FUTURE TALENTED Autumn Term 2019 - Issue 4 | Seite 22

Gatsby Benchmarks
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Online jobs available for teenagers range from tutoring
and website testing to being paid to take surveys and
write reviews. It is, of course, vital to check that sites
accessed are legitimate and safe.
Extrapolating from the results, an estimated 670,000
students aged 14-21 now regularly make money through
online avenues, with buying and selling products online
(such as clothes) becoming more popular than
babysitting or dog walking as a way of making extra cash.
These online ventures are collectively worth £11m a year.
The rise of entrepreneurism
A desire for greater flexibility, coupled with advanced
digital skills, is driving many young people to find new
ways of making money through part-time activities, the
findings suggest.
While half (50%) of the previous generations said they
worked in a shop or business when they were teens, just
37% of young people with jobs do the same today. Shop
work is still the most popular type of job for young people,
followed by manual work, but online ventures are growing
in popularity.
Of those earning money through an online job or
project, more than four in ten (44%) say they do this over
traditional work because it provides them with more
Tech-savvy teens are
turning to online ventures
COMBINING EDUCATION
WITH ONLINE TUTORING
Ciara Brodie, aged 21, worked as
a café assistant when at school but
now provides online tutoring
alongside her studies at the University
of Warwick. We spoke to her about
the benefits and challenges of
her role.
What does your part-time tutoring
work involve, in practical terms?
I tutor economics and maths on
mytutor.co.uk, an online platform
that connects you to school students
across the UK who need help with
their studies.
This service is facilitated by video
link and an interactive whiteboard
where you can upload a presentation
and other relevant materials to
support the lesson delivery.
22 // EMPLOYABILITY
LEARNING AND
EARNING CAN
HELP YOUNG
PEOPLE TO:
• G
 ain transferable
skills and
experience
• P
 repare for
full-time
employment
• L  earn about time
and money
management
• B
 ecome more
independent and
responsible
• G
 row in confidence
and self-esteem
• M
 ake new friends,
contacts and
develop
professional
networks
How long have you been working in
your current part-time job and at
what age did you start working in
some capacity?
I started working at 16 as a café
assistant. I’ve been working on this
platform for six months, and do
three or four hours a week ,
depending on whether students
want a lesson. It’s a flexible job, so if
I need some extra hours, or to drop
some hours, I am able to do so.
It’s easy to balance online
tutoring with university. I can
complete lessons from wherever
I am, provided it’s quiet, so when I
visit home, I’m able to continue my
job. I can plan my time in the best
way that suits me: between
studying, working and socialising. working with different abilities, being
flexible and accommodating. I see
this as an opportunity to develop my
‘non-classroom’ skills. Getting this
job was an application process that
included my motivations and also
my exam results.
What were your main motivations for
getting a part-time job?
The soft skills you gain through
tutoring are ten-fold. Confidence, W hat t ra n sfe ra b l e s ki l l s a n d
experience have you gained?
Time management is key, and not
over-loading (or under-loading)
What makes earning while studying
worthwhile for you?
The income I earn helps towards my
living costs at university. I also find
tutoring quite stimulating; it helps
me understand various concepts
better. The content is simpler than
university level, but I find focusing
on the basics to be very useful. I am
also constantly innovating and being
creative, responding to my students’
needs and making sure I retain them.