Singapore dad tells 16-year-old daughter to aim higher than McDonald’s for her first job after O-levels
Young Asian woman
SINGAPORE: A 16-year-old girl who wants to spend her post-O-level break working in F&B or retail has found herself at odds with her parents after her father suggested she work at the company where her mother is employed instead.
In a Reddit post on r/SGexams, the teenager said she wanted to find a casual job after her examinations, partly for fun and partly to gain her first taste of working life before starting polytechnic.
She also hoped to earn some money without giving up her free time to pursue her interests and hang out with friends.
“I also defo think that it would be more chill, and I can still find time to do the things I like and hang out with my friends,” she wrote.
Her parents, however, had other plans. During a recent conversation about her next steps, her father asked, “Do you want to work to pass time or to learn something? Because if you want to work to pass the time, you just go apply at Mcdonald’s now.”
“Honestly, I felt his words were quite harsh,” she wrote.
Although she understood her parents’ reasoning, the teenager was uncomfortable with the idea of getting a job through family connections.
“I had my reasons for wanting to find work on my own.”
“I agree with them to a certain extent, but it’s also weird because it feels like I'm a nepo baby, which I'm not. What if one day I'm trying to get an internship at another company during poly and they ask me how I got to work there at such a young age? ‘Oh, my mummy got me a job there.’ I think it personally sounds very privileged, and I like to get things on my own merit.”
There was also the small matter of wanting to enjoy her school break. Working at her mother's company would mean spending more time around working adults, whom she worried might judge her.
“So it’s like a double-edged sword,” she added.
She added that she found a possible alternative through a friend who offered her a job at the place where she worked. Hoping her mother would be more receptive to this option, the teenager tried bringing it up with her.
However, she said her mother immediately echoed her father's argument that she should choose a job where she could learn something.
“I didn’t even get a chance to explain because she just said the exact same stuff my dad said about learning.”
“While I understand where my parents are coming from and why they are so adamant about this, is it bad if I just want a chill job? My parents can be quite stuck on their ways, but my mother is a bit better. What should I do, or how should I explain things to them?”
‘It's no big deal’
Commenters were divided over the teenager’s dilemma. Some backed her decision to strike out on her own with an F&B or retail job, while others reckoned she should take her father’s advice and make the most of the opportunity to build her portfolio early.
One said, “Go for it, gurl! You can learn from McDonald’s. Be humble, learn to work with other people, including old aunties and uncles, and understand workflows and KPIs. It’s all about your goals and willingness to learn.”
Another wrote, “Just go there and build up your portfolio; your friends'/colleagues' comments and thoughts will not help your portfolio, and some people will call anyone a nepo baby when they feel it's out of their reach.”
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Others, meanwhile, praised the teenager for recognising her privilege and wanting to earn opportunities on her own merit.
One said, “Wow, I have never experienced someone who DOESN'T want a nepo-ed internship. Anyways, it's literally a holiday position; it's really no big deal, and you can just lie and say ‘You got connections,’ which is true, by the way. Also, eventually you'll find out the working world is all nepo lol to an extent…”
Another added, “Uncle here—as long as you're aware of your privilege, it's commendable and good already.”
In other news, an employer has come under fire online after questioning how her domestic helper could afford expensive items on a monthly salary of just S$800.
In a post on the ‘Singapore Helpers’ Facebook group, the employer shared that her helper has every Sunday off and is also supporting her family back home, yet she recently noticed that the helper appeared to have acquired several new items, from a branded watch and handbag to a new iPhone and dresses bought online.