Do your teens have paying jobs?

[Pegasus]

I'd be interested in hearing what sorts of paying jobs your teens hold or have held in the past. I'm especially interested to see what sorts of things pop up beyond the usual yard work, babysitting, or fast food gig.

 

Thanks!

Pegasus

[AngelaNYC]

Dd(18) started working at 15y/o.

 

First at a pizzeria (1 year)

Then a health food juice bar place (1.5 years until that location closed)

Then a laundromat (lasted about 4 months, she hated it)

Then the owner of the health food asked her to "come back home" and work in the other 2 locations. She's still there and loves it.

[Laura in CA]

16yo son (at ps) has a typical job, at JCPenney's. Actually it's not "typical" -- he's one of the few high-school kids there. In addition, he was just hired this week for summer job working for an "energy center" in Berkeley (helping people save energy through making changes in their household) -- this will fit really nicely with the AP environmental science class he's taking next year.

 

15yo son (homeschooled) generates websites for local businesses and individuals (for free, but many of them insist on paying him) and is helping his Greek & Roman Lit tutor format the book he's writing (apparently a reasonable number of older folks are willing to pay kids to help them with the intricacies of newfangled technology!). He also tutors AP Computer Science and AP Calculus, which he took last year and aced. And .. he's earning 2-3x per hour what his big brother is, since his "skill set" is more specialized.

 

But I'm thrilled that both my sons are learning so many things -- discipline, customer service, getting along with co-workers and superiors, how he *doesn't* want to work at JCP the rest of his life, the value of a dollar, etc. (It was an eye-opener for my older son to realize how many hours he had to work to fill up the gas tank of his truck. :lol: He's now in the market for a fuel-efficient vehicle -- which he'll pay for with his earnings. :001_smile: )

 

They've done the yard-work thing, and enjoyed it when it was with friends; but it certainly is hard physical labor. And neither has any interest in babysitting kids who aren't relatives!

 

~Laura

[Thea]

My 18 yo has had a really tough time finding paid work. She is in her 5th year volunteering with the zoo and her 3rd year doing an unpaid internship at her dance studio.

 

Even with that experience, she did not even get a call after filling out applications for every business in town and the town just north of us.

 

However, I have a friend who manages a small adult assisted living facility and dd was able to get on there (after turning 18) for 6 hours a week. It's not much, but it's a start.

 

My ds started being a paid soccer referee for our local recreational soccer league two years ago (12). He works steadily through the fall.

[regentrude]

DD does not have a paying job.

She has designed websites, but got paid in riding lessons, not money. She is webmaster for her barn and the local equestrian association.

She tutors physics at the university, but they can not formally hire her because she is not a full time student.

She tutors math, but does not charge the student because she is a friend.

 

So, she uses skills that under different circumstances could generate money, but do not for her.

[Jen in NY]

My dd has been teaching private piano lessons for almost 3 years.

She also has a part time job at the local library... between 10 and 13 hours a week, lately. I <3 our library... they go out of their way to help the kids (most of whom are holding down their first job) know how to act professionally by modeling excellent workplace behavior. It has been wonderful.

[laughing lioness]

Older dd's have both been barista's- one at Starbucks and one at a locally owned shop. Oldest also worked at a gardening center.

Ds is currently a farm hand- feeds and cares for baby cows. He also helps our friend hay 3 long days in the summer if he is home.

Edited April 9, 2012 by laughing lioness

[Night Elf]

My oldest dd worked at an Asian cafe for 2 years in a mall complex. It was a step above fast food. She also worked for a short time at a gelato shop and a Haagen Daaz. She loved all of the jobs, but she had to leave the gelato shop because she got mono and couldn't work for a month, and the manager at the Haagen Daaz was simply a crazy lady.

[tex-mex]

When I was my son's age (16), I was already working p/t with babysitting, pet sitting, cleaning homes once a week, and working at a movie theater eating my wages in free hot dogs and nachos. ;)

 

That being said, my teen has Asperger's Syndrome and social skills are key. So we are having him develop job responsibility by volunteering with the city library and local organizations. He is learning punctuality and professionalism. His semester at the library is ending and we are having him volunteer for the summer also. Hopefully these skills will have him step into a p/t job by next Spring. He gets stressed out easily so we have our eyes out for a job down the road that fits the bill for him. HTH.

[Photo Ninja]

DS - lifeguard and assistant swim team coach at a gym.

DD - teach swim lessons at a swim school, year round.

DS - media department at church, filming and editing videos.

 

Of course, then they went to college and two have not been able to find jobs because they are in a college town that doesn't offer many jobs, and the jobs that are there go to the returning college students instead of to new students.

 

My dd earns money selling plasma. She is now considering that her income source.

[Guest Mom of Boys]

My 15 yo son works at the neighboring farm. They own the produce store in town. He helps in the greenhouses, fields, mowing, painting, etc. He works anywhere from 4-16 hours a week depending on the season, weather, and what they need done. He doesn't work at all in the winter. He started last spring when he was 14.

[Karenciavo]

ds17 works at a movie theater. Great benefits. Free movies for the whole family, free pop corn and drinks :thumbup:

[FrogMom5]

Oldest ds works as a Scout camp counselor in the summers. It's not much pay but it is good leadership training and work experience. During the school year, he does volunteer work at our church thrift shop.

Denise

[4wildberrys]

DD did odd jobs here and there until she graduated. The job 'opportunities' are few and far between in our small town, and usually kids get hired because they are 'known'. As homeschoolers, we are basically unknown in our public school sports obsessed town. Ds has applied many different places for weekend work and has not gotten one call back so far in over a year. His friends of the same age work as parking attendants at the local ski hill, but the drug use by all of them is so extreme, he is NOT allowed to even think about it! Our business is finally picking up, so he will most likely be helping out in our office soon.

[Lizzie in Ma]

Not as yet, hard for a 15 year old to get hired around here.

She has a balloon animal business that she gets a few gigs from here and there.

And last year and this one she is a junior intern at Old Sturbridge Village. No pay but I give her 2 credits a year by Carnegie unit in Colonial Studies/US history and she earns it in spades. I am always amazed by how much she has learned.

[ereks mom]

ER worked part-time at the county prosecutor's office during 11th & 12th grades. He worked closely with the local domestic violence advocate, sat in on victims' interviews, administered drug tests to defendants, went to court with the prosecutor as an assistant, and entered case notes into the computer. He didn't make a lot of money--he only made a little more than minimum wage and only worked about 8-10 hours a week, but it was a great educational experience for him! He got to see the consequences of getting into trouble with the law without actually breaking the law himself. He still works there sometimes when he's on break from college, and will likely work there this summer after college graduation until he secures a full-time job elsewhere.

 

EK has volunteered as the director's assistant with the local community children's theater, and she works for pay as the director's assistant at children's theater camps for a few weeks each summer.

Edited April 7, 2012 by ereks mom

[Cathy in TX]

18 yo dd has worked as a U. S. history tutor at our local community college for the past three regular semesters. She had a job as a companion to a mentally handicapped teen last summer. 15 yo son just got a job as a lifeguard for this summer. Last summer he worked on a farm building fence, working cattle, and doing foundation work for a concrete slab.

[Rita]

DS (17) has been a life guard for the past 2 years. He also has worked at the Boy Scout camp an hour from us as a life guard in the summer (he worked 2 weeks last year, and will be working for 8 weeks straight this summer)

DS (15) has worked at a horse barn on and off for 2 years.

Rita

[Halftime Hope]

Ds volunteered doing tech crew at our church beginning when he was 13, and by the time he was 17 had worked his way into a paying position as the lead audio guy. He continued volunteering (literally) thousands of hours, but the job paid for Sunday mornings only, similar to the way one would pay an accompanist. He then worked tech at a summer camp the summer he graduated, and finally got a part/full-time job working at a high end car audio and home theater place, depending on what time of year it is. It takes an act of congress though for him to get time off, cuz it's a mom and pop business. :glare:

 

Dd has done pencil portraits for $, worked at an amusement park doing henna, hair wraps, and face-painting, done fast food, and an on-campus office job, plus the obligatory summer job at camp one year.

 

We have a CFA (fast food) near our house, and ds2 started going in asking for a job when he was 15. He kept going back in, over and over, until they gave him a job just after his 16th b-day. He's been there a year, enjoys the people and the company's reputation for customer care; they are good about scheduling and have offered him the next step up in responsibility, so he's happy working there. (This is my kid who doesn't have "a passion" other than being a dad and husband some day, so it's good he has this way to make a buck.)

[Caroline]

My 17 year old is the house goal keeper for a soccer complex. They have adult leagues playing there, and many of the men just don't want to play keeper. So my son hangs out there and jumps in when a team wants to borrow a keeper. He also plays for one of the teams. He gets free registration and free instruction by a couple of former EPL players, a current MLS player, and a few former national team players. So I guess it doesn't really pay cash, but it pays for all of those things so I don't have to. (It paid cash formerly, but I worked it out with the owner to just barter for services.) He has a blast, gets his homework done (and getting history from the English players is always a bonus), and has really grown up. It has been an incredible experience for him. It also got him good enough to play for his high school team, even though he has played rec ball all his life.

[DesertDweller]

Dd just started working at a movie theater. So far, she has trained/worked as an usher, ticket taker and concessions. She works about 20-26 hours a week. As someone else mentioned, free movies are a great benefit.

 

Ds started working over the summer when he was in high school. He first worked at a manufacturing company cleaning up oil around the machines and any other odd jobs they had for him. His second summer he worked for an electrician as a helper.

 

When he turned 16 he worked at a grocery store. He started as a bagger, moved to cashier, then customer service and after a couple years was promoted to dairy manager. He's not there any longer, but it was great experience for him in so many ways.

[Moira in MA]

dd1 never held a paying job until college -- she's now working as a research assistant translating medieval Latin for an English prof - great benefits! Her own carrel at the library.

 

dd2 started working for The Food Project (thefoodproject.org) at 16 and has continued through their program. This summer she's been hired as an assistant crew leader! She is psyched!!!

 

~Moira

[ZooRho]

lifeguarding for both.

 

my oldest also did quite a bit of swim lessons for kids too.

 

for my oldest this has just turned into a full time job with man's wages. He is now working full time for the pool company that he had worked at as a teen lifeguard. It is really a great job. He is enjoying it so far.

 

youngest has had the best deal of his life. He has a dog watching job every day at lunch he lets the neighbor's dog out and now takes care of her trash too. she pays him $100 a month.

 

Oh and in college oldest did tutoring both at the college and for the local community school kids.

[Kareni]

My dd earns money selling plasma. She is now considering that her income source.

 

Ouch!

 

 

My daughter worked for three summers during high school at a youth farm owned by the local food bank planting, growing and harvesting organic vegetables. Teens (especially at-risk and low income) work the farm under supervision. The first summer my daughter was a crew member, the second summer she was a crew leader, the third summer she co-managed their farm stand.

 

One summer, she also tutored a homeschooled fourth grader in math.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Elinor Everywhere]

I'd be interested in hearing what sorts of paying jobs your teens hold or have held in the past. I'm especially interested to see what sorts of things pop up beyond the usual yard work, babysitting, or fast food gig.

 

Thanks!

Pegasus

 

My 14yo has a paying job. She works two days a week at a local church (not ours) cleaning the children rooms. She vacuums, sterilizes toys, etc. When she has finished the cleaning for the week, she helps the preschool director get materials ready for the upcoming Sunday sessions.

 

She LOVES her job, and gets above minimum wage at $8.50 an hour. She saves 1/2 her income for future uses (car, college, etc) and donates 10% to whatever charity or organization she wishes. The remaining 40% is hers to spend or save. She recently bought herself an iPad 3 after saving that 40% for months. I'm very proud of her!

[southcarolinamom]

My son started lifeguarding during the summer at 15. This will be his 4th summer lifeguarding. Making about $9.50 an hour.

 

He also is studying to be a personal trainer at a local gym. His certification test is next month. The local gym starts their personal trainers at $20 an hour. :D

 

 

My daughter has worked as a barista / gourmet ice cream cone maker / fast food type jobs since she was 15. She also babysits and works in our church nursery on Tuesday mornings during ladies Bible study time.

[Gwen in VA]

Jobs during the school year --

* Fife and Drum Corps (16-20 hours -- and yes, it's for pay)

* Sailmaking at a sail loft (8 hours per week -- and yes, it's the coolest high school job ever!) :D

 

Jobs during the summer --

* Seamstress at costume shop of local historical museum (35 hours per week)

* Sailmaking (40+ hours per week)

* Fife and Drum Corps (close to 40 hours per week)

* Costumed interpreter at local historical museum

* Cousellor at local history day camp

[AK_Mom4]

DS20 worked as a life guard until he left for college.

 

DD18 worked fast food for a bit. Now she sells underwear. She works part-time at a bra/underwear shop as a fitter and also works the cash register. It's a good job and she has the best looking underwear of anyone I know!

 

DS16 has worked every summer as an umpire since he was 12, making $20-25 a game, 3-4 games a week. Excellent money! He wants to work at the Boy Scout camp this summer, but if he doesn't get on there, he plans to look around for something earn some $$, since he gets to inherit the clunker his sister is driving when she leaves for college this fall. He plans to put some "upgrades" in - like a working stereo.....

[MamaT]

My 18yo son is working as a gymnastics coach. He got too tall to compete well, and turned to coaching. He loves it, is being trained to coach higher levels by an Olympic coach, and makes considerably more than minimum wage. He has changed his college plans in order to keep working there.

 

He also works for my dh in our business about 8 hours a week, and his 15yo sister is about to take over his hours there. We are blessed to have a family business to employ our teens.

[Candid]

ER worked part-time at the county prosecutor's office during 11th & 12th grades. He worked closely with the local domestic violence advocate, sat in on victims' interviews, administered drug tests to defendants, went to court with the prosecutor as an assistant, and entered case notes into the computer. He didn't make a lot of money--he only made a little more than minimum wage and only worked about 8-10 hours a week, but it was a great educational experience for him! He got to see the consequences of getting into trouble with the law without actually breaking the law himself. He still works there sometimes when he's on break from college, and will likely work there this summer after college graduation until he secures a full-time job elsewhere.

 

 

 

Can you elaborate on how he got this job? It doesn't seem one that would appear anywhere a teen could get to it. So I assume there must be some other way he got there.

Edited April 10, 2012 by Candid

[Candid]

 

My dd earns money selling plasma. She is now considering that her income source.

 

Blood? Not the fourth state of matter? I was going to be very impressed by the second until another poster made me realize what you meant. (Too many Star Trek episodes for me.)

[speedmom4]

My older daughter teaches piano lessons to about 11 people, adults and children. It's a pretty good gig because she wants to pursue music in college and she's earning pretty good money.

 

Elise in NC

[katiejane]

My son (16) has done panneling work for a radio station. He has worked at an ice cream shop and done office work at a gym.

 

My D 15 is just about to start her first job at the gym where Ds worked.

[Murphy101]

YES! After some considerable frustration with no one willing to hire teens, my oldest has a real paycheck paying job. It is seasonal, but he hopes it either turns permanent or becomes a good reference for a permanent job when the season is over. He is working about 35 - 38 hours a week in the evenings in the landscaping dept of a hardware store. Hard work, but he is enjoying it so far.

 

And the reality of how few bills his paycheck is paying is a huge motivator to continue to do well in school too. I think he had about $30 of his first paycheck left. But he is thrilled to have $30 he didnt have before, so it's all good.

[Beth S]

Both dd and ds became tutors at our local community college while dual-enrolled high school students.

 

Ds also does Jane Austen/Regency-style Dance Instruction for various birthday parties, homeschool and church events.

 

Dd created custom jewelry both for a local gift shop and for gifts for friends.

 

Pet care, lawn care, babysitting are usual options.

 

Dd also volunteered at our local hospital which helped confirm her interest in nursing school. (Ideally their jobs should help them decide their future course of vocation or college study.)

[StaceyinLA]

Oldest dd, as a teen, worked at a grocery store as a cashier, then at a spa as a receptionist. Once she started college in BR, she worked at a title company doing work with the microfilm. While going to her CMA school she worked as a bartender. Now (she decided she doesnt like working for doctors) she is managing a local clothing boutique.

 

Second dd worked at a hair salon as a shampoo girl, at a local, more high-end fast food restaurant, and at an actual restaurant. Now of course, she is working at being a housewife and raising my grandson, and doing a fine job I might add!

 

Third dd has worked as a nanny, at the same restaurant as dd #2 (at the same time in fact), at a dance clothing shop, and now, while going to cc p/t, she works f/t as a dental assistant.

 

Ds worked last spring at the concession stand at the ballpark for a friend of the family. They also worked LSU games selling Italian ice. As soon as he turned 16 he went to work at the fast food place dd #2 used to work at (and actually, I have several nephews who work for the same company). The place is called Raising Cane's. It was started in Louisiana, and only sells fried chicken fingers made from never-frozen, boneless, skinless breasts. They do fries, Texas toast, coleslaw, and a special Cane's sauce. That's the full menu. It has been a great place to work. They treat the employees wonderfully, have holidays off, throw parties for the workers, etc. They also do some college incentives like matching funds and stuff. I think DS will stay on here through college.

 

The Cane's franchise is spreading rapidly. I highly recommend it as a great place for teens to work if one comes up in your area!

[Gwen in VA]

Ds also runs his own company building high-end stunt kites. He got into kite-building as a hobby and at this point he has --

 

* learned how to keep books

* learned how to deal with nasty tax forms

* learned how to create a website, complete with a shopping cart!

* learned how to sub-contract some of the work so the company can continue while he heads to college next fall

* learned how to negotiate / deal with customers of all kinds

* learned a lot about procurement and inventory management

* dealt with getting a business license and all of the legal requirements

* learned a lot about entrepreneurship and running a small company!

 

For a motivated kid, I strongly suggest encouraging a kid to start his/her own company! It has been one of the most educational parts of his high school experience!