Summer Job Ideas for Teens
In today’s job market employment is higher than it has been in years. Naturally this affects those that are unskilled the most because competition for the available jobs is much stronger. The group that is affected most is those that would fall into the teenager category. If you fit into that group this is an article for you. Here I have compiled a list of different job ideas that you can create yourself.
1. Start a lawn-care business. I did this one summer and it was very rewarding. The easiest way to get started is to get the word out to everyone that you and your immediate family know. After you do jobs for them it is much easier to get referrals to people that they know. I would recommend that you work with at least one other person or the work will be pretty dull. Also I would recommend that you start off charging less and build up as you gain skill and referrals. I started out charging $17 an hour for the two of us, and ended charging $18-20 an hour for the two of us. You will find that people who want hard labor done are very willing to pay more if you do a good job. I did a stone deck project which was extremely labor intensive, and made $250 from about 22 hours of work in one week. The best part of this business was that I was able to work whenever I wanted and as much as I wanted. The people that I did work for were not in a huge hurry to get the projects done and were very pleased with the work that I did so it worked out perfectly. You can easy go away for a few weeks in the summer and do fine. Some examples of things I did were build decks, paint, trim, clean gutters, mow, weed, edge, and transplant.
2. Babysit- Good baby sitters that really engage with the children they are watching are not as plentiful as you might think. If you like hanging out with kids and getting paid then you have to establish a clientele. Work extremely hard at getting the kids to love you the first couple visits and you will become the family’s go to baby sitter. You will also find referrals a cinch to get. For the actual work that you do, babysitting can be a good money maker.
3. Play in a band- This is not something that you can count on getting together quickly, but if you already have a good band together why not try to get some gigs as small local venues? You may find that this is a fun way to make some cash, and if you are good you will have a decent amount of chances to play shows.
4. Wash cars- Many people hold fundraisers for car washes for high school clubs. Why not get creative and hold a car wash with your buddies to pay for college? If you are creative enough and plan it out well enough you may find yourself doing very well for a day’s worth of work.
5. Farm work– I am including farm work because it could not really be considered a regular job. Some examples of things you can do include baling hay, unloading the wagon into the barn, detasling, and various other jobs. None of this work will be easy. You will find yourself making good money for a day’s worth of work, but you will be exhausted. The bales are not light; you will learn that right away. It is a good experience though, and farmers usually will just recruit when they need people.
