The Best Summer Job Ideas for Teens
Are you trying to come up with some summer job ideas for teens this year? If your teenage student is on summer break, I’m sure they will be thinking about all the fun and relaxing they want to do with friends during these next couple of months. Maybe they plan to hang out at the beach or even take off on a trip backpacking through the country with your friends after being locked up for most of the last summer. While summer break can be when teenagers make some of their favorite lifelong memories with friends, most teens are also looking for summer jobs so that they can earn some extra cash to pay for car expenses, all the fun they are having with friends, and of course, saving for college.
Summer Job Ideas for Teens
If your teen is feeling a bit lost when it comes to finding a summer job, take a look at this list of the best summer job ideas for teens below and help them get a jump start on the application process and on the right path to building up their savings account with some hard-earned money.
Camp Counselor
In the summertime, many schools and children’s clubs organize summer camps with the aim to teach new skills to children and give them a memorable summer activity. Such camps are always on the lookout for camp counselors, and this is where you can apply! If you think you have leadership qualities and are good with kids, you can search for camp counselor jobs online or through your neighborhood’s school.
As a camp counselor, you can significantly impact children’s lives, and you also get to spend a lot of time outdoors. Plus, the leadership experience will also look good on your college application.
Golf Caddy
It’s no surprise that rich people love to play golf, and you can capitalize on their enthusiasm for golf by becoming a caddy. If you don’t mind spending time outdoors and can quickly learn the basics of golf, you’ll make a great golf caddy. There may be a lot of walking involved, and those golf bags can be quite heavy with the weight of all the clubs inside them.
But the reward is greater than the burden, as you can easily expect to make anywhere between $50 to $100 per day by only caddying for a few hours. If you do a good job, you may also get tipped generously.
Salesperson
You must’ve seen many young people, especially teens, work in your nearby supermarkets, convenience stores, or retail shops. Like them, you can also make a decent income by applying for a summer job at your nearest store. You’ll be required to take inventory, stock shelves, help people with product selection, hand out samples, and also operate a cash register if needed. If you have amazing people skills, you’ll be really good at this job.
You can easily expect to make more than $10 per hour working as a salesperson, and the figure can really add up if you put in extra hours.
Restaurant Employee
The foodservice industry is one that never sees recession or downsizing, and that’s where you can start your first job. Working at a restaurant will expose you to multiple facets of the business. You can be tasked with numerous jobs, such as taking orders, clearing tables, working the register, preparing beverages, or even cooking. You can actually pick up some valuable skills as you work there.
The silver lining to working at any restaurant or café is that you can earn anything north of $10 an hour. All you need is to have a big smile on your face and impeccable people skills.
Lifeguard
If you love hitting the beach frequently, why not make a summer profession out of it? All beaches require lifeguards whose job is to protect people from any unfortunate incidents on the beach. However, this job requires a lot of determination and responsibility, so you should only go for it if you’re serious.
To apply for this, you need to be over the age of 15, and you’ll have to complete a couple of quick courses before you can work. But it’s a rewarding job that will pay you $9-10 an hour.
Gardening
It might sound unbelievable, but mowing people’s lawns and maintaining them brings in quite a lot of money! Gardeners are in high demand during the summer months, and you simply have to keep people’s gardens clean and tidy. If you do a bit of research, you can also learn how to plant flowers, which will help you earn even more money.
Another benefit to becoming a gardener is that you’ll get to spend time outdoors and attain physical fitness with all the lawn mowing and raking.
Nanny
If you’re great with kids, there’s another profession that can keep you busy for the summer break: becoming a nanny. These jobs are also high in demand and pay well, roughly $10-15 per hour. That’s a lot of money! Then again, there’s also a great responsibility on you, as you have to ensure the wellbeing of each child you’re looking after.
If you’re looking for a future career in teaching or becoming a social worker, working as a nanny will help get you into that character and also cause you to become more compassionate.
Freelancer
If you can write, design, edit, or create anything, then you can easily earn money, start your emergency fund, from the comfort of your home. To become a freelancer, you can sign up on relevant websites where people employ freelancers for temporary or long-term positions. However, you can only make an account if you’re aged 18 or higher.
The best thing about freelancing is that it’s more than a summer job, and you can also continue it with your studies if you want to keep earning some cash.
Intern
If you already have a road map of which career you want to pursue, then you can spend your summers as an intern for a company from the same industry. For instance, if you’re going to pursue a business degree, you can become an accounting firm or manufacturing business, intern. Not only will you earn money, but you also gain valuable practical experience from this.
The Summer Job Ideas for Teens Can Be Endless with A Little Passion and a Lot Of Hard Work
These are some of the most popular summer jobs for teens, and you can easily fit into any of these roles. Nowadays, it’s very straightforward to look for a summer job on the internet or social media. Otherwise, you can also find flyers or ads posted on countless stores and restaurants right now, I just walked along the beach last weekend and it seemed like every business was hiring season help.
Whatever they choose, let’s make the most of summer break this year. Happy earning!
Printable Job Application Tracker and Job Flyer
Use these Free Printables to help with your summer job search! The first is a Job Applications Tracker and the second is an odd a great flyer option for the teen enterpinuere who wants to get the word out about their landscaping, child care, etc, services. Download them here:
