to know until they're 18, very few and far between are pubs that will take on a 16yo to collect glasses like they used to, they want older people who they can use behind the bar if they get busy.

All the laws passed to protect young workers have made them a PITA to employ.

So yes, all mine have been encouraged, but part time jobs can't be relied on anymore.

AmyTurtle

Presumable Oxbridge can't explicitly forbid students from working - otherwise how would those without parental financial support who have to self finance completely ever get in?

I think re: part time jobs it must depend on the area - I worked in a pub/restaurant until recently that had a whole gaggle of 14-17 year olds waitressing and collecting glasses. My little sister has had jobs at Superdrug & Smiggle and has just got a job at Sainsbury's. She's only just 17 and was 15 when she started working. The shops around here are always advertising for staff but I guess that's because it's a commuter town known for having a high income bracket.

onlyroz

AmyTurtle wrote: »

Presumable Oxbridge can't explicitly forbid students from working - otherwise how would those without parental financial support who have to self finance completely ever get in?

The difference with Oxbridge is that their terms are only 8 weeks long and you are expected to spend this time fully focussed on your studies. To this end most colleges are fully catered so that you don't have to do any cooking. It's basically a continuation of the public school experience that most of their students came from. Universities do, however, encourage students to take up paid work experience over the summer - in a hopefully relevant area of work. For example I studied Physics and I spent my summers working in the medical Physics department of the local NHS trust, helping them to test some of their mathematical models.

AmyTurtle

OK that's interesting!
I went to Reading Uni and don't remember anyone from there ever expressing an opinion about part time jobs one way or another, although the majority of people in my halls didn't work anyway.

sassysar

I feel tight reading this ! Pocket money is £10 a week for all my teens . I pay for everything including clothes , toiletries , one takeaway or meal out at the weekend if they are with us and not out. Also I pay a cheap phone contract each and all their holidays
.If the girls want clothes they don't need but want - they pay for them.They take packed lunch but get dinner money on a Friday .
2 out of three have jobs and have learned to budget well .
Pocket money is low but we have no shop in the village and the nearest cinema / bowling is half an hour away . The older ones earn about £30 a week and fund their driving from that and savings .