10 Jobs Teens Can Have Right Now

It’s almost summertime again and the one thing on most teen minds is, “I need a job.”  In today’s economy there are many adults out there saying the same thing.  It’s especially hard these days for kids to find jobs. 

To clarify, it’s not the jobs that teens want, it’s the money.  School is out in most places and most teens don’t want the burden of having more structure and more responsibility, they only want the money so they can have fun with their friends and enjoy their summer vacation.     

This isn’t a catch-all statement for teens.  There are teens who legitimately want to work and help their families but these teens are finding it harder and harder to compete with the masses of unemployed adults seeking jobs today.

There are many jobs out there that are suited for teens and younger kids, with parental permission of course. Some jobs require a little ingenuity and some require a little sweat equity. Below is a list of jobs that require little skill and a lot of perseverance.

1) Tutoring

Many teens are academically successful. They can use their success by helping tutor young children that are having trouble in a subject they are strong in. Offering a tutoring service is a great way to earn money. Many parents prefer having their children tutored by teens instead of expensive retail tutoring services. Besides the costs of the retail places, the children sometimes feel more comfortable and less threatened by younger individuals. Find more informatin on offering a home tutoring service here.

2) Parent Helper

Unlike a babysitter, stay at home moms and dads hire young teens to do nanny type of work. These teens help keep the young children in the house occupied by playing with them or other things so that the stay at home parent can do other household chores. Some of the teens even help with the household chores helping with such things as laundry, dishes, and vacuuming. They can also help prepare lunches or other meals.

3) Window Washing

Providing a window washing service can be a very rewarding opportunity for some teens. The one chore most people hate doing around the house, besides laundry, dishes and vacuuming, is washing their windows. For one, it’s a lot of work. Most homes have many windows per room and to do it right each window can take as much as 10 to 20 minutes to clean, if you are cleaning the inside and outside of the windows. An added benefit is when homeowners see the teens hard work, they are likely to offer additional household chores…for a fee of course.

4) Yard Worker

Some of the younger teens may prefer sticking with what they know best, yard work. Providing a yard work service can be a year round venture in some location. Teens can offer services such as raking leaves, mowing grass, shoveling snow, weeding gardens and trimming hedges. In some locations time can be in favor of yard workers. In the hurricane regions of the southern US, homeowners need to prepare their yards and their homes when a storm is approaching. Cleaning the yard and stowing away lawn ornaments and furniture can be a daunting task, or service provided by an enterprising teen.

5) Pet Caretaker

Summertime is when most families take their vacations. Unfortunately, most families must leave the family pet or pets behind. Teens can offer a pet caretaker service to families that are either going on vacation, and to those pet owners that have to spend most of their day away from home and away from their pets. Some of the services teens can provide are pet sitting, grooming, walking, feeding, and cleaning up after them. Teens can provide a service that will cost the pet owner a lot less than what a professional boarding service would.

6) Car Washer

Here is a service teens can provide for their family and neighbors. The teens provide their own bucket, sponge and car wash solution and the car owner provides access to their garden hose. People are busy and don’t always have the time to get their vehicles washed so teens can provide the service for them. Older teens, with access to their own vehicles can also provide a car washing service to local used car dealers. Most of the larger new car dealerships have contracts with car washing service providers, but that doesn’t mean an enterprising teen or team of teens can’t come up with a competitive edge to win those contracts.

7) Umpire/Referee

In many suburban and city locations, local sports organizations are nearly always shorthanded when it comes to officiating games. Most of these organizations will hire teens to perform the officiating as umpires and referees. Youth baseball, softball and soccer organizations need these officials and will provide the training necessary to get the job done. Compensation in some locations can be as much as $25 per game and some teens can official 3 games on a weekend. The drawback to this service is having to deal with temperamental parents. Knowing the game and having leadership skills is key to success as a teen umpire or referee.

8) Lifeguard

This is a job that is always in demand…by teens. Water Parks and local pools and beaches are always in need of lifeguards at the beginning of the season. These positions fill pretty quickly and there is rarely an opportunity for on the job training. The key is to be prepared and that means getting the training prior to the summer season. A good place to get lifeguard training is at your local YMCA. If there is no YMCA near where you live then contact your local chamber of commerce and they may be able to provide a location where lifeguard training is offered.

9) Advertising

Enterprising teens can offer an advertising service to local businesses. The service would call for the teen to create a sign or poster or board and physically display them on busy street corners. They do this to drive traffic to the business. This is best done when there is a small group of teens, no more than 4, lending a hand. A group gives the appearance of importance and causes curiosity.

10) Internet & Computer Training

Every adult knows that most teens these days are experts on navigating the internet. Teens can provide a training service to thousands of adults and seniors that are just now discovering the excitement of being online. Training how to use search engines, how to use email, how to navigate to websites are tasks that seem “Greek” to most seniors. Even the basics of setting up a computer or home network can be difficult to those who know nothing about computers.

Getting these jobs isn’t that tough.  Of course the best advertising is word of mouth.  Teens should ask their parents to spread the word among their coworkers and friends.  They can make flyers and distribute them to their neighbors or post them at the local library.  They can also post an add offering their services on Craigslist.  The jobs are out there, you just have to let people know you’re willing and available.  Get the jobs then get the green!