Island jobs for prospecting students to explore
By Lucy Rogers, Reporter
With summer fast approaching, many students are beginning to keep their eyes peeled for possible job opportunities. But with so many companies welcoming teen work, where should teens look first? To help the employment process, here are a few job opportunities on the island and how students’ working experiences compare.
The Country Store and Farm – Mackenzie Shore, Sales Floor Employee:
Starting wage: $14 an hour
Hours: Flexible. Hours are scheduled every month.
Responsibilities: Working with customers and doing other side tasks such as pricing, harvesting, and cleaning.
Students best fit for this job:
“I would say a focused, organized, and social student would be best suited for this job. You’ve gotta be able to hold your own and work with all kinds of people.” Shore said.
What is it like to work there?
“I have really enjoyed working at The Country Store and Farm so far. My manager is incredibly kind and motivated. I absolutely love working there when the warmer weather hits because I get to go out and pick blueberries, tomatoes, and Asian pears.” Shore said. “One of my favorite memories is when my brother was working there last summer, and I would sit on the big wraparound porch eating a juicy Asian pear for lunch, and he’d wave as he shot back and forth on the tractor. It’s a very sweet place to work!”
Application contact: (206) 463-3655
BLOSSOM. The Country Store can be seen welcoming spring and customers. Many students who enjoy being social and organized would enjoy this job.
Thriftway – Anthony Matthias, Courtesy Clerk:
Starting wage: Approximately $13.60-14 an hour
Hours: Somewhat flexible. Workers must give a two weeks notice for days off or find someone who will cover a shift. Matthias works about 20 hours a week.
Responsibilities: Bagging groceries and general cleaning
Students best fit for this job:
“You definitely want to be a hard working student because it will help you do very well at work and also balance school, work, and life. We pretty much work nonstop so be prepared to earn your wage.” Matthias said.
What is it like to work there?
“I really enjoyed getting to know all the people at work and being able to see people in person during the pandemic, but the job itself isn’t very exciting to be honest.” Matthias said. “Over midwinter break I was working on one of the days it snowed a ton and we didn’t have anything to do since there were no customers. We went outside and had a snowball fight the entire day. Overall the job itself is pretty boring, but I like the people I work with and it’s taught me a lot about life.”
Apply: https://www.vashonthriftway.com/Pages/93/Employment/
SHOP. Facing the front of Thriftway, the parking lot is packed for another evening of shopping. Thriftway is one of the most popular stores for teens to get their first job at.
Cedar Valley Barn – Keely Illibrum, Stable Hand
Starting wage: $70 for three days
Hours: Somewhat flexible. Cedar Valley Barn works differently in that there are no hours. Instead, workers schedule three days a week to work. The time in which the work day is complete relies solely on how fast workers finish their responsibilities for the day.
Responsibilities: Scooping, scrubbing, and feeding the horses.
Students best fit for this job:
“Any student with more of an open or flexible schedule,” Illiibrum said. Illibrum also mentioned that the horses will act differently to each worker, so it is important to be able to adapt and overcome.
What is it like working there?
“It’s been fun adventuring in nature,” Illibrum said. “A fun story is when some of the horses lick or nibble on your hands or legs,”
Application contact: (206) 371-2225 or onelazzyz@gmail.com
RIDE. Cedar Valley’s sign can be seen glowing in the evening sun. A well-known barn is the perfect job for horse-loving students.
The Ruby Brink – Joel Wiegner, Dishwasher
*This specifically covers the position of dishwasher and not other positions at The Ruby Brink.
Starting Wage: $15 an hour
Hours: Somewhat strict. Shifts are usually eight hours, but this can fluctuate depending on how fast you finish your responsibilities and how busy the restaurant is.
“If you have a day coming up that you need off, they’re great about making sure that happens. Or if you tell them in advance that you’ll need a shorter shift one day, they’ll make it happen if they can,” Wiegner said.
Responsibilities: Washing dishes, cleaning restrooms, doing the laundry, and other side tasks.
Students best fit for this job:
“You can spend quite some time alone … and it gets tiring and hot back there, so it’s not [the job for] super extroverts I think. You’d need a degree of introversion, some strong joints (from all the bending required), diligence, patience,” Weigner says. “Being focused and end goal oriented helps, and I think liking puzzles can kinda help when stacking the dishwasher because it’s a bit like Tetris. You also need to be able to take orders from people because they’ll be back there all day asking you for things.“
What is it like working there?
“It’s gone quite well. The staff are nice and easy to get along with. My bosses are very understanding.” Wiegner said.
Application contact (must be 18+): info@therubybrink.com
EAT. The glowing open sign invites passerbyers into the Ruby Brink. This popular restaurant is a good fit for older students looking for a job in the food industry.
The Country Club – Finn McClure, Lifeguard and Kitchen Aid
Starting wage for lifeguards: $13.69 an hour
Starting wage for kitchen aids: $13.69 an hour
Lifeguard hours: Somewhat flexible. Shifts are decided at the beginning of the year and can be swapped with co-workers when needed.
Kitchen aid hours: Flexible. Shifts are scheduled week by week and can be negotiated.
Lifeguard responsibilities: Maintaining pool rules, making sure people sign in, keeping people safe, cleaning, and checking the chemical balance of the pool.
Kitchen aid responsibilities: Washing dishes, cleaning, basic food prep. These responsibilities may grow depending on how long you are employed. For example, you may become responsible for working kitchen equipment or serving food.
Students best fit for the lifeguarding position:
“I would recommend anyone who is willing to put in effort to get decent enough at swimming to save someone. If you can save someone from drowning, you can do any of the other tasks required.” McClure said.
Students best fit for kitchen aid position:
“I would recommend someone who can work nonstop through a shift without tiring out. There are times when a kitchen can get really busy with orders and you can’t take breaks. Also if you just enjoy food in general and want to get better at cooking, you will learn a lot working in a kitchen,” McClure said.
What is it like working there?
“I enjoy both of my jobs for different reasons. I first started working at the Country Club as a lifeguard in ninth grade. It was my first job and while I held a responsibility for everyone swimming, my work outside of that was fairly simple … [The Country Club] keeps me focused on work for my entire shift, so time really flies by, and I get a free meal!” McClure said.