Getting my first ever job as a young person felt like a dream come true. Once I was homeless and struggling and now, I am… still struggling?
Picture it; you’re 21, you apply, you interview and you get it. You’re over the moon; this is your time and finally you can get your break. Except, that doesn’t happen. While yes, you can be happy and I was when I got my first job, you quickly realise it does not fix everything. Your first paycheck comes in, and you look at it and start wondering how you’ll clothe, feed and house yourself. Brand new responsibilities that can feel incredibly overwhelming start coming at once. What is council tax and how do I pay it? Do I now need to pay rent, or will my parents ask for it? How do I set up gas and electricity? What about internet? These are all questions I was having and it drove me crazy. Not only was I now solely responsible for myself, but I did also not have the money to support that responsibility as I thought I would.
When nobody teaches you how to be an adult, you’re suddenly thrust into it whether you like it or not. I ask people why they go to uni and a really common, sad reason is to delay having to get a job when you leave. Young people are frightened of having jobs, doesn’t that sound awful? I am incredibly lucky to work where I do, supported by managers and making my way through my career with help. Many young people will not get this opportunity and have to work at Tesco or McDonald’s, which isn’t bad of course, the bad part is when they leave and do not get paid enough to sustain the stress and work it takes to well… work. Working is itself a job, ‘jobception’ – if you will.
Of course, low wages are an issue across the board currently, but when you’re brand new to it all and suddenly you have to buy this that and everything to become an independent adult, it can consume you entirely when you have no idea what you’re doing. I do not want to write a doom and gloom post though, something I want to talk about more is establishing ways to support young people in not only getting jobs but being able to hold them. YPAS is also developing TAY Employ as trans young people often struggle a lot with jobs. If you have ideas yourself about this, we also have our young ambassadors’ space that can cover areas like this every other Wednesday evening at 5:30pm for an hour.
I only hope for the young people reading this to know; that you’re not alone in this and feel heard when you see this. There’s no easy fix, but I wish you the best on your journey to finding work or looking after yourself on £10 an hour.