J is for Job – Your first step to earning!
What you need to know:
- You can have a job too! Working in your parents’ or guardians’ business by helping with typing, cleaning, selling, and organising is a great way to start earning and learn life skills.
By Tracy Rabi
Have you ever wondered how people buy food, clothes, or even video games? Have you ever thought about how people make money? That’s where jobs come in! A job is work you do to earn money, using your time and skills to help others.
It can be something like teaching, fixing cars, farming, designing buildings, or even baking yummy cakes! People get paid for the time and effort they give to do the job well.
Think of it like this: if you help a neighbour clean their yard, they might pay you for your hard work. The more you dedicate your time to doing your job properly, the more skills you learn and the better your pay becomes. People do all kinds of jobs—teachers educate, farmers grow food, and doctors keep us healthy.
Why are jobs important?
Jobs help us take care of our needs and wants. When adults have jobs, they can:
• Buy food, clothes, and school supplies
• Pay for a house or rent
• Save money for emergencies or the future
• Pay school fees and take care of their families
Without a job or some way of earning money, it would be really hard to do these things.
How do you get a job?
When you grow up, you’ll need to learn skills and get an education. This helps you become really good at something, and when you’re good at something, people will want to hire you. To get a job, adults usually:
1. Look for places hiring people.
2. Write something called a curriculum vitae (CV) or fill out an application.
3. Go for an interview where they talk about their skills.
4. If chosen, they start working and get paid a salary!
What does a job have to do with money?
A job is like your money machine! It helps you:
• Earn money
• Plan how to use it (that’s called budgeting)
• Save for future goals
• Help others, too!
You can have a job too! Working in your parents’ or guardians’ business by helping with typing, cleaning, selling, and organising is a great way to start earning and learn life skills.
Jobs teach responsibility, teamwork, and how to manage money. So, what’s your dream job? Start now, dream big, and make it happen!
Tracy Rabi is a children's author and the founder of Kids Finance with Tracy and the Tanzania Youth Entrepreneurship Experience.
