Working for Wealth: Rewards of the Teenage Job

“Oh my god, I hate my life.”

I hear teenagers say this all the time when their parents don’t give them money or buy them a car or replace their iPhone every time Apple carts out a new one.

“Oh my god, my parents are impossible! They want me to get a job. As if!”

Too many teenagers nowadays rely too much on their parents for everything. Granted, the economy sucks and you have to be 18 to land a job in some places, but with a little time and effort anyone can find a job. Even if it is at Burger King. It may not be the ideal job, but at the end of the week it produces a paycheck just like every other job.

I know. When I was 15, I started working at Burger King. It wasn’t the best job in the world, but it was a job. Sometimes I had to wake up at 4 a.m. in the winter so I could scrape the frost off my windshield just to arrive at work by 5. Did I want to wake up that early? No. I’d have preferred to sleep until noon. But it didn’t make me hate my life.

Besides, working isn’t all bad. Not only were the paychecks good, but many of my co-workers became my best friends. I’d have never met them had it not been for Burger King. They attend , Ford and Macomb Community College, but we’ve bonded over a stainless grill and a linoleum counter.

And working at Burger King has taught me patience when I’m waiting in a drive thru line. I know what it’s like to get backed up with orders and how hard it is to deal with angry customers. I gained a respect for all fast food workers. It’s not an easy job, but if they could do it, so could I.

I also really began to like myself. I was proud of myself. I make $7.25 an hour, which isn’t a lot but if I want something, I can pay for it myself.

New purse? I pay for it. New eye shadow? I pay for it. New jeans? I pay for them, too.

I drive a 1995 GMC Suburban with ripped leather seats and a rusted door frame. It gets maybe nine miles to the gallon, and I pay for my own gas. It’s by no means a dream car but hey, it gets me to where I need to go.

Though working can be a challenge, the rewards are worth it. Not only does it teach responsibility, but it reveals a glimpse of what it is like to be an adult. Having a job has taught me to control my spending and create a budget. I know my parents won't always be there to pay for everything, so I’ve stopped relying on them.

I grill burgers, clean bathrooms and deal with obnoxious customers, some of whom are teens who expect their parents to pay for their milk shakes and fries, who whine, “I hate my life” if they don’t, and it just goes to remind me, “Oh my god, I love my life.”