The summer before I went to college, I worked at Wendy's. I did the drive through window, prepared food, cleaned unspeakable messes made in the restrooms, and 329 other tasks that I hope I never have to repeat.
But looking back, that job taught me a lot about life, the working world, and business.
Author Michael Masterson talks about the value of hard work in the life of teenagers, and what it can teach them about the real world that might give them a chance to be a successful entrepreneur as they get older...here are some lessons he says are learned through hard work while you are young:
1. What manual labor feels like
"When Peter (my brother) and I painted houses and built pools, we worked hard and fast. When you work with your body all day, you get a base-line understanding of how hard manual labor can be. I don't believe manual labor is the most difficult work you can do. I have had more difficult jobs since. But I have a very good idea of how it feels to wake up at the crack of dawn and work hard and fast in the sun for 12 or 14 hours a day. I did it. And I could do it again.
On the one hand, I have a healthy respect for what is required to make a living that way. On the other hand, I am not intimidated by it nor do I romanticize it.
2. How manual labor pays
Manual labor is good work if you can get it. It's generally good for your health (because of all that moving around). And if you are allowed to be in charge of the work you do, it can be psychologically rewarding. In the U.S., it pays about as well as it should - which is to say, pretty well. My son, for example, is making $500 a week - about nine hours a day for five days a week at about $11 an hour. The skilled workers on his construction crew are getting much more than that - two or three times more.
Working as a plumber or carpenter or mason will give you a yearly income of between $60,000 and $80,000 in most places. That's okay if you want to get rich the slow way - scrimping and saving for 40 years. If you want to do better than that, manual labor isn't the answer. Peter and I learned that right away. To make six figures, you have to follow the American dream: Start your own business (like we did) and put your mind to work as well as your hands.
3. How demanding a business can be
Once our pool-construction business was up and running, Peter and I were making what seemed like a lot of money. Thinking back, it was probably only about $80,000 a year - but that was worth about what $160,000 is worth today. We were working hard and making more money than we could spend (even after giving some of it to our parents).
From a financial perspective, things were really good. The problem was that the business was taking too much of my time. I had been able to go to school and work 40 hours a week for someone else - but, as a business owner, I couldn't limit my work to 40 hours. When this became apparent, I stepped away from the business and went back to making a living as a carpenter and bartender while taking college classes. I missed the big money, but I was pretty sure I was doing the right thing.
The combination of being a manual laborer and a business owner had been satisfying, physically and financially, but there were parts of my brain and heart that were inactive during those years. Ever since I wrote my first poem at age six, I had the notion that I wanted to make my living by writing. Quitting that good job allowed me to do it.
What has a past summer job taught you? How are you using it in your daily work life today?
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