I'm just kidding about the honest way. I just have sad thoughts when I think of some ways a few of the confused kids in our town have tried to make money.
We (Career Kids) just sent out a newsletter this morning that included a link to a handout for teachers and counselors to distribute to their families. The handout is to help figure out how middle school-aged children can earn some extra money this summer. You can read the handout here.
As a parent of a 7th grader, I am in the thick of it. She wants to make money, but she has limited choices at her age. The obvious, babysitting, is OK for my daughter, but I know she would like to do more. When her big brother was in middle school, he used to come up with so many schemes to make money, it gave me premature gray hair. I never knew what I was going to come home to after work. We're talking saws, ovens, bicycles and more. Use your imagination.
The handout for the counselors included brainstorming ideas, as well as a list of "jobs" for young students. After all, some kids have great talents that just won't be included on a "list". But, here is what we did include:
Babysitting
Pet sitting
Yard workers
Bicycle repair
Camp counselor
Referee and umpires
Computer tutoring or training (this can be a good resource if you live near a retirement community)
Garage sales
House sitting (pick up mail, packages, feed animals, water plants while neighbors are away)
Car washing/detailing
DVD rental (if the family has a large collection)
Recycle pickup (they make their money when they take the recycling to the service center)
Library pick up and return
Another idea, particularly during the holidays is giftwrapper, but recommended only for the truly coordinated!
Any other ideas? I could use them myself!
Showing posts with label parenting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parenting. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
A New Adventure... Blogging!
Welcome to our the new Career Kids blog. While we often have conversations with teachers, counselors and administrators, writing this blog will be something very new. I am told I can write about anything I want. Hmmm.... that can get me into trouble if I'm not careful.
Working in marketing and publishing was not my personal career path when I started college. But, here I am.
I am also at that age where my friends' kids are graduating from college. Two of my own children are in college. I talk to friends about what their young adult children are going to do after graduation. Everyone is hopeful that a job will be found quickly. One friend of mine has a daughter who lined up a great engineering job before she graduated. This young woman was more than just lucky -- she was determined and a go-getter.
To be honest, I'm not so sure my own kids will be so determined and such go-getters. Will my young graduates move back home for an extended period of time, will they be able to support themselves, will they be happy, etc? When they graduate, it will be the first time they will not be able to write student in the occupation box when filling out questionnaires or medical forms.
I am noticing my conversations with friends whose children are just graduating are involving a lot of discussion about the difficult transition period that many people experience after college graduation. For myself, I can look back at some of the more difficult years in my life and the first year after graduation was definitely one of the hardest. Not planning to go on to graduate school (mainly because I really didn't feel passionate about anything in particular except making money to support myself), what did a degree in psychology really buy me? And what would it buy me now?
Well, the good news is, a college degree in any major still opens doors for you. It may not carry the same weight as it did back in my day, but there are many employers who are looking for the applicants with the four-year degree in any major.
Students usually don't take advantage of all the services a college campus has to offer. If you have a child in college, urge him or her to go to their school's academic and career counseling offices. They can always change their minds and switch careers (or majors). Let's encourage our young college students to be proactive and receive advice and counsel so that their transition into the working world isn't so difficult.
Working in marketing and publishing was not my personal career path when I started college. But, here I am.
I am also at that age where my friends' kids are graduating from college. Two of my own children are in college. I talk to friends about what their young adult children are going to do after graduation. Everyone is hopeful that a job will be found quickly. One friend of mine has a daughter who lined up a great engineering job before she graduated. This young woman was more than just lucky -- she was determined and a go-getter.
To be honest, I'm not so sure my own kids will be so determined and such go-getters. Will my young graduates move back home for an extended period of time, will they be able to support themselves, will they be happy, etc? When they graduate, it will be the first time they will not be able to write student in the occupation box when filling out questionnaires or medical forms.
I am noticing my conversations with friends whose children are just graduating are involving a lot of discussion about the difficult transition period that many people experience after college graduation. For myself, I can look back at some of the more difficult years in my life and the first year after graduation was definitely one of the hardest. Not planning to go on to graduate school (mainly because I really didn't feel passionate about anything in particular except making money to support myself), what did a degree in psychology really buy me? And what would it buy me now?
Well, the good news is, a college degree in any major still opens doors for you. It may not carry the same weight as it did back in my day, but there are many employers who are looking for the applicants with the four-year degree in any major.
Students usually don't take advantage of all the services a college campus has to offer. If you have a child in college, urge him or her to go to their school's academic and career counseling offices. They can always change their minds and switch careers (or majors). Let's encourage our young college students to be proactive and receive advice and counsel so that their transition into the working world isn't so difficult.
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