Getting a Job?!

[SSgtHam]

Well all, it's about that time of life for me.  Dad says that pretty soon I'm gonna need to get a job to earn the right to live under the roof he provided.  Now, I know most everyone starts off working at the supermarket as a first job or working with their parents somewhere, but my dad's retired, and I don't feel like working at some stupid market (yeah, I know, typical picky spoiled kid.)  So, I was thinking I might be able to get a job down at the airport, seeing as how I love planes and all that. 

Now I'm not saying I want to work in the tower or anything serious like that, I just want to kinda hang around and do teenage-level jobs for someone down there.  There's tons of companies (one of the busiest general aviation airports in the country...you can guess which one) and I figure at least one of them might have something for me to do.  Has anyone here done something similar to this, or knows how I would go about doing this?  I'd much rather do something simple like, I don't know...wash planes or something stupid like that, than work at the supermarket.  I don't care about pay, but hours might be a problem until next school year.  I do have my own car and license, so I can get there myself.  Any help/ideas/suggestions?

[Spikes]

Well you may be able to get hired for detailing planes and such (cleaning the inside, washing the outside, etc) and I'd have to assume there's plenty of other jobs at an airport like that.

[Steel]

     Good luck with labor laws and any kind of manual labor, even at 17 you cant work anything involving machinery. The reason most get jobs at grocery store is because thats the only place to work at young age.

[Tac]

Look at some goverment stuff ... not only does it help your resume tremendously and gives you a foot in the door but it also teaches you a lot.

look for jobs as maybe a clerk or receptionist in your local county gov. center, your local county library ...


Aside from that there's the common jobs at the supermarkets and the likes. Those jobs now are almost dried up as employers are choosing to hire adults than teens simply because those adults usually have been laid off and do need to feed their families.

plus.. you could always rub it in your dad's nose on how you made a fortune selling junk on e-bay.

[Golfer]

Where are you from?  Best I could uncover was somewhere in California but since that's a pretty big state a hint would do well.

If you're interested in aviation you can as Spike mentioned get a job detailing airplanes.  If there is a local general aviation airport (this is where a location would help) with a flight school or charter outfit they typically hire folks for a fair wage.  A step beyond "cleaner" would fall under the umbrella of "line service."  These guys/gals marshal, tug and fuel airplanes.  A local flight school or FBO (Fixed Base Operator) is the place to start for that.  An FBO is basically like a service station/facility provider at an airport.  They usually own/lease a hangar or two and often have a flight school associated with them.  This is an excellent foot in the door if you'd like to get some pretty nice discounts on future flying lessons.  It cost me about 50% of what the going rate was at the time because I worked line service to get through my private, instrument, commercial and multi-engine ratings.  Whether it was getting free flight time for various flight school business or simply because I made a lot of contacts because I was in a great position to meat people didn't matter.  I got to fly a lot of different airplanes often just for fuel.  I'd take the airplane out of the hangar fully fueled and return it in the same condition.  Pretty good deal, eh?

Working line service taught me more than I could describe early in my aviation career and I wouldn't give those years up for anything.  It gave me exposure to many things about aviation that some folks can go a career without doing for themselves.  It taught me a lot about how to work with other people, network and be a professional.  Lessons I learned in those very important years I still use and apply today.

Good luck!

[SSgtHam]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

Golfer, the GA airport I'm hoping to go to is Van Nuys airport, here in SoCal.  Very busy airport, lots of companies, and I've taken one (my only one) flight lesson and a bunch of tours there.  Basically everything you said is what would be perfect for me.  Washing/detailing, line servicing, all that.  So, how would I go about doing something like that?  Would I go find an FBO and give them a resume, or would I contact the company directly, or...?  (Just a note, I'm still attending high school, but I have pretty okay grades and have 2+ years of JROTC experience.  Would any of that help or hinder my plan?)  But like I said, the job opportunities you listed are perfect for me.

[drdeathx]

Make a resume' and put Aces High Pilot on it. You will be a shoe in!

[vorticon]

     Good luck with labor laws and any kind of manual labor, even at 17 you cant work anything involving machinery. The reason most get jobs at grocery store is because thats the only place to work at young age.

unless you want to work construction. i was packing forms at 17, and know guys pushing ties at 12...

[Nilsen]

Dont think you are beeing a picky spoiled kid at all. You just think outside the normal junkfood/supermarket box and go for something you are interested in. Good for you!

I would recomend that you try to find out if any of your friends, or family knows anyone or is related to anyone doing something at the airport. Knowing a person there even if it might not be in a business you are looking for may be gold. Everyone knows someone and can give you a foot inside. Most first jobs and a very large % of all jobs people get are through someone in you network.

When i had my own business most of the jobs i gave away was to someone i knew or someone that was recomended by someone i knew.

[RipChord929]

Congrats for taking your first steps into the adult world..
Learning to support yourself can be a hard lesson for some kids..
And  to your pop, for putting you on the right road..
Beside's, you'll love havin duckets in your pocket that you created
for yourself... It just FEELS good!!! Another major benny is: Chicks
dig it, when a guy can stand on his own two feet... LOL!!

Do you have any hobbies that have given you practical experience?
Diddlin PC games won't cut it in the real world.. (for 99.99% of ppl)
It REALLY helps to have hobbies that have genuine applications in RL...

Example: I started racing Motorcycles when I was 13yo, working on
my own machinery as well.. Learned the wrench turnin from my dad!!!
So my first job (at 16,1/2) was parttime at the local Yamaha dealer...
Rollin the bikes in at closing time, sweepin up, changing tires, etc etc..
The pay was wasn't alot, but worth the time spent, and I had a new
shop sponsored YZ125 to boot..  Not bad for a 16yo kid...

As I look back now, those were the best yrs of my life...
(Before the real world turned me into a rotton badtempered SOB) LOL!!!
I hope they are for you too!!!

  and the best of luck
RC

[CAVPFCDD]

yeah i hate to be the one to break it to you but work alot of the times doesnt involve something you love, at least not when you're starting out, i work on the water captaining boats because i'm a boat nut but it took years to get to this point and alot of odd jobs I didn't really enjoy. At your age find something that pays decent and thats not too crummy, theres alot of jobs that require expierence and age; and working at a grocery store isnt bad, working at any kind of store gives you alot of time to flirt with women.

[Maverick]

I wish you the best of luck finding a beginning job in aviation at an airport. Given the security issues the airports have to deal with as well as the fact that many aircraft owners do not want some kid on their first job with no experience crawling around on and in their aircraft, the job openings might be a bit scarce.

There is also the factor that unemployment is up and there are folks who have real job experience looking for jobs beneath their previous work level. That makes it tougher to get a job competing against others who have a real resume.

Frankly if I were you I'd be looking for the usual kid jobs and take anything that gets offered to you. You start at the bottom, not half way up the ladder.

[wrongwayric]

Military service would help you a lot, airforce, navy/marines with aviation as your chosen field, army if your into helicopters. Make sure you get your A&P license while your in (airframes and powerplants) just about every base has a on site course that you can take to get the license. Without that license most aviation jobs will not be available to you and you won't even get an interview.

When i got out i applied for and was offered a job at N.A.S. Fallon Nevada, starting pay 13.50 an hour...i turned it down, i make 18 to 20 bucks an hour driving a semi. Don't get me wrong, i loved working on jets, but i like to earn a decent wage also and unlike in the military i had to pay my own room and board.

The funny story behind the Fallon job...i trained all the guys working there at the time except for the guy who did the hiring....and he trained me. Small world in the military.

[Curlew]

If you have any expeoreince in any sort of youth organizations such as scouts you should consider workin at a summer camp next summer, I work as a sailing instructor for elementry and middle school kids and it is supper easy and fun, all you do is by goofy and teach something you love, and make major bank while your at it

[Trell]

Dont know how old you are but i think just getting a job would be a first step.

Had a good friend in high school that kept looking for that perfect job  Would not take anything less.  Was unemployed until he graduated  continued to stay mostly unemployed until after college.


When you are that young take any job,  you may realize what you though you disliked you really like and what you liked you dislike.

Better leaning that now, then after you finish college and have a "career" you hate because you never tried anything else/