<p>Now that my son has decided to go to the expen$ive LAC, he's got to get himself a summer/after school job so he can pay for his books, his intravenous infusions of Starbucks, etc. next year. Yet it looks as if it's harder to get a summer job at Home Depot than it is to get into Harvard this year! Is anyone else biting their nails about whether their kid is going to find some gainful employment this summer? And does anyone have any tips?</p>
<p>Around here, lifeguards can always find jobs.</p>
<p>Getting a real job is tough these days. It’s like when I was a teenager in the late 70s, competing for jobs at Orange Julius and Ponderosa…I lost out to the 45 year old folks.
One Idea:<br>
Send out flyers in the neighborhood offering lawn mowing, mulching, dog sitting, power washing. Usually kids can do it at lower than professional rates and lots of folks out there are interested in saving $.
One kid in our neighborhood rented a power aerator and did lawns for about half what a professional charged. Another offered to pick up and drop off hazardous waste (paint, pesticides). Time to be creative…</p>
<p>It is like the late '70s, exactly! Don’t overlook camp jobs and jobs at amusement parks, etc. Summer-only jobs are not as appealing to adults.</p>
<p>Good ideas!! The boy is checking Craigslist and offering to tutor. Last summer we had a teenage girl tutor our other child. She was spending her summer babysitting, tutoring, and selling knives!</p>
<p>consider canvassing–they’ll always give you a shot. My S made about 4000 a summer doing that. I’d never do it in a thousand years, but for gregarious kids who believe in what they’re supporting (in my kids’ cases, local environmental causes), it can be a rewarding job with interesting co-workers.</p>
<p>I remember doing that . . . for one horrible day. Standing in the hot sun, drinking out of someone’s hose in the middle of nowhere . . . doors slamming. Bless your enterprising son!! You’re right, that is a great idea for a bold kid. I’ll bet he’ll go far.</p>
<p>Well, actually, my D did it first as a post-college job, and is still. She wrangled S into doing it as a summer job, then he took it up full-time after he took a college “break” .</p>
<p>I worked in a local hospital as a ward clerk. I think that they had trouble finding people for that kind of work due to the odd hours. There was a requirement to work weekends every other week if on the first shift. Second shift paid a little more and there was frequently more work available on the second shift.</p>
<p>I just saw an interesting job go by for next year: video editing for a high-school football coach.</p>
<p>How good is your kid at computers? Could s/he offer self up to tutor computers & tech support, say at a senior center? Neighborhood church? Those are things kids are perceived as great at, tho it does take expertise and patience. SuperGeeks or quivalent in your neighborhood may also be hiring.</p>
<p>My S has applied with the county parks department to do maintenance work at the public parks and pools. Not glamorous, but it pays! A friend of his did this last summer.</p>
<p>My daughters & I brainstormed a list of places that get a lot busier in the summer. The zoo, the waterpark, the parks & rec programs, ice cream parlor, movie theater, etc. </p>
<p>Also, a lot of people need a summer nanny for their elementary-school-age kids.</p>
<p>My D could not find any summer job last summer, she applied to about 30. She is working at her school during school year, so we decided not to waste time this year. If you heard horror stories about Detroit, we always consider Detroit having better job situation than us, and we still do. No chances for kids. Actually D’s previous summer job got killed by minimum wage going up, she never could find another summer job.</p>
<p>I have always thought my D could earn money by cleaning out the attic for me and selling stuff we don’t want anymore on ebay. :)</p>
<p>Our local Parks & Rec hasn’t had any new summer hires for two years. They keep hanging on to those jobs!</p>
<p>Back in the summer I got my first job, I had to apply to more than 120 places before I got anything. Now I think kids are going to have to do twice that! There are some good suggestions here. Keep 'em coming!</p>
<p>Try fast food and grocery stores.</p>
<p>The Census is hiring. My s took the test a few weeks ago and aced it but no call yet. Pay is pretty good - in the teens per hour in most places. That said, i read in USA Today that laid off wall st workers and lawyers are applying! Not good. Might be worth a shot though. </p>
<p>Try Kelly Services - they sometimes have temp light industrial jobs. OK if you don’t mind lifting. </p>
<p>The Local Y always hires lots of student during the summer. And the school district hires for landscaping/maintenance and gives priority to our local hs students/grads.</p>
<p>Have seen some posts where kids spent a great deal of time looking for and applying for scholarships. For some it paid off well. D always had sport conflicts and then when she graduated and was going to go to college out of the area, no one would hire her because they wanted someone who could stay on in the fall. Did lots of volunteering that summer. For many of the park jobs (USA jobs) you need to be at least 18. Try summer camps (usually 18 year old minimum as well) but some day camps will take 16 year olds. Family connections usually yield the best results. Niece had a great job babysitting for a family and they even took her overseas on vacation with them.
Try this site: [Summer</a> and Seasonal Job Resources for Teen Job-Seekers](<a href=“http://www.quintcareers.com/summer_job_sites.html]Summer”>http://www.quintcareers.com/summer_job_sites.html)</p>
<p>If he is a science kid, the NIH has been given a big infusion of Recovery $ that they need to spend right away, and they have a specific supplement for summer positions for HS and college students. These are new dollars, so there are positions available that were not open in Feb/Mar when most students are applying to labs. There is no centralized application process; one just has to contact lab heads and ask.</p>