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But to no avail. No one wants a 17 year old to work for them. It just isn't fair! I am willing to work the maximum hours per week, which is 30, at minimum wage, which is $7.25 per hour. I would like to earn a little bit more but that is okay. I am also willing to do whatever they want me to do. I am about to fill out another application. This application is to our local YMCA. Hopefully I get the job. :-/

Try fast food, grocery stores and, dare I say it, Wal-Mart. I hate wal-mart and would live under a bridge eating out of dumpsters before I worked for them, but not everyone feels that way. Plus they have a reputation for hiring anyone and everyone.

Try fast food, grocery stores and, dare I say it, Wal-Mart. I hate wal-mart and would live under a bridge eating out of dumpsters before I worked for them, but not everyone feels that way. Plus they have a reputation for hiring anyone and everyone.

I hate Wal-Mart as well and have avoided at all costs. Most of their employees have the IQ of a brick.

Try fast food, grocery stores and, dare I say it, Wal-Mart. I hate wal-mart and would live under a bridge eating out of dumpsters before I worked for them, but not everyone feels that way. Plus they have a reputation for hiring anyone and everyone.

I have worked for Walmart before, and would never go back.  However for a job for a student, it isn't bad and they do pay above minimum wage.  But times are tough, a lot of people are looking for work.  We just had an opening where I work, and had 121 applicants.

My first 'job' (if you can even call it that) was helping to mix plaster and whatnot for a week. That paid well, it was cash in hand and wasn't bad for a short term job.

My first real job is something I got last year (still 17 at this point) which is working in a high-end hotel. Working days in my particular area are mostly weekends with occasional work during the midweek which can be run by one or two people. And guess what? About 90% of the staff there are people who I have known at (or went to) my primary school or high school or college.


For that reason, I'd look towards your friends and see where they are getting jobs. If your friends are getting jobs with certain companies then there's a good chance that there is a gap in the market for you as well. A lot of companies will want to employ the 'best' staff if they can. That means getting the people who are most qualified for the job... So if similar students are able to get jobs, then so should you.

I don't quite know how it works where you are, but we have this thing in the UK called 'work experience' (last time I brought this up on a different forum, the Americans were entirely confused by the idea) where you can quite often get to work with a company for a week or two to discover what it's like to work in that industry (rarely are you paid nor rewarded for this, but it shows interest in that area and gives you a good idea of what it's like) and if you're able to get work experience then you can sometimes turn this into a career with that company.


So:
Look for cash-in-hand opportunities (not really a career, but can help pay for a few things)
See if you can get work experience with some companies to get your foot in the door
Apply where your friends are getting jobs

In the U.S., "work experience" falls into one of two general categories.

1. If you are in a college or university program: Work Study

2. If you are still in high-school: Internship

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Tis tough, you can't get a job without experience and you can't get experience without a job. Take something, anything. No matter how beneath you it might feel, anything is a good place to start. I've done bar work on and off for years, isn't the classiest job but there is a lot of fun to be had and extra pennies to be earned from time to time 8-)
The upside of it is sometimes it comes in handy, extensive customer experience and it has just helped me land a brilliant job in IT for an EPoS (Electronic Point of Sale) company as they needed someone who could understand and empathise with the clients. Naturally I was a long way ahead of the opposition who'd only done ordinary IT support

It helps if you know people too. Like Machineman9 said, try places where your friends work, get them to put in a good word for you too.

Are there any home improvement places such as lowes, home depot down your way? I'm not sure about their policy for hiring people under 18 but I have heard that Lowes takes really good care of their employees.

Try UPS, start in the warehouse and maybe go from there to a drivers position. In the UK they pay min wage

Tis tough, you can't get a job without experience and you can't get experience without a job.

And later, you reach a point where your many years of experience are worth nothing... imagine looking for a job when you're pushing 50, or 60.  :-/


To the OP: Keep trying. and take what you can to get the money rolling in; you can always quit if you hate it.

You're 17- the world is your oyster!! 

I was, too, at a point in the distant past. I created my own. I put my name in the local paper as a handyman who would do just about anything. I was 21 and it was the summer of 1979. The phone rang off the hook. You see, many people want someone to do small jobs. Companies with shingles out very often want  to do just the "home run" jobs-- quick jobs that pay a lot. You know: Bust it out, collect the cash and race to the next one. I was different. I did small stuff that wouldn't pay an organized company to do. I washed windows, split wood, painted, washed cars, cut grass, raked leaves, removed trash, cleaned out attics and basements, and did just about anything that came over the phone. I was so busy, I considered taking on another kid. Then in April 1980, I got a call that kept me busy all through that summer. I was the ground man for a crop duster. That was fun. We worked only during the day. My job was to mix the chemicals and pump them into the plane while it set there, engine running, blowing massive quantities of air over me. Occasionally I would jump up on the wing and dump a five-gallon bucket of super-juice into the hopper-- while that big, black blade spun invisibly just four feet from me. One time, I had to slide along the wing, my back to it, as the engine ran and do something with the little propeller under the fuselage. I think it froze up or something. Maybe there was some valve that needed opening or closing. I don't remember. It was over 30 years ago. Let me tell you, that's a sitch that will put the fear of God into you. Knowing that blade was just feet from me-- and would slice me like salami if I forgot its presence for even a second-- made me forever aware of what's going on around me. It's a lesson I have never let slip my mind. Today, I'm a trucker with about 1.5 million miles. Driving a large truck is like flying a fighter jet: You have to see everything in milliseconds and be ready to react even faster if some idiot in a four-wheeler (passenger vehicle) gets stupid. I have driven in Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, Miami, Houston, Dallas, San Diego, Portland, Phoenix-- you name it. I've probably been there.

America is a great country in that if you can't find a good job, you create one. Think outside the box, son. You are young, strong and motivated. You have all the equipment you need right there...