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I'm a 17 year old guy entering his senior year in highschool. I have a car and have to pay for insurance, gas, repairs, etc.

I recently applied to a job at my local mexican restaurant, and I got hired as a dishwasher. At first, I thought that it would be relaxed and I could wash dishes casually and make money from it. However, the job is more closely related to hell. First, the kitchen I work in is super hot, muggy, and loud. All of the workers speak spanish, and while I do speak decent spanish, I am unable to understand their slang and lazy accents. To make it worse, I'm working in a rushed environment having to wash an absurd amount of dishes a minute, and i work in what is basically a pool of bleach water(I don't like inhaling bleach). Nobody in the kitchen is under 30 years old.

Anyways, long story short the job sucks blah blah blah. So, I want to know if it's alright for me to quit, with only having done a single 6 hour shift. If I quit this job, i'll most likely be able to find another one at a McDonald's or something.

Edit** It's a minimum wage job.

Peter_Browning
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  • Before assuming you will like e.g. MacDonald's better I suggest eating there and watching the workers. Are you able and willing to work at their pace? – Patricia Shanahan Aug 05 '18 at 20:32

2 Answers2

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Yes, you can quit. You will burn bridges with that particular restaurant, but otherwise you don't have to list this job on your resume or tell anyone that this ever happened.

And in my opinion, this decision would not define you as a "quitter". There's no need to make yourself miserable if you have better options. One might argue that the restaurant should improve its working conditions.

littleO
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    Having done my time in dishrooms (many moons ago), the description the OP gives doesn't sound particularly unusual. QSR work is always going to be rushed to keep up with customers, washing dishes requires lots of hot water (and therefore steam) so it will be hot and muggy. OP didn't mention anything that sounds like a health code or labour violation, so I'm not sure what they'd do to "improve conditions." There's a reason these jobs are regarded as bottom of the pile, after all. – Steve-O Aug 05 '18 at 21:09
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    QSR = Quick-Serve Restaurant, FYI. aka fast food. – Steve-O Aug 05 '18 at 21:11
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You can quit any job after one day. Whether you should depends on a many of circumstances. These include:

Will this hurt you getting another job?

If you live in a small town then everyone may know you quit after one day. Depending on your reputation and the restaurant’s reputation you may be better off finding another job before you quit. In a bigger place, this is not an issue.

Can you get a better job?

Since your are in high school its unlikely you have many skills or much experience to offer an employer. This means that your options are entry level low paying jobs. They are the jobs nobody else wants. The are all horrible. Any other job you get may as bad or worse that this one. Again, you may be better off looking for a better alternative before quitting this one.

Do you need the job?

Decide how necessary and important having a car is to you. Is it worth putting up with a horrible job?

I’ll skip the usual trite advice older people give to young people putting up with horrible jobs to build character.

Ben Mz
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