In Iowa, around 42 percent of all teens hold jobs outside their home – that’s just about 74,000 Iowans, more than any other border state except for South Dakota. Most teens in Iowa work in retail. After that, they typically find employment in the food service industry. According to the Iowa Food and Beverage Association, 1/3 of Iowans find their first jobs in a restaurant.
Sheryl Cline is a high school guidance counselor at Linn-Marr High School. She says this is the time of year when a lot of students start thinking about summer work.
"I encourage them to go talk to the manager and ask, 'Are you hiring?' I think that face-to-face contact is really important to practice those communication skills and show that person that is going to be hiring them that they want to work there and want to be there."
During this hour of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe talks with Cline, Iowa State University sociology professor Paul Lasley, and Jill Padgett, a community school coordinator for East High School in Des Moines, about first jobs, summer employment, and what ways Iowa’s schools and counselors help teens obtain that first paycheck.
Listeners also call in with stories about their first jobs.
