As a child growing up and in need of spending money an odd job or two is a wonderful thing to have. A career with a steady income at the age of twelve and life can only go up!
The jobs available at this tender age are often hard to get hold of and the selection minimal but with a bit of groundwork, parental help and a careers officer's guidance all can fall into place.
The choices these days are by favourites:
The Paper Round
This is in brief the delivery of the daily newspaper to a handful of houses in the neighbour as dictated by the miserable newsagents on the corner. There are three choices in the times that these newspapers need to be delivered, the first is usually early in the morning and is often a problem for kids who need their mothers to wake them up. The second is in the late afternoon which can often interfere with after school sports and play time. The third is the delivery of the Sunday Newspapers which although receives a higher daily rate requires somebody with muscle to lug all the supplements around.
Future prospects: Miserable Newsagent, Postman!
NB: As a general rule do not leave the pile of newspapers outside in the street whilst delivering to Mrs Hanson on the top floor of the block of flats. It is quite possible to come back down only to find that half of them are missing as passer-by's see an opportunity to save some cash! Oh, and whistling whilst you work on the morning delivery, never mind the afternoon or Sunday one, causes severe annoyance with the inhabitants of apartment blocks as they hate been woken up so early.
The Milk Round
Used to be a favourite before the local convenience stores popped up everywhere. It is still possible in more rural areas to gain such worthwhile occupation; to help the milkman deliver the fresh milk in the morning. Again this career choice comes with annoyed parents who receive phone calls early in the morning from irate milkmen awaiting their runners, but if one has the stamina and pace to get up early there is no more worthwhile occupation than delivering milk.
NB: If the mode of milk transport is a two wheeled purposefully made barrow that can hold four crates, do not leave it on the slope whilst delivering the two pints of full-fat to Mr White on the fourth floor of number 29. Upon returning to street level it is quite possible to find the milk cart with the remaining pints wedged underneath a parked car way down at the bottom of the hill, it makes quite a mess!
Future Prospects: Milkman with own Personal Electric Float, Cow Milker.
Car Washing
This career has often been the choice of many kids as it is more of a self-employed style career choice. The need to wake up early and to be punctual is not included in the scope of this employment and should other matters crop up the car can wait another week before being cleaned.
NB: Do not let the nice weather and the fact that there is more than one employee occupied with the task to distract from the main aim of earning money. If for any reason water pistols are used and aimed through the small gaps that have been left in the rear windows the owner can be very irate. This subsequent drenched upholstery can hinder any future customers signing up as ill-news spreads quickly in small neighbourhoods.
Future Prospects: Car Wash Operator at Kwix Fix, Self employed window cleaner.
Slave Labour
In the UK this is probably quite a difficult job to get into. When Oliver Twist was alive it was a very common occupation indeed, but times have changed and the need for employing children cheaply is no longer a common practice. Certainly if parents own a business it is not uncommon for them to use their children like slaves for example; to stack shelves or clean floors but generally the children do not see economic advantage to this.
NB: Should any young child find themselves being used as cheap labour it would be advisable to ask to see the terms and conditions of the contract. Should the guy with the whip show threatening behaviour after listening politely to this request it would be then advisable to keep your mouth shut and get back to the grind. In future always read the small print before accepting a job.
Future Prospects: Professional Prisoner, Slave
Snow Shoveller
This is certainly a worthwhile job. People always need their paths cleaned and de-iced when those heavens open up and the snow falls. The only pitfall of the job is that falling snow is never really at a premium so the one day a year that it does actually snow properly does not really make up for the other 364days of the year. This is not really a suitable career choice unless about 365 paths can be cleaned in one day.
NB: When cleaning the path, remember that this is a novelty for all concerned including the people whose path is being cleaned. The Browns who live in the garden flat are rather shaky on their feet, they certainly do not appreciate an ice rink that they returned to unexpectedly after church! Always remember to use plenty of salt after cleaning the snow away otherwise the Browns become red!
Future Prospects: Ice Rink Sweeper, Snowman!
There are many more available careers at this age but these are the favourites. Remember kids, use the money earned to buy nice presents for your parents. Don't squander it all on sweets and pen knives; don't throw it down the drain on toys that go out of fashion quicker than you can earn more money! Why not visit your local bank, open up a nice savings account and put it all away for a rainy day. In fact this money could be used for your future education when mummy and daddy will grumble and moan about supporting you through university. So get out there now kids and start saving for your future!
