Tired of this...

[octopi23]

just the one thing that I saw, the fair hires seasonal workers right?

On your CV having a summer job, (list it as such) isn't a problem, people know that places do seasonal jobs and expect them to be short lived. The best thing to do from one of those jobs is simply to get another one as soon as possible.

best of luck Octopi23

My parents are still being hard-asses. I'm going to get my DL, then start complaining at them about gas prices to spur them to let me quit.

[Pagan]

I am officially not going to apply. My mom slammed on the brakes at 50mph as we were discussing it, threatened to abandon me on the road if I pursued it any further.

WHAT???!!! With all due respect to your parents, that's not "discussing".

, the hours, and the fact I stand outside in 90-degree heat for up to 10 hours on end (given one small break in between) and waiting an hour to get a damn bathroom break.

Excuse this other double post, but I checked the DoL website, and nothing breaks the law, unfortunately.

I believe it is against OSHA regulations to deny access to water and bathroom breaks. And you're a minor, which completely changes the ballgame.

Gee, that would mean you would have to find another job.

Exactly!

[octopi23]

The thing about the bathroom breaks is, I have to ask a supervisor to replace my game for me to leave it. Sometimes, I'm in places where the supervisors never go down, so I have to ask another dept's sup to radio to them, and after that, they sometimes come down. But it always takes a long time because there are never more than 2 sups in the area at a time (understaffing) and they are incompetent.

[trailerparkmedic]

Hey Octopi, is the library gig year round? I know your parents are being pretty unreasonable but perhaps they would see the value in you keeping a job during the school year, and next summer, and until college... unlike the seasonal employment you're in now.

I also agree with whoever said you should start telling your parents about every SC, in detail. Tell them about being called names. Tell them how you have to do the potty dance nightly. Tell them about the "gift" you got that you mentioned here. Don't whine "I hate my job"--be specific "Today someone didn't like the price for the game so they called me a cunt." They will probably think you are exaggerating, but keep at it. Try it with the more sympathetic parent and see if that gets you anywhere.

I had a terrible relationship with my parents in my teens. Part of it was me, part of it was them. I regret quite a bit of my behavior but I don't regret ANY of the times I stood up for myself. This is a time you need to stand up for yourself.

[Tama]

Just apply! And when yuo get the job say your first job fired you and you did what you had to.

Do not stand idly by and let this behavior continue. DO NOT complain and do nothing about it.

[Kogarashi]

First off, Octopi, how close is the library? Is it close enough you could feasibly bike to it?

I would say, wait until you have your DL, then apply and interview anyway. If your parents ask why, say you were "taking initiative." Give them a thoughtful and well-worded explanation (written, if you think they won't give you time to speak) of all the reasons you wished to quit the park and start at the library. Use research about resumes and your chances for advancement at the library if necessary.

I would also highly recommend finding an adult who your parents respect--a teacher, a guidance counselor, a family friend (a successful one) etc.--and getting their input and, hopefully, support. Your parents might be more convinced if a "reasonable adult" presents the same arguments as their "hotheaded teenager."

What's the worst your parents can do if you do switch jobs, especially if you're capable of getting yourself there?

[Ben_Who]

I hate to say this, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the parents to suddenly become "reasonable." Parents can be bewilderingly short-sighted, especially when their offspring seem to be about to make a move into improved conditions without their sanction.

My mother threatened to throw me out of the house and leave me without any tuition THREE TIMES between the ages of 17 and 21. The first time was because I was trying to make a lateral move into improved conditions. Another time I was trying to step up into a higher income.

This was as nothing to the profound contempt that they showed towards any achievement I made that was not in some way sanctioned by them. My mother once yelled at me for about 45 minutes because I hadn't done the dishes on a day when I was down in the dumps about receiving a rejection slip. When I told my father about the income from my first job that wasn't given to me by him, he gave me a long look and then said, "You're gonna starve." My parents vetoed my decision to buy a car...when I was 21 years old. It simply didn't occur to them that I hadn't given them a vote.

At your age, the idea that you might, on your own initiative, work to improve your conditions with neither their interference nor their assistance is a threatening one. The job you seek on your own doesn't have nearly as much value to them as the one they pressured you to get.

If it's any consolation, twenty years later my parents seem to be suffering total amnesia about any of this. Once, when they were bringing up stupid shit I did as a kid, I brought up some stupid shit they did when I was a kid, too. "Gobsmacked" isn't quite the right word for it. Stuff that they did own up to, they seemed stunned that I remembered it. If you get no joy from this experience, at least bear with you the memory so that twenty years from now you can tell them that they forced you to turn down a better-paying, less-abusive position, with better prospects, in a better location, during a gas crisis just because they were too proud and stubborn to admit that it was possible for a sixteen-year-old to have a point.

Love, Who?

[Grrrrrrr]

Just apply! And when yuo get the job say your first job fired you and you did what you had to..

Normally I am not a fan of lying, but this does sound like a sound strat. A library is a good safe place to work with a ladder of opportunity, whereas this park sounds pretty dead end.

DO NOT complain and do nothing about it.

I think you may have motivated me to pick up the classifieds again...

Remember, at the end of the day it is your life, and you are the one that has to work at whatever job you get or keep. I could see your parents having issues if you were leaving the library to work someplace that paid fifty cents an hour less that is an extra 15 minutes away, but to have issues with the reverse is just silly.

[octopi23]

Normally I am not a fan of lying, but this does sound like a sound strat. A library is a good safe place to work with a ladder of opportunity, whereas this park sounds pretty dead end.



I think you may have motivated me to pick up the classifieds again...

Remember, at the end of the day it is your life, and you are the one that has to work at whatever job you get or keep. I could see your parents having issues if you were leaving the library to work someplace that paid fifty cents an hour less that is an extra 15 minutes away, but to have issues with the reverse is just silly.

I seem to be stuck at this point. I don't have a conversation point to bring up. I'm trying the strategy on them where I tell of all the horror stories, how I get dumped on by the rain whenever it's raining outside, how I have to wait 45 minutes or more to get a bathroom break because of managerial inefficiencies, and even something that affects them, how they have to wait in the parking lot because my managers never get me out on time. They aren't taking the hint though, and whenever I push the matter and ask if I can get an int, they tell me that I should just quit if I want to, but they won't let me get a job anywhere else.

[trailerparkmedic]

they won't let me get a job anywhere else.

If you can manage transportation to/from the library (or anywhere else) by foot/bike/bus/friend with a car who gets paid for gas money, then there is nothing they can do keep you from getting a job elsewhere. What is the absolute worst thing they could do to you?

[Pagan]

they tell me that I should just quit if I want to, but they won't let me get a job anywhere else.

I just don't get why they seem so dead set on you working there. It's like they've got some odd attachment to it.

[Andara Bledin]

The thing about the bathroom breaks is, I have to ask a supervisor to replace my game for me to leave it. Sometimes, I'm in places where the supervisors never go down, so I have to ask another dept's sup to radio to them, and after that, they sometimes come down. But it always takes a long time because there are never more than 2 sups in the area at a time (understaffing) and they are incompetent.

Make an anonymous complaint to OSHA. If there's a complaint, they are required to make an inspection, and I'd be shocked if this didn't happen to pretty much everyone who worked that department, so it's not like they can tie it to anyone specific, and even if they fired you for it, that would likely be in your best interests, anyway.

I just don't get why they seem so dead set on you working there. It's like they've got some odd attachment to it.

It has nothing to do with where he is working so much as that it is where he works, and they seem to have formed an attachment to some unfounded idea that they cannot admit to anyone is flawed.

Their unwillingness to admit to having been mistaken about something is the most likely reason they've got their backs up on this, and it has pretty much nothing to do with octopi23, other than it's his life and well-being that is being adversely effected by it.

Octopi23, I echo the suggestion of finding an ally (family, if possible, counselor or family friend would also work) with whom you can, at the very least, discuss the issues at hand. I know it's a scary thing to contemplate at 16, but there's a very good chance that staying in a situation like this, at that age, could have repercussions that would affect your health and your working relationships for years.

^-.-^

[Athaelia]

First off, sorry for your dilemma Oct!

You know, some great things happen when people are upset with their own current situation, and strive to change it.

At 16, I realize your parents are a force to be contended with. By now, it fairly certain your parents just won't become 'reasonable'. So they say if you apply for that other job, they will force you to be jobless?

Now, I'm not telling you to do this, but here's what I would do given the circumstances as I see them, (but I'm pretty devious)

I'd sneak. That's right. I would secretly apply for the other job, and secretly attend the interview. If I got the job, I'd turn around and quit the 7 flags job-Give 2weeks notice or whatever. Having already secured the library job, if I was told to quit by my parents, I'd argue that it wouldn't look to good on my future resumes. I'd fight fire with fire. If they argue, they'd be contradicting the whole basis of their argument.

I just quit my job at a sportsbar(which my Mom dubs the "sexist hellhole"); I worked there 2 years. My husband works, so I'll be ok for awhile, but he had no idea what horrors I had to put up with everyday until he had to come in and wait for me to get off work. He personally saw how I was being treated; he and my parents actually ASKED me if I'd like to quit. After some consideration, and much thought, I knew it was the best thing. I don't think I could stand it anymore, and I was actually getting physically sick from what I had to deal with there.Every job will entail annoyances and tasks you don't like, even people you don't like. But, sometimes enough is enough, and your job sounds like it sucks a big one. Life's too short.

Good luck to you, and I hope everything works out with you, your job and parents! Keep us posted.

[octopi23]

Got the rents to consider my point of view, filled out an application today. They said they weren't hiring, but the people I know encouraged me to file anyway. Hoping for the best.

[EricKei]

Congrats! Let us know how it goes. Even small victories are worth savoring