Would you accept a job without knowing the pay rate?

[happily single]

Kids!!!!! My young adult child is going to be the death of me!!!

Would you accept a job only knowing an approximate hourly rate for the job you are going to be doing?

My 19yr old son just accepted a job as an entry level mechanic doing oil changes, general repairs, at a family run mechanic shop near our house. He starts this week and doesn't know what he will be making!

Approximately two weeks ago he had an interview 2 weeks ago where they asked him what he was looking to make. He gave a range, which was very low in my opinion, and they said they would get back to him because the owner was out of town and they needed to confirm with him that it was ok to hire my son.

My son sees no issue with starting tomorrow and discussing pay when he starts. Oh vey!

 

[sam_gordon]

Kids!!!!! My young adult child is going to be the death of me!!!

Would you accept a job only knowing an approximate hourly rate for the job you are going to be doing?

My 19yr old son just accepted a job as an entry level mechanic doing oil changes, general repairs, at a family run mechanic shop near our house. He starts this week and doesn't know what he will be making!

Approximately two weeks ago he had an interview 2 weeks ago where they asked him what he was looking to make. He gave a range, which was very low in my opinion, and they said they would get back to him because the owner was out of town and they needed to confirm with him that it was ok to hire my son.

My son sees no issue with starting tomorrow and discussing pay when he starts. Oh vey!

While my gut reaction is "no", I don't see the big deal. He shows up and they tell him what the pay is. If he doesn't like it, he can leave. Does he have another job? Particularly one that he's quitting to take this one? If not, what's the actual problem?

Yes, you should know how much you're going to be paid for the work you're doing. But nothing's committing him to work the entire day, much less a week or month.

 

[HeatherC]

I hear ya! All I can say is…he will learn. Seriously, once he looks at his paycheck he will realize he should have been clear from the start. My daughter did this when she was younger with part time jobs (15-16 years old) and soon figured it out. Now she is in her 20’s and has no problem advocating for herself.

Best of luck to your son!

 

[Minnesota!]

Would I? No.

Has my kid? Yes. Both of them.

 

[NotUrsula]

I think it's not that unusual with a very first job, especially if the person has been having real trouble getting hired. I've never seen anyone repeat the mistake with another job after that, though.

 

[MamaMermaid]

Sounds like a learning experience to me.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Is this a job meant to support oneself? Then yes you need to know what the pay will be

Is this a job meant to have fun money and there's no danger to finances? Eh not as necessary.

Speaking about a teen is this a job where they are still very much supported financially by the parents? They probably don't even know what they are supposed to look for for the income.

In addition as this is a mechanic job (i.e. a trades job) it's possible the income (if it falls under not being there to support one's self) may be less important but more the experience and ability to gain that experience.

 

[john7994]

Remember to tell them about TAXES!!!! Oh that was a big disappointment on my first job …

 

[Smugpugmug]

No, I wouldn't. When I was job searching on sites like Indeed and Linkedin, I wouldn't even consider jobs that didn't post the salary either. With those jobs, it was a 9 out of 10 chance the salary was WAY too low to accept.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Remember to tell them about TAXES!!!! Oh that was a big disappointment on my first job …

And that a pay raise isn't always what it's cracked up to be when you have to pay more taxes off of it..

 

[lanejudy]

For me? Not at this point in my life/career. Maybe later once retired and simply looking to fill my time with a "fun" job.

For a teen? First job? Possibly. Especially if he still lives at home with no plans to move out. Especially if he brings little or no skills or prior experience to the job. He stated his "range" and since they asked him back presumably his expectation fits within their expectation. If he goes the first day and finds they are vastly different, he can leave. Especially if he isn't quitting a job to take this one. Life lessons. Start making him responsible for some room & board, phone bill, cable or some other utility, etc. and he'll figure out how far that pay doesn't go -- next time he'll know to ask for more and be assured of it before starting. But if he needs a job and experience, you gotta start somewhere.

 

[happily single]

UPDATING here to include some details I didn't include because I wasn't sure they were important:
1. He has worked at Auto Zone for about 3 months making slightly over minimum wage. He will continue to work there on Sundays for time and a half pay. This was his first job. Yes, I've told him that working 6 days a week is a lot (esp because AZ was his first job and he works betwen 14-30 hours a week)

2. He still lives at home, but I made it clear if he wasn't in school he would start paying $400 a month in rent beginning in January. he currently pays me $25 for his cell phone.

3. He had been accepted into a trade school down south, we live in NE. He was supposed ot begin next week, but decided he didn't need the education. He has two years of high school auto mechanics behind him.

4. He thinks that once he starts working he will get a raise pretty immediatley (hahahahahahaha).

5. Yes, I've tried explaining to him that #4 is not likely to happen and it won't be more than $1.00 or so if he's lucky.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

With the updated information really the only thing I'd put my nose in is ensuring the $400 is paid as agreed upon and this is assuming you actually agreed upon it as there's a difference in telling him this is what you expect but not holding firm to it with both parties understanding what it means.

The rest you need to let him handle IMO. He needs to live through his own experience plus you're reacting just on the premise that he doesn't know the pay when the pay may or may not even be a problem and if it ends up being a problem it's one he needs to work out on his own. Maybe he'll think that working that Sunday is just too much for him or maybe he'll think he can adjust hours with the family-owned mechanic place to work less there but more at Auto Zone (if it's time and a half especially). The raise part is iffy I'd say more because it's a family owned. Corporate owned places are more likely to have a set raise schedule (such as once a year or after a certain probationary time period) but whose to say he didn't discuss that during his interview. It would be something to realize that a raise won't necessarily net much.

The trade school part well IDK I can kinda see his viewpoint. He's thinking he may just be able to work his way up but that actually may be very possible. It would always depend on if the place requires certification requirements such that schooling is required. Experience in the trades will absolutely count for a lot if he sticks with it. I don't think having 3 months of experience means one has a good grasp on this but hey the family owned mechanic shop did hire him without him going to school and so did Auto Zone.

Truthfully I give him props for working 2 jobs and having this initiative, perhaps unrealistic but that's just how it goes no matter one's age.

 

[Micca]

For a shot in the auto mechanic trade? That can be a pretty lucrative gig, if someone is giving him a foot-in-the-door to literally learn a trade, I don't think the $$ matters much.

 

[china mom]

I go through the same thing with DS (age 21). He is on his fourth job (still working at job 2&4). OK, fist job he was still in HS and we assumed, correctly, that it was minimum wage and we knew it was part time. Second, third and fourth jobs, he had no idea what he was going to get paid until after the first check came in. He also didn't even know if they were starting him at full time or part time. He knows NOTHING about the jobs going in. Too shy to ask.

 

[disney-inspired]

NEVER.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

To me it would not be a big deal, because you need to factor in the experience and learning into the equation. If he is planning on being a mechanic then this is a very good opportunity for him. It's a bit like accepting an internship and we all know they do not get paid much.

 

[greeneyedchick]

I agree with the other more recent posts. I'm assuming he can make his rent with his AZ pay. Since he's not walking away from a current job or moving in order to accept this one, then it's worth taking. As others have said, he's getting the experience. Even kids graduating with college degrees are finding it hard to get a job if they don't have any experience. The experience is worth something. If it's terrible pay, then there's nothing stopping him from quitting and getting a better paying job with his new experience or going to trade school if he finds that he does need that.

Personally, I don't like unknowns, so it would be hard for me. I would encourage him to ask about the hourly pay, pay schedule, when he can expect a raise, and what goals he needs to meet to get said raise when he first meets the owner. That will show the owner that he understands that he needs to work hard to earn the raise and is goal-oriented. Please let us know how it turns out. I'm rooting for him!

 

[pookybean]

In my job I have to talk to people who are reporting their income (or I find out they are working and I have to call them and remind them about reporting) almost none of them have any idea what they will be making before they start, and these are adults!

To be fair though, many of the jobs send offers of employment and don't include this information. I think it should be listed on the offer letter at the very least, it seems to me that jobs dont want to be open about what they will pay either.

 

[prairie_girl]

And that a pay raise isn't always what it's cracked up to be when you have to pay more taxes off of it..

Just wanted to point out that a raise means you’d only pay higher taxes on the money that has put you in a different tax bracket. I don’t know what they are in the US (and I don’t want to know), but I’m doubtful a raise at a first job will ruin you financially with taxes lol