<p>I'll be a senior in September and will be turning 17 then. The problem is right now, because for most of the summer jobs (mall jobs) require you to be mainly 18, some 17. The only places that hire 16 year olds are fastfood restraurants and I wouldn't be dead caught working there (I'm pretty well off, my parents are upper-middle class with Masters and Ph.D). All the summer internships for 16 year old are ultra competitive and require you to apply in January. </p>
<p>Same with a lot of the volunteer internships. I'm not going get a lot community service hours because a lot of the organizations won't give me any. I have about 80 hours of community service, but I know freshmen that have 100 hours of community service and other seniors with 250 hours of community service. I'm currently doing 2 hours a week of IT work at the library, but that's about it. I already applied to volunteer at hospitals, nature centers, art center, food banks, summer camps, but they never replied back to me. </p>
<p>I have a background in Visual Basic, Accounting, and Microsoft Office, but those skills are pretty worthless. I was thinking about tutoring, but nobody is willing to hire me. (If only I knew Java and Photoshop!)</p>
<p>BTW. I live in Michigan and the unemployment rate is one of the highest. There's a bunch of adults competing for jobs at Dairy Queen and grocery stores!</p>
<p>I'm not babysitting anyone or doing any landscaping, because of the regulations.
I can't be a life guard because I'm not a strong swimmer. I can't be a sports camp coach because I'm too much of a generalist to be superior at a single sport.</p>
<p>Are you into science? Many college professors invite high school students into their labs (unpaid, usually).</p>
<p>If all else fails, have foresight. You have such high demands for your jobs, yet you seem to have little to offer. Maybe try learning Java or Photoshop. Maybe train to become a strong(er) swimmer. Jobs with high demand are naturally going to be “ultra competitive.”</p>
<p>Throughout your post, you never mentioned what you’re looking for. What do you enjoy doing? For any interest, you’re bound to find something, even if it means you have to think outside of the box a little. Think about what you want to do, and then work from there.</p>
<p>Be more active in your search. Instead of just sending in a faceless application to places, go to them. Show that you actually want to work there.</p>
<p>Basically, stop saying you can’t do something. Not wanting and not being able to do something…two entirely different things.</p>
<p>Sounds like most of the jobs you could actually get are beneath you because you are “too well off”. Might as well just give up now and get mommy and daddy to increase your allowance.</p>
<p>Seriously though, get your head out of the ground. Your 16 years old. You have barely any marketable skills to present to employers, so you are basically stuck with bottom of the barrel retail/food service/lifeguard/landscaping jobs. I hated my first 2 jobs (food service and retail), but I needed the money so I sucked it up and worked them for 2 years combined during high school.</p>
<p>I live in Hawaii and it is so hard to get a job right now. I am 16 years old and have applied to McDonald’s, Jamba Juice, Aeropostale, and walked around and around the shopping mall and scoured the web for possible places to work at, but I feel hopeless that I will get a summer job. I have checked out bakeries, but they tell me that they have run out of job applications. I do not have a cell phone, so I do not know if the employer wants to interview me if the employer calls the home phone when I am not home. </p>
<p>You must be super happy that you are in the upper-middle class. I wish I was as lucky as you. </p>
<p>I suggest that you volunteer more. If you want an immediate response from volunteering organizations, go to the organization in person. Maybe you can start your own non-profit organization or create your own business. </p>