TarmacAG

....work at Performance Bike this summer?

So here is the deal. I am in high school (10th grade going into 11th) and sent my application/resume in. Got a response quickly and they want to interview. They are in dire need of staff who have an idea of what a bike is, so I am assuming I have a decent chance at getting the job. Since performance (at least the shop I would work at) is not full of experienced roadies, I doubt I would gain anything more then customer service skills. So the main reason I would work there is for the financial aspect. I was told I would make between $7.50-$8.50 an hour. What kind of discounts would I get in addition to this? I can get a job paying $12.50 an hour in sales or $10.50 at a law firm, but with the amount of money I spend on bike equipment ($950 this year alone) the discount (if large enough) might be the better investment.

Shortened version: Looking for a summer job. Got an interview with Performance Bike (and am assuming I'll get the job). But I've also gotten a job in sales, a law firm, and a summer internship with Saxby Chambliss's office (dependent on if he wins, so if you live in GA get out the vote for him).

What would you do?

Impulse666

Where in GA are you? I think you should pass it and go work somewhere else....

...because I want that job.

triplebutted

I rode a lot less when I worked at a bike shop. Try to find a bike job in a shop that actually does "shop rides" or at least at club that leaves from it.

TarmacAG

We can work something out if you change that avatar of yours.

derrickhackman

i worked at a bike shop all through college... not only did i learn about how to maintain/fix all kinds of bikes i also got a feel for the bike industry in general ... the good/bad and ugly. i would highly suggest you do this.

as for the 'do i get to ride more' question ... i would think of it this way.... this is a job that has hours and responsibility and you have to work when you have to work. also retail jobs require staff on the weekends and certain holidays so take that into account. it is unlikely you will get any more ride time than working at another retail store.

Impulse666

Done. I never really liked him anyhow. I was mocking botto when i put it up, never got around to changing it lol

BarryJo

Sales will surely be slow in the new year.
Lawyers will screw you.
take the job with Performance and enjoy the employee discount.

Sorry to piss on your dreams kid, it's the new economy

TarmacAG

Okay. I'll skip that then.


I've worked at two law firms in the past two years and was very pleased. Made a couple hundred bucks per month for minimal amounts of work and got free lunch everyday. Can't complain.



What is the employee discount percentage?



Not a dream, just something to do for the summer.

Pablo.

I'm in high school too. I work at a popular independent bike shop (except in the winter, so not at the moment). It's fun. If I were you, I wouldn't work at Performance. No one there knows ****, and since its such a big shop with less of a personal employee-manager connection, you are less likely to get free stuff or other shwag. Employee discount of accessories usually comes down to around ~50% less than retail. The discount on bikes really varies.

BarryJo

Don't listen to me. I'm old (44), cynical and regretting my mis-spent youth .... please take everything I wrote with a grain of salt and enjoy your summer at whatever job you decide to go with.

TarmacAG

At the independent shop what type of free stuff do you get?

Pablo.

Miscellaneous things.

milliWatts

You planning on going to law school or into politics? Now is the time to start building your network. It's who you know...

crydee

Get the higher paying job. It's worth it in the long-run. Keep your hobby your hobby and not your job...

Even if you got an extra 10% off (does that work with coupons, team perf membership ect?) You'd have to spend 9,000 for 900 buck savings. If you get a job paying $4 more an hour you'd recover that $900 in 225 hours. If you work 30 hour weeks you'd make it back 7 and a half weeks.

Not to mention even with the performance discounts it's still cheaper to order from PBK

CrimsonKarter21

You're not joking. If you want a future in those fields, then take those jobs. I'd imagine that they pay more too, you'll make more than you'd save in EPs.
Plus, I've been working in a shop for two years and this summer was awful for my training and racing. I worked every day but Thurs and Sun, put in 50+ hours and had very little time to train. I'm not going to blame my lack of results on the shop, but it certianly didn't help.
That being said, the comradery between co-workers at a bike shop is awesome and I loved working at the shop.

Hammer02

Depends on your future aspirations....if you are going into law or business or politics then I'd take the law firm job.

You're never too young to start kissing ***.

TarmacAG

Yes. For the past two summers I've worked at law firms. My goal is the naval academy. Serve 5 years, go to law school...JAG for another couple years. Then transfer into some political op type job. I think that "keep your hobby, your hobby" was good advice. I'll just pray to god that I get accepted to this internship program with one of my state senators.

SunFlower

you should never work. dont be a slave to the military industrial complex by feeding your hard earned tax dollars into their coffers. you are young. be free. ride hard. screw chicks. smoke pot. drink beer. cuss. fight. live free or die with a hard on.

HolyInstantRice

Keep in mind that some of those options will look better to colleges than others.

thomson

Tarmac, you are a bright guy. You know the right thing to do. I commend you for ambitions. Excellent.

If you were to take anyones advice here, it has to be SunFlower's ^^^

uke

Advice from someone in grad school to someone in high school: whatever you do, don't burn out. Life is a marathon, not a sprint.

kudude

you'll spend more money on bike stuff if you're surrounded by it all day

nycphotography

Working for discounts and/or free stuff is a losing proposition.

Always WORK for cash and career... and then set out to save money strictly as a secondary pursuit.

Say performance gives you 20% off. (I'd be surprised if it's that much, and floored if it's more).

You work 20 hours a week, for 52 weeks. Thats um 20 times um. Nevermind. Math is hard.

The point is that working for cash is worth way more than bike discounts. I know we all get jealous when we hear so and so got such as such for nothing. Just remember to divide the such and such by all the hours he had to work, then add extra for all the riding time he missed due to working retail rather than office hours... and you'll see it's not worth it.

Now, if you have a shopping list, and you can work there for say 2-3 weeks and get ALL your stuff... THEN go work at the law firm.

Oh, and I spent my high school years working at a motorcycle shop. Definitely valuable in hand skills and life lessons. But I SHOULD have spent those years studying to get into Harvard.

Basically what they said above... work is work. play is play. Until you don't HAVE to work, keep them separate.

ridethecliche

For the record, I'm a college junior.

Tarmac, is there any way you could part time at both?

Work 6ish hours a day at the law firm 4-5 days a week, and work a few hours over the week and weekend at performance. You can spend most of what you make at performance and still make good money over the summer. You could freaking tell performance that you'll take your pay in gift certificates if you're going to be working at the law firm over summer too.

You might be working a bunch, but if you play your cards right, you'll have more than enough time to ride and hang out with friends.

High school jobs only mean enough to get you into college. The summer internships and jobs you get over summers are what's important for networking.

You're not going to get real work in a law firm as a high schooler.

permanentjaun

You're taking advice from BF posters. I think your political career is already shot. Take the job at the bike shop.