Ok. I was lucky to grow up on a farm where I had to learn a wide variety of skills, from driving a tractor, tending to farm animals, changing water lines, cooking or I would starve when everyone else was in the back 40, and budgeting my money.
I got $5 a week for cleaning the house and feeding the animals. I made $5 an hour driving tractor, another $5 an hour changing pipe, another $6 for mowing a ladys lawn on weekends and helping her clean, and I was 15 years old. Started ranch work at 12 years old. I also got my first computer when I was 12 and soon was making computer games for friends. I even wrote a game for COMPUTE magazine and made $150. It may seem like I was raking in the money, but I had to budget so I had both play money and money for gas to get to other jobs.
Today, those skills I learned I can use still. If I needed a side job, I could go work on a ranch or farm. I could work at any cafe as a cook. That's if I had too.
My job today is a wide diverse techonological and engineering field.
For security reasons I won't say what.
However, I taught my nephew how to fix a wide range of electronics. From old VCRs to DVD players, computers to game boxes, and although he had a lot to learn, he turned it into extra cash on the side in high school fixing his friends electronics. For the rest of his life, he has a skill to make a few extra dollars. I think I will have to teach my other nephew the same because he is always borrowing and jumping job to job.
A friends daughter who turned 12 wanted to know as much about computers as she could. I taught her to first troubleshoot software problems and started her on coding. She was soon fixing her moms business computer when ever it crashed or got a nasty virus. She is 17 years old today and is still absorbing all she can about computers so I think she may end up in that field.
I did teach her computer repair such as changing out drives, RAM, changing a CPU, etc. But she prefers the software end of it. She can still replace anything internal if she needs to.
I used to fix their computer, but now her daughter does it. Which saves me a 40 mile drive one way. I did it because I knew them for ages.
She is turning into a computer wizard. Makes me proud. :)
I have offered to teach friends, but they have their likes and skills they find is enough for them. They lose interest as soon as I open up a computer or start opening something in windows. Linux they don't even want to look at.
If I was a bona fide car mechanic, I would probably teach kids that too.
I am a Chilton car manual student, so I just fix my own cars instead.
Love those manuals, best thing since 7up.
So all those skills we know can help a teenager out. Maybe they will find its what they enjoy doing and make a career out of it.
I have to say I enjoyed living on a ranch and its darn good money, but that first computer took me in a whole new direction.
I do miss living and working on a ranch even today. It was a very good life.
Do you do the same?
Teaching kids or just friends your job
I got $5 a week for cleaning the house and feeding the animals. I made $5 an hour driving tractor, another $5 an hour changing pipe, another $6 for mowing a ladys lawn on weekends and helping her clean, and I was 15 years old. Started ranch work at 12 years old. I also got my first computer when I was 12 and soon was making computer games for friends. I even wrote a game for COMPUTE magazine and made $150. It may seem like I was raking in the money, but I had to budget so I had both play money and money for gas to get to other jobs.
Today, those skills I learned I can use still. If I needed a side job, I could go work on a ranch or farm. I could work at any cafe as a cook. That's if I had too.
My job today is a wide diverse techonological and engineering field.
For security reasons I won't say what.
However, I taught my nephew how to fix a wide range of electronics. From old VCRs to DVD players, computers to game boxes, and although he had a lot to learn, he turned it into extra cash on the side in high school fixing his friends electronics. For the rest of his life, he has a skill to make a few extra dollars. I think I will have to teach my other nephew the same because he is always borrowing and jumping job to job.
A friends daughter who turned 12 wanted to know as much about computers as she could. I taught her to first troubleshoot software problems and started her on coding. She was soon fixing her moms business computer when ever it crashed or got a nasty virus. She is 17 years old today and is still absorbing all she can about computers so I think she may end up in that field.
I did teach her computer repair such as changing out drives, RAM, changing a CPU, etc. But she prefers the software end of it. She can still replace anything internal if she needs to.
I used to fix their computer, but now her daughter does it. Which saves me a 40 mile drive one way. I did it because I knew them for ages.
She is turning into a computer wizard. Makes me proud. :)
I have offered to teach friends, but they have their likes and skills they find is enough for them. They lose interest as soon as I open up a computer or start opening something in windows. Linux they don't even want to look at.
If I was a bona fide car mechanic, I would probably teach kids that too.
I am a Chilton car manual student, so I just fix my own cars instead.
Love those manuals, best thing since 7up.
So all those skills we know can help a teenager out. Maybe they will find its what they enjoy doing and make a career out of it.
I have to say I enjoyed living on a ranch and its darn good money, but that first computer took me in a whole new direction.
I do miss living and working on a ranch even today. It was a very good life.
Do you do the same?
