# I'm 14, can I get a "real" job? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 13, 2002, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429 "2002-12-13T04:22:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SmileyDeath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@SmileyDeath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmileyDeath)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/1 "2002-12-13T04:22:06Z")
I was wondering because I need money. Is there any job(besides stuff like mowing lans and delivering newspapers)where I could work? I live in canada if that helps. ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/2 "2002-12-13T04:26:58Z")
Can you get a “real” job? Depends, what can you “really” do? IMHO, you could have left out that part about needing money. While work can be rewarding and very important in our lives most of us are there for the cash. ---
**Author:** ![SmileyDeath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@SmileyDeath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmileyDeath)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/3 "2002-12-13T04:29:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SandyHook \* > \*\*Can you get a “real” job? Depends, what can you “really” do? > > IMHO, you could have left out that part about needing money. While work can be rewarding and very important in our lives most of us are there for the cash. \*\* Well besides money I am for experince, but why would I leave the money part out? ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/4 "2002-12-13T04:34:07Z")
Dunno, does working in McD count? Or do you have to be at least 16 where you live? ---
**Author:** ![SmileyDeath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@SmileyDeath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmileyDeath)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/5 "2002-12-13T04:35:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SmileyDeath \* > \*\*Well besides money I am for experince, but why would I leave the money part out? \*\* Apparently it’s 15 for most jobs here… ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/6 "2002-12-13T07:21:58Z")
In the US I think you have to be 16 or 15 with a Worker’s Permit. It also depends on which industry you’re trying to find work in. I got my first job, as a dishwasher/busboy, at 15. I had to go downtown someplace and get the official form signed off. It cost $.50 I think. My employer collected 50-cent pieces for just this purpose. I don’t know if he had to, but he always paid the fee. In Canada, I think they may let you have a Worker’s permit at 14. What sort of work are you looking for? I’d stay away from fast food chains. Those are modern day sweatshops. Regular sit down restaurants are a good bet, and often have “flexible” hiring practices. ---
**Author:** ![SmileyDeath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@SmileyDeath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmileyDeath)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/7 "2002-12-13T07:41:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by levdrakon \* > \*\*In the US I think you have to be 16 or 15 with a Worker’s Permit. It also depends on which industry you’re trying to find work in. I got my first job, as a dishwasher/busboy, at 15. I had to go downtown someplace and get the official form signed off. It cost $.50 I think. My employer collected 50-cent pieces for just this purpose. I don’t know if he had to, but he always paid the fee. > > In Canada, I think they may let you have a Worker’s permit at 14. > > What sort of work are you looking for? I’d stay away from fast food chains. Those are modern day sweatshops. Regular sit down restaurants are a good bet, and often have “flexible” hiring practices. \*\* I just want a simple job like a waiter. Not hauling newspapers around for6 hours for only $40 every 2 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/8 "2002-12-13T08:20:06Z")
Unskilled != simple Next time you go to a decent restaurant, pay close attention to what the wait staff are doing. There’s a lot more to the job than meets the eye. That is, if you expect to get some decent tips and even keep the job. Newspaper delivery has been a pretty good introduction to the working world for quite a lot of folks, including me. That job, like the waiting job, isn’t as simple as meet the eye either. If you intend to make a decent wage from it, you will need to display some good customer service skills, responsibility, develop your memory so you don’t have to check the delivery list every step of the way, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Bongmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Bongmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bongmaster)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/9 "2002-12-13T16:41:48Z")
In Pennsylvania, when I was 15 (15 years ago), I was able to get a part time job at McDonalds by getting “working papers” from my guidance councelor at school. This probably varies from state to state in the US, and I’m not at all sure about Canada. But as for getting a real job, I assume you mean full time professional work. I really doubt it as you would have little to offer compared to a fully educated adult able to devote 40 hours a week to a job even if it were legal. ---
**Author:** ![fish\_in\_the\_sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ba0ec/32.png) [@fish\_in\_the\_sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fish_in_the_sky)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/10 "2002-12-13T17:28:53Z")
I think the legal age to work farm labor is lower - maybe 13 or 14, although there are probably some restrictions as to how many hours you can work. I’m pretty sure I was 13 when I got my first “real” job (picking rock). This is in the US, in Wisconsin. Farm labor is nasty work, though, and there’s probably not much available this time of year. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/11 "2002-12-13T17:46:31Z")
IIRC, in Canada (Quebec, in my experience), you have to be 15 to be able to have a “full-time” job, such as seasonal watressing/dishwashing/etc (I worked as a waitress full-time throughout 4 summers). However, I believe that, with your parents consent, and their names on any papers/contract you sign, you can work at a younger age, however I don’t know that minimum wage laws apply the same way. You don’t mention what province you’re in, and this is something that is federally regulated in terms of age to work, but provincially regulated for wage laws, so what I would do is contact an empoyment-related bureau and ask them. For Quebec, I’m thinking Emploi-Quebec, or possibly the Ministry of Labour itself. I think, if the laws allow it, that the kind of job you’d be able to get is in the food-service industry. I worked in a golf club, and it was a hell of a lot less hectic than a conventional restraunt would be, and it was good pay for me. That said, it is still very hard work, but you seem willing to take it on. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/12 "2002-12-13T17:52:56Z")
Oh, and you might not even be allowed to be a waiter/waitress, since some laws (in Ontario, at least) don’t allow anyone who isn’t 18 to serve food and drink. Apply for a dishwashing job, if you look at restraunts. For a Student-Job placement program offered by the government of Quebec, they say the minimum age is 14, or to have finished grade 9, whichever comes sooner: > [@](#): > > # Quels sont les critères d’admissibilité généraux aux services du PEQ? > > ``` > # Être citoyen canadien, de naissance ou par naturalisation, ou encore avoir le statut de résident permanent. Vous devez avoir un numéro d'assurance sociale et posséder un permis de travail. > > # **Être âgé de 14 ans au 30 juin 2002 ou avoir terminé sa 3e secondaire, être résidant du Québec et fréquenter à temps plein un établissement d'enseignement reconnu par le ministère de l'Éducation. Le statut d'étudiant à temps plein est défini selon les barèmes établis par ce même ministère.** > > # Conformément à la directive qui régit l'embauche d'étudiants par la fonction publique durant l'été, seuls les candidates et candidats ayant terminé leur 5e secondaire ou étant âgés de 16 ans au 30 juin 2002, peuvent occuper un emploi dans un ministère ou organisme du gouvernement du Québec. > > ``` Sorry, I only have it in French, but the bolded paragraph is the relevent one…secondary 3 is grade 9. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/13 "2002-12-13T18:14:44Z")
Being a waiter is NOT a simple job. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/14 "2002-12-13T18:18:04Z")
In many provinces you’ll find that you need to be 15 or 16 in order to legally earn minimum wage. Younger, and they can pay you less. We discussed min wage (in conjunction with tipping) in this forum within the past week, so do a search for some links ---
**Author:** ![jacquilynne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jacquilynne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacquilynne)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/15 "2002-12-13T21:10:15Z")
In British Columbia, the minimum age of employment is 15, unless you get governmental permission. The process for that was not particularly onerous when I went through it when I was 14 and wanted to wait tables for a summer, however, it did take a few days and was job specific. You couldn’t get blanket permission to work, you had to find someone willing to hire you, and then get authorisation for that specific job. Currently, minimum wage in BC is $8.00 an hour, unless you have less than 500 hours total work experience, in which case, it is $6.00 an hour. A google search for Ministry of Labour, and the name of the province in which you live will generally turn up the appropriate resources for your province. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/16 "2002-12-13T21:13:02Z")
They have libraries in Canada, right? When I was your age, I worked part time at the public library, after my dad signed off the work permit papers. Limits your hours, but that’s all there was to it. Job was easy if you knew the alphabet – pick up the book, put it back on shelf in correct order, rinse, repeat. ---
**Author:** ![Pencil\_Pusher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Pencil\_Pusher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pencil_Pusher)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/17 "2002-12-13T23:01:22Z")
From [http://www.youthrules.dol.gov/jobs.htm](http://www.youthrules.dol.gov/jobs.htm) > [@](#): > > What Jobs Can Youth Do? > > When You Are 13 Or Younger . . . > You can deliver newspapers. > You can work as a baby-sitter. > You can work as an actor or performer in motion pictures, television, theater or radio. > You can work in a business solely owned or operated by your parents. > You can work on a farm owned or operated by your parents. > > However, parents are prohibited from employing their children in manufacturing, mining, or any other occupation declared hazardous (listed below) by the Secretary of Labor. > > More information on Exemptions from Child Labor Rules. > > When You Turn 14 . . . > You also can work in an: > > office, > grocery store, > retail store, > restaurant, > movie theater, > baseball park, > amusement park, or > gasoline service station. > You may not work in: > > communications or public utilities jobs, > construction or repair jobs, > driving a motor vehicle or helping a driver, > manufacturing and mining occupations, > power-driven machinery or hoisting apparatus other than typical office machines, > processing occupations, > public messenger jobs, > transporting of persons or property, > workrooms where products are manufactured, mined or processed, or > warehousing and storage. > In addition, you may not work any other job or occupation declared hazardous (listed below) by the Secretary of Labor. > > More information on Prohibited Occupations. > > When You Turn 16 . . . > You can work in any job or occupation that has not been declared hazardous by the Secretary of Labor. > > Hazardous Occupations > You may not work in any of the following hazardous occupations: > > manufacturing and storing of explosives, > driving a motor vehicle and being an outside helper on a motor vehicle; > coal mining, > logging and sawmilling, > power-driven woodworking machines, > exposure to radioactive substances, > power-driven hoisting apparatus, > power-driven metal-forming, punching, and shearing machines, > mining, other than coal mining, > meat packing or processing (including the use of power-driven meat slicing machines), > power-driven bakery machines, > power-driven paper-product machines, > manufacturing brick, tile, and related products, > power-driven circular saws, band saws, and guillotine shears, > wrecking, demolition, and shipbreaking operations, > roofing operations, or > excavation operations. > There are some exemptions for apprentice/student-learner programs in some of these hazardous occupations. > > More information on Prohibited Occupations. > > When You Turn 18 . . . > You can work any job for any number of hours. The child labor rules no longer apply to you. More information here [http://www.youthrules.dol.gov/teens/default.htm](http://www.youthrules.dol.gov/teens/default.htm) ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/18 "2002-12-14T00:20:14Z")
Don’t discard mowing lawns or newspaper delivery (well since it’s winter you can disgard the mowing lawns at least till spring). These are some of the most real jobs you could get at your age. You will be managing a business. You will be directly responsible for how much you make and you should be able to make a great deal more then flipping burgers. Also other advantages is that child labor laws won’t really apply. and most of what you do will be in cash (which you should state on your taxes but most people who do this at your age justs pockets the $) ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/19 "2002-12-14T03:40:13Z")
hi-jack sorry I have nothing to add other than I think its great that you _want_ to work for your money. You’ll develope a better apreciation of the mighty dollar than I had at your age. Oh, can you talk to my brother, he doesn’t want to work or do anything with himself other than lay around and have his girlfriend or my Dad pay his bills and he’s damn near 30! /hi-jack ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429/20 "2002-12-14T03:47:50Z")
I really like tutoring. It pays EXTREMELY well compared to other jobs which you can get at your age, and the hours are flexible. You can do everything under the table or whatever, and simply work for clients directly, or you can try to go through an agency. Either way, I would encourage you to check out that route. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-14-can-i-get-a-real-job/142429.md?page=2)