pete.young Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 [quote name='Hamster' post='14192' date='Jun 8 2007, 01:52 PM']That's an average of 48 hrs/pw over a 17 week period (or the period of employment if less than 17 weeks) Which is something you can opt out of if you want.[/quote] I stand corrected. Thank you. Not sure why I thought it was 4 weeks, maybe I was talking to someone who had negotiated a different reference period. However, if he's 16 years old he can't work more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week. I don't understand why so many people don't seem to be able to grasp this basic fact! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 I'm caught on the horns of a dilemma with giving you advice on this, as I faced something almost identical 27 years ago! At 17 I took a job as a glorified Tea-Boy working on a Power Station refurb', working away from home, living in digs. I still lived at home (non-work time) and I was earning as much as my dad, though he was supporting 5 kids (8 in total if you inc' the ones from a previous marriage) and a mortgage (2 actually as he had to pay toward his first wife's). You can guess how p*ssed my parents were when I threw in the towel because I wanted to come home and go out with my mates! If I was answering your call for advice back then I'd have been screaming 'stuff the job, sneak into pubs and drinking snakebite whilst tapping as much tottie as possible'. However, my mature (I wouldn't say sensible) older head would now say, take the job graft hard for a summer and think of what you could do with the money! If you are serious about being in a band and making it, that money will pay for your rig (whatever that may be) and possibly a demo/PA/driving lessons etc etc. Aside from the legal implications of working at that age (and you tend to find employees can 'opt out' of most legislation), I have to say that is a damn fine wage, as much as I earn(ed) as a fully qualified state school teacher with a BA degree! Take the job, bank the money and see what is around the corner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandonh Posted June 8, 2007 Author Share Posted June 8, 2007 Well Im in the U.S you guys are just cool lol. And I have checked it up with the people (friends getting me the job and his family works there) that I think im gonna save about 1500$ and get myself a decent bass and then stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 [quote name='Brandonh' post='14433' date='Jun 8 2007, 11:08 PM']Well Im in the U.S[/quote] Well, that makes it a little different don't it? Forget what I said, at U.S prices, all the gear you want is cheap! Do the work, buy it all (and a darn good set of earplugs) and let rip! Hamster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul, the Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 [quote name='Brandonh' post='14433' date='Jun 9 2007, 12:08 AM']Well Im in the U.S you guys are just cool lol. And I have checked it up with the people (friends getting me the job and his family works there) that I think im gonna save about 1500$ and get myself a decent bass and then stop.[/quote] That makes quite the difference. You'll be making twice the amount as I did at 16 and buying gear at half the price. I personally think that amount of work at that age is ridiculous - if you're not used to it and it's laborious, it might make you ill. My advice is to do a different, less monotonous sounding job. Work 4 or five days (30-40 hours a week) and get the gear that you [i]need[/i]. You'll still build character, make friends, earn respect and have something nice on your resume. Then give yourself a little treat at the end with a bass or amp upgrade. paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 [quote name='paul, the' post='14452' date='Jun 9 2007, 12:46 AM']That makes quite the difference. You'll be making twice the amount as I did at 16 and buying gear at half the price. [b]I personally think that amount of work at that age is ridiculous - if you're not used to it and it's laborious, it might make you ill.[/b] My advice is to do a different, less monotonous sounding job. Work 4 or five days (30-40 hours a week) and get the gear that you [i]need[/i]. You'll still build character, make friends, earn respect and have something nice on your resume. Then give yourself a little treat at the end with a bass or amp upgrade. paul.[/quote] I've been biting my tongue but here's where I'm going to show my age and get a few backs up! This is not direct a pop directed at you Paul but at something that is becoming increasingly more commonplace (or at least to my eye) in our country today. One line in your response appears to be a damning indictment of today's work ethic and to some degree the 'youth of today' (never thought I'd hear myself say that). Yes I went through a similar experience when I was young and I jacked a well earned job in to go out with my mates but it wasn't because I couldn't cope with 10 hour shifts, 6 days a week... I was more interested in having fun with my mates - booze, birds and bass. Unfortunately I was 200 miles away from my mates and all of the BBB! When I came home I got a job working as a roofing labourer (seasonal work where you didn't work through the winter months so you had to put the hours in when you could to build up your funds for the 'lay-off') and every one of my mates (16-19) had jobs that involved working not less than 9 hours and often shift work and weekends... it was the norm'; you just did it. We still had time to party/gig/socialise/lay about Don't talk to me about children up chimneys and down mines, that isn't what I am talking about. I mean straight forward hard graft for 8-12 hours a day, 5/6 days a week. However, it now appears that to work long unsociable hours is bordering on heresy. I would fight tooth and nail for everyone to have the right to a good work/life balance but to be scared in your late teens and early twenties that working long hours, in a potentially laborious job might make you ill... Is it just me or is it becoming increasingly apparent that putting in an honest days graft is just too much for many people? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 Just realised, when you say 9.50 per hour, is that $9.50 p/h or £9.50 p/h? (which is like $20 p/h when you convert it) How does your proposed rate of pay compare with other jobs for 16 year olds, and do you have a minimum wage set in the USA? Hamster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul, the Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 [quote name='warwickhunt' post='14530' date='Jun 9 2007, 09:56 AM']I've been biting my tongue but here's where I'm going to show my age and get a few backs up! This is not direct a pop directed at you Paul but at something that is becoming increasingly more commonplace (or at least to my eye) in our country today. One line in your response appears to be a damning indictment of today's work ethic and to some degree the 'youth of today' (never thought I'd hear myself say that). Yes I went through a similar experience when I was young and I jacked a well earned job in to go out with my mates but it wasn't because I couldn't cope with 10 hour shifts, 6 days a week... I was more interested in having fun with my mates - booze, birds and bass. Unfortunately I was 200 miles away from my mates and all of the BBB! When I came home I got a job working as a roofing labourer (seasonal work where you didn't work through the winter months so you had to put the hours in when you could to build up your funds for the 'lay-off') and every one of my mates (16-19) had jobs that involved working not less than 9 hours and often shift work and weekends... it was the norm'; you just did it. We still had time to party/gig/socialise/lay about Don't talk to me about children up chimneys and down mines, that isn't what I am talking about. I mean straight forward hard graft for 8-12 hours a day, 5/6 days a week. However, it now appears that to work long unsociable hours is bordering on heresy. I would fight tooth and nail for everyone to have the right to a good work/life balance but to be scared in your late teens and early twenties that working long hours, in a potentially laborious job might make you ill... Is it just me or is it becoming increasingly apparent that putting in an honest days graft is just too much for many people?[/quote] That's fair enough, I'm sure you're completely right. It just seemed a little unnecessary in his situation and that it could be a bit of a shock to the system. At 16 (two years ago) I had a summer job waiting tables, kitchen porting and table clearing. I consider myself a tough cookie, I've beaten up bullies twice my weight when necessary and I have the ability to push myself harder than most. However, on £2.80 an hour when my friends were on 4 or 5 and having a boss that called you names and put you down when you were trying your darnedest all got to me a little. Not to mention the repeating of synthed '90s hits (Spice girls on keyboards, over and over and over...). If I didn't want a bass amp, I wouldn't have done it. And to top it off the amp I bought was a Laney head and cab which sounded hollow and sterile, was a 1/3 of the wattage it was advertised at and broke down after a week (I wasn't at all experienced). But I swapped it for a '70s Kustom charger, which is a piece of deign history. It was a good experience though, had a positive effect on social life and running up and down two flights of stairs holding trays of food was good conditioning for the body and mind. And I wouldn't have traded it for a more stimulating job despite my IQ at the time. If you punt for the factory job, see if you can try it out for a day. I wish you the best of luck with whatever you choose to do. Keep in mind that 300 solid state watts is good enough for small gigs and 1000 watts is good for killing small animals. paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizbat Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 If I was you, and that would be over twenty years ago, I would stuff the job and play in a band all summer. You have the rest of your life to go to work . If your folks don,t object to you not bringing in any money for keep as you are activley working hard at playing,do it now as it gets harder to do as you get older. wiz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 [quote name='warwickhunt' post='14530' date='Jun 9 2007, 09:56 AM']Is it just me or is it becoming increasingly apparent that putting in an honest days graft is just too much for many people?[/quote]I put in a pretty standard white-collar 37.5-hour working week. There's a bit of a difference between that and "8-12 hours a day, 5/6 days a week". There's really no need for those sort of hours at the age of 16, and if someone doesn't want to work that sort of schedule, it doesn't make them lazy or idle. I certainly don't consider myself to be any sort of slacker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.