OC HIGH: STUDENT NEWS AND VIEWS : In the Works

Juggling school and social life is enough to keep most teens in a spin. Throw a job into the mix and, well, you’re going nonstop. Whether it’s bagging groceries, sorting movie videos or working the cash register, the jobs Orange county teens do help keep the place running.

LISA WANG, 18

Valencia High, senior

Video store

Where: Blockbuster Video.

What: I check in the videos in the drop boxes inside and outside the store and then put them on the shelves in sections where they belong. Sometimes I’m a cashier that checks out the customers’ videos. When I find free time, I straighten the videos on the shelves.

Hours: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 4 to 10 p.m.

Pay: $4.25

Transportation: I have my own car.

Best and worst: The best part of my job is getting to meet new people. Also, I get to hear about all the new videos coming in before the general public. There aren’t really any bad parts to my job because everything I get to do is pretty neat.

Advice: My advice is that (teens) better be ready to give up some of their social life, because responsibility to the job comes first.

MARCUS DI SABELLA, 16

Trabuco Hills High, junior

Food attendant

Where: Target.

What: I’m the food attendant. I have to take people’s orders in a friendly manner, make the order and give it to the person. I also have to clean up the mess in the food area--like the yogurt machine, the grills and the tables.

Pay: $5.75 per hour.

Hours: 16 hours a week; the days vary.

Transportation: I drive my car.

Best and worst: The best part is that people are friendly, I’m close to home, and the money is good. The worst part is the scheduled hours aren’t very good, and I get dirty from the fryers and grill.

Advice: Don’t go into the fast-food business. It’s very high-stressed; people get ticked off easily, especially if you screw up.

TANIA MEDRANO, 18

Santiago High, senior

Hostess; salesperson

Where: Chuck E. Cheese and DAPY toy store.

Hours: At Chuck E. Cheese, I work six hours on Fridays, eight hours on Saturday and Sunday. At DAPY, I work on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

What: I’m a service person and hostess at Chuck E. Cheese. At DAPY toy store I’m a salesperson and cashier.

Pay: $4.24 an hour at Chuck E. Cheese; $5 at DAPY.

Transportation: My boyfriend drives me. I’m saving up for a car.

Best and worst: At DAPY, I like the weird things they sell, and I like doing cashier work. I hate mopping at closing. At Chuck E. Cheese, I like being the hostess but hate cleaning the bathrooms.

Advice: I’m a hard worker because I am on my own and have a lot of necessities. It’s been tough having two jobs, not mentioning sports, but I’ve been able to keep up with my studies and have maintained a steady grade-point average. If you’re the type of person that will slack off from your studies, I don’t recommend it to you. But if you’re responsible and you feel you can handle it, go for it; it won’t hurt to try.

GLORIA TERRY, 17

Loara High, senior

Grocery store employee

Where: Albertson’s.

What: The first thing I do is to go to the back room and clock in. Then I go up front and find out what hours I will be working on carts. This consists of going through the parking lot and gathering carts and making sure the lot is clear. If I work six to eight hours, I’ll have about two to three hours on cart duty. Most of my time is spent bagging groceries. But once in a while, I’ll have a checking shift. I also do price checks. If a customer has a question regarding how a price rang up, I will run to check it.

Hours: I usually work 20 to 24 hours a week. I’m involved in Mock Trial and cheerleading, so I have a busy schedule. At Albertson’s they’re good about working around my schedule, so I can work on weekdays when I don’t have activities. I also get quite a few of my hours working on weekends.

Pay: I make $6.25 an hour. On holidays, I’m paid triple-time, which makes it worth my while.

Transportation: I drive.

Best and worst: I like the people I work with; it makes work fun and makes the shift go by fast. The managers are very nice; they make sure things get done, but they’re not too strict. I also enjoy working up front with the customers. They’re friendly and easy to deal with. As for the worst part, doing the carts. I even have to push them on hot summer days and when it’s raining.

Advice: I think getting a job is good for a teen-ager. It’s important to learn to pay for the activities you’re involved in. I pay for my car insurance and gas and half of my cheerleading expenses. I’m also saving up money toward college. Having a job gives me something to do other than just going home from school every day. Following a schedule helps to teach responsibility.

MATT WARD, 17

Irvine High, senior

Movie theater attendant

Where: Edwards Tustin Market Place Cinemas.

What: I clean the theaters, work the registers at the concession stand, deal with the customers and sell tickets in the box office.

Hours: I work about 25 hours a week: one weekday from 6 to 10 p.m., Friday nights from 6 p.m. until midnight, and Saturday and Sunday for eight hours each day, although the hours vary every week.

Pay: $4.25 per hour.

Transportation: I drive myself.

Best and worst: The best part of the job is working with your friends. The worst part of the job is cleaning the theaters.

Advice: Don’t work too much in high school and burn yourself out.

JOSEPH VU ARMENDARIZ, 16

Los Amigos High, junior

Manufacturing company worker

Where:

Frank’s Cane and Rush Supply.

What: I prepare catalogues to be mailed out to customers. I coil materials such as fibre rush (a type of cord) from large spools to smaller, two-pound coils. I help with some paperwork and package shipments to be sent by UPS, mail or other service.

Hours: Two hours a day.

Pay: $6.50 an hour.

Transportation: I drive myself to work after school.

Best and worst: I am paid fairly well for work that is not too difficult. It just takes dedication and intelligence. I am meeting people who are in college and the business world, and I am making friends with them. The negative parts so far are that it gets repetitive at times, and it takes up time from friends and family.

Advice: Go out into the world and try to get some type of steady job. It doesn’t need to be a great-paying job, but it should be consistent. Not only will you feel proud of yourself for being able to maintain it, but you will be making contacts for future jobs and job references. You will also be making a little bit of cash.

HEATHER SMITH, 16

Huntington Beach High, junior

Party store employee

Where: Parties Plus.

What: I blow up balloons, greet people and clean the store.

Hours: Ten hours on weekends.

Pay: $5 per hour.

Transportation: I drive myself

Best and worst: The best part is that the customers are usually in a good mood because when they are coming to a party store, they have something to celebrate. The worst part is cleaning, such as sweeping and dusting.

Advice: When you go to work, be ready and have a positive attitude.

KRISTI MATOBA, 18

Cypress High, senior

Shopkeeper

Where:

Knott’s Berry Farm, at a small vendor’s shop.

What: My job consists of keeping shop for the owners, who are my parents, as a type of manager. This includes assembling finished products, pricing the merchandise, assisting customers and watching for shoplifters. Occasionally I’ll do the detail work for a piece or even design something new for the shop. I am basically allowed my artistic freedom when designing. When my parents leave for vacation or to do a craft show, I also do the books and arrange the work schedule.

Hours: 16 to 24 hours a week during winter; 36 to 40 hours a week during summer.

Transportation: My own car.

Best and worst: The best part is getting to meet a lot of different people, whether they work at Knott’s or are just visiting. The worst part is that the booth is outdoors, so my hours depend on the weather.

Advice: Working teaches you responsibility and commitment. Besides earning extra money, you also learn to balance a budget and arrange your schedule to fit in everything.

ERIN GRIBBEN, 18

Loara High, senior

Traffic school office worker

Where: Comedy Traffic School, “Comedy for Less.”

What: I make appointments for the poor souls who have to go to traffic school. They serve pizza and make the traffic school fun.

Hours: 15 hours a week. Evenings on weekdays and all day Saturday.

Pay: $7 per hour.

Transportation: I drive.

Best and worst: How could I go wrong working at a place where they answer the phones with lines like, “Comedy for less, you’ve reached the best, the best in the West”?

Advice: Find a job that keeps you on your toes, makes you laugh and also one that you enjoy. The worst advice I’ve ever gotten is to take a job that pays well, no matter what the environment. For me, I’d rather have a low-paying but entertaining job rather than one that is no fun at all. A big paycheck can be nice sometimes, but a good job is more worthwhile.

* Student profiles were compiled by OC High correspondents Ling Lu, Valencia; Eve Winnick, Loara; Leeza Duong, Santiago; Samantha Wood, Trabuco Hills; Amy Woo, Huntington Beach; Roxeanne McGraw, Cypress; Linda Dao, Los Amigos; Robert Wenzel, Irvine; Lauren Dunn, Lutheran High School of Orange County.