Getting a job is a rite of passage for many teens, and just working one job is often challenging enough with school and wanting to have a social life.
Usually getting a job is exciting since you can have your income, you don’t have to ask your parents for money and you can help your parents financially. I wanted to work a job to save up money for a car and spend it on my girlfriend. Also my senior-year expenses, and I just wanted to have my own money.
My first ever job was at McDonald’s. I chose this job because I didn’t have any other choice. Before working at McDonald’s I applied to stores like JC Penney, Best Buy, and Little Caesars. None of them contacted me. I had no other choice but to start working at McDonald’s.
My hiring process at McDonald’s was very quick. My mom has been working in the franchise for about 2 decades already and she knows most of the general managers that are here in Salinas. The one she works in needed new people at the time, so she let the general manager know that I needed a job and she gladly offered me the job position to be a cashier. I started working on 6/10/2022.
I decided to work a second job because at the time McDonald’s was not offering me more hours, so I applied at Burger King. My mom agreed with me getting the second job at Burger King since one of her friends works there and her daughter is a manager and was able to get me a spot.
I started working during the summer and the amount of hours would vary. Most of the time it was 3-5 hours. I would usually work 3 hours because the labor was too high, so they would send me home early.
Working two jobs during the summer, I would mostly work every single day. Most of the time it would be the same day and I would be tired since I would not have any time for myself. I rarely had time for myself, and when I had time, I wanted to spend it with my girlfriend.
The positives of having two jobs were the checks I would receive. I would get them each week, which was good since I did not have to worry about running out of money.
Building more skills is a big positive about working because you gain teamwork skills, get better at working under pressure, the ability to multitask, and patience. Working two jobs has also improved my time management skills since I was able to balance the two jobs.
The negatives of working two jobs is not having any time for yourself. You barely get time to rest and spend time with loved ones. Sometimes you can get overwhelmed because you get stressed when there is a big order or when customers are impatient and get mad at you. Working late shifts is always tiring since you have to clean restock and make sure everything is in place. But when working morning shifts you are going to have to wake up early and stay late.
During the summer, it was easy because I had so much free time, but when summer ended I had difficulty trying to keep a stable time management because of school. I didn’t have time to complete my classwork and sports were going to start again, and I began being stressed and overwhelmed. So, I decided to give my two weeks’ notice at Burger King. However, it wasn’t too bad because I was able to pick up another shift at McDonald’s, so that helped keep the money coming in.
Thanks to both jobs, I have been able to save up a good amount of money. I have around 3 to 4 thousand dollars saved up so far. Some of the expenses I have is saving up for a car and my senior package, which will cost me around $700. Even though it is going to set me back on buying a car, I will be able to make it up once I start working two jobs again next summer.
Looking back I would do it again because without school and sports, I was able to work as many hours as I wanted. One thing I would do differently would be to make more time for myself. I would choose certain days and specific hours throughout the day so I could have time for myself before I head to work. I would also ask for more days off so I could spend time with family and my girlfriend.
