The Brickyard Summer of 1957 (2008)
That is an honest to goodness “walk into the office and give the manager a firm handshake” story.<p>I guess the perception is that in the ‘50s there was work available for those who wanted it and big rewards (a car), for those who carried through. I don’t know how common these experiences actually were, or if there is selection bias, but my parents generation impressed on me that this was a common lived experience.<p>I can’t imagine now, or anytime in the last 15 years, a teenager being able to walk into an office and be expected to show up and work the next day in a hard industrial job. Now what they will hear is either “we don’t hire anyone under 18” or “apply online” and sit idle in a holding pattern till they’re needed. Modern suburban homes (common for the middle class) are far away from the productive centers of the city and car ownership is a requirement for servicing basic needs, such a getting groceries. Access to <i>reliable</i> transportation is a requirement for attaining jobs, so it’s a bit of a catch-22 if you’re young and looking for work in 21st century America.<p>I may be going on a limb here, but the days this story is from are long gone and cannot be used as a template for today’s youth. The best bet for being middle class, if you’re young, is to educate your self as fast as possible, and as cheaply as possible. Spend time in high school taking AP classes to take the AP tests to circumvent many gen-ed requirements, do extracurricular activities to look good to colleges and on scholarship applications. Graduate in three years to keep from accumulating too much debt. Do summer internships to have a job to go to after you graduate, and don’t waste time with the summer job that will pay you minimum wage.