Skip to main content

With a little help from my friends: And nothing about politics, something about family

I need some ideas.  Regular readers know that my sixteen-year-old son Michael suffers from Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome.  I won't go into details, but he has relatively limited activity.

But he also wants to be able to earn some money this summer, and he's more than willing to work for it, if we can think up what he can do.

Here's what's out:  mowing lawns or delivering newspapers (anything with really steady exertion is physically a problem)--that would also rule out things like lifeguarding or becoming a bag boy at Acme (he would miss an inordinate amount of time at unpredictable intervals).

Here's his skill set:  he's done babysitting, and does especially well with boys in the 5-10 age span.  (Unfortunately, last year's steady job in that regard moved away).  He is very very good with computers, with fixing technology (although he makes it up as he goes along, it usually works by the time he's through with it).  He could do online work if there were online work to do.  He could possibly tutor.

He is capable of about 8 hours a week spread over several days in 2-4 hour increments.

Anybody got any ideas?  I know he has a tough row to hoe with the CFIS, but I also desperately want to see this child work if that's what he wants to do.

Comments

pandora said…
How about tutoring? My son tutored throughout the school year. (He's working in a restaurant this summer as well as tutoring.)

Also, your "I'm not a robot/type these words test" is getting impossible to read. Isn't there something you can do?
Dana Garrett said…
Is he good with social media...posting tweets and stuff on Facebook? How about setting up websites? If so, I'll talk to someone who does that for a living. Maybe she could refer clients to him that she can't take.
Yes, Dana, he could do that, He would be best working with people who wanted her services but didn't have (a) extreme time pressure and (b) were on a budget that made using somebody brand new a good idea.

Thanks
tom said…
A friend of mine has a Computer Repair shop in Trolley Square. He might be willing to hire someone to
watch the counter and/or fix systems on a very part-time basis as long as your son could reliably show up for the few hours that he committed to. He also has a Web Design/Hosting company and might welcome a low-paid part-time intern.
kavips said…
Ebay. It's exciting. Have him first sell stuff from the house you are taking to Goodwill anyway, and then have him turnover the cash into buying what he thinks he can sell.

If another job opens, he can do both, quite easily. If it doesn't, he has learned some basics about economics.
Pencadermom said…
If he is good on computers, I agree that Ebay is fun and can be very profitable. My teenager has made a lot of money from Ebay, mostly upgrading his own phone, ipod, etc. but I have also given him things to sell on commission. With a little experience, he can advertise and sell for other people on commission. (an example that made my kids all 'giggle' was when they sold a broken nintendo ds for @ $40.. broken!! people buy that stuff for 'parts' I guess. Best wishes to him whatever path he takes for summer work (but I actually think tutoring might be the most rewarding personally and would look great on a resume)
Dana Garrett said…
Steve,

I'll contact her today about it.
Dana Garrett said…
Steve,

She told me that he should use the services at this website to get clients. Also advertise in Craigslist. After that it's word of mouth.

http://www.guru.com/
Thanks Dana, that's number two on our list of things to do this afternoon

Popular posts from this blog

The Obligatory Libertarian Tax Day Post

The most disturbing factoid that I learned on Tax Day was that the average American must now spend a full twenty-four hours filling out tax forms. That's three work days. Or, think of it this way: if you had to put in two hours per night after dinner to finish your taxes, that's two weeks (with Sundays off). I saw a talking head economics professor on some Philly TV channel pontificating about how Americans procrastinate. He was laughing. The IRS guy they interviewed actually said, "Tick, tick, tick." You have to wonder if Governor Ruth Ann Minner and her cohorts put in twenty-four hours pondering whether or not to give Kraft Foods $708,000 of our State taxes while demanding that school districts return $8-10 million each?

New Warfare: I started my posts with a discussion.....

.....on Unrestricted warfare . The US Air force Institute for National Security Studies have developed a reasonable systems approach to deter non-state violent actors who they label as NSVA's. It is an exceptionally important report if we want to deter violent extremism and other potential violent actors that could threaten this nation and its security. It is THE report our political officials should be listening to to shape policy so that we do not become excessive in using force against those who do not agree with policy and dispute it with reason and normal non-violent civil disobedience. This report, should be carefully read by everyone really concerned with protecting civil liberties while deterring violent terrorism and I recommend if you are a professional you send your recommendations via e-mail at the link above so that either 1.) additional safeguards to civil liberties are included, or 2.) additional viable strategies can be used. Finally, one can only hope that politici

More of This, Please

Or perhaps I should say, "Less of this one, please." Or how about just, "None of them. Ever again. Please....For the Love of God." Sunshine State Poll: Grayson In Trouble The latest Sunshine State/VSS poll shows controversial Democratic incumbent Alan Grayson trailing former state Senator Dan Webster by seven points, 43 percent to 36 percent. A majority of respondents -- 51 percent -- disapprove of the job that Grayson is doing. Independents have an unfavorable view of him as well, by a 36/47 margin. Grayson has ignored the conventional wisdom that a freshman should be a quiet member who carefully tends to the home fires. The latest controversy involves his " Taliban Dan " advertisement, where he explicitly compares his opponent to the Taliban, and shows a clip of Webster paraphrasing Ephesians 5:22 -- "wives, submit to your husbands." An unedited version of the clip shows that Webster was actually suggesting that husba