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15 Part-Time Jobs for High Schoolers

Looking for ways to make extra cash? Looking to learn new skills? Are you parents encouraging you to apply for jobs? It can be helpful to know where you may want to work. If you’re not sure, we’ve compiled a list of the best part-time and summer jobs for high schoolers that are entry-level positions that require little or no prior experience.

As a student, your motivations may be largely financial. But what may seem like a mediocre, entry-level job will actually be the very start of your professional career. You will learn practical skills that will undoubtedly benefit you along the way even if you don’t connect any of these jobs with your career after graduation.

1. Server

If you’re looking for high-paying jobs for high school students, it’s hard to beat being a restaurant server, as tips make up for the low hourly rate. Just keep in mind that you likely need to be 18+ to serve alcoholic beverages, depending on where you’re located.

2. Receptionist

Front desk receptionists work in a variety of settings, but they’re almost always seated and air conditioned! Whether it’s at a gym, an office building, a hotel, or some other establishment.

3. Babysitter or Nanny

Many babysitting gigs are informal arrangements. This makes it the perfect job for enterprising high school students eager to earn some cash without committing to a steady part-time work schedule.

Find the right parents and those infrequent or irregular babysitting gigs might turn into a steadier job as a nanny — watching kids every day after school, perhaps, instead of a few hours every few weeks.

4. Social Media Consultant

Many brick-and-mortar businesses are looking for ways to connect to customers on social media — even locally. You can help businesses in your area by creating posts for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other networks, while also building your skills for your career post-high school.

5. Grocery Store Bagger

Grocery stores baggers are a popular first-time job. Grocery store baggers typically start at or near local minimum wage. Cashiers might earn a dollar or two more per hour.

6. Food Delivery Driver

If you’ve scored your license and just can’t get enough of driving, being a delivery driver for a local restaurant can make a good part-time gig. Plus delivery drivers are often able to collect tips.

7. Landscaping and Lawn Care Worker

Like babysitting, landscaping and lawn care offers opportunity for high schoolers seeking a flexible, informal, decent-paying work arrangement. Plus it can be easily scaled by stringing together multiple gigs. Landscaping requires more work to sell your services, but it’s a better experience for aspiring entrepreneurs than, perhaps, working at a grocery store.

8. Barista

Working as a coffee shop barista is a fairly low-stakes way to acquire the sorts of basic skills you’ll need to succeed in career-track jobs: teamwork, efficiency, time management, following instructions, and customer service.

9. Dog Walker/Pet Sitter

Like landscaping and babysitting, pet care services are a flexible, scalable, often informal gig that’s great for entrepreneurial high schoolers. Using social networks, flyers, or word of mouth are ways to grow your pet care services, but platforms like Rover.com can help you get started.

10. Camp Counselor

Opportunities abound at summer day camps and childcare programs for aspiring camp counselors are plentiful in the Summer. There’s options for students who may want to travel and attend overnight camps or day camps for someone who’d prefer not to spend an entire summer away from home. If you like working with younger kids and want to work in an environment where entry-level workers have real responsibilities, being a camp counselor is close to an ideal gig.

11. Retail Store Clerk

The retail industry is a good place to start. Retail jobs are typically plentiful and found in a variety of fields and industries. Plus, employee benefits often include discounts and more- picking a store you enjoy is just an added bonus!

12. Kitchen Worker

If you prefer to operate behind the scenes, working in a restaurant kitchen might be more your speed. Prepping ingredients, washing dishes, and keeping the kitchen operating may be your speed! The big downside here is that tips don’t reach the kitchen staff; entry-level back-of-house employees shouldn’t expect to earn much more than minimum wage.

13. Administrative Assistant or Office Clerk

As an administrative assistant you will organize files, make copies, drop off mail, and perform any number of other daily functions that keep the office organized and running smoothly.Most low-level office jobs require high school diplomas, but not all. Using job sites like WorkaPart can help you find admin opportunities you are eligible for.

14. Lifeguard

There’s no better place to spend summer than by the pool. Especially if you’re getting paid! Becoming a lifeguard will teach you many skills, and You will get the benefits of being qualified in lifeguarding, CPR, and First Aid all before your first day, all very handy skills to have.

15. Car Washer/ Attendant

Although many car washes are automated these days, most of them still need people to guide the cars onto the tracks and ring people up. Depending on the company though, you might also be physically washing and drying the exterior of cars.The experience of having a real job, even if it’s part time, can teach teenagers some valuable lessons about adulthood. WorkaPart encourages current and soon-to-be high school students to seek jobs of their own — and do their best to learn from those roles. Working part-time through high school affords some benefits such as: increased cash flow, less reliance on parents or other relatives for financial support, better money management skills, even a head start on the path to financial independence.

Why A “Real” Job Matters

The experience of having a real job, even if it’s part time, can teach teenagers some valuable lessons about adulthood. WorkaPart encourages current and soon-to-be high school students to seek jobs of their own — and do their best to learn from those roles. Working part-time through high school affords some benefits such as: increased cash flow, less reliance on parents or other relatives for financial support, better money management skills, even a head start on the path to financial independence.

(High School) Resumes: A guide

What’s A Resume and Do I Need One?

A resume might seem unnecessary when you’re still in high school, but it’s an important document you will use throughout your life to showcase your strengths. Beginning your resume now will make it much easier to update and maintain your resume over the next few years.

Resumes list your education, achievements, qualifications, work experience, skills, and awards. Some colleges and scholarship applications will require a resume, but all internships and jobs require at least a resume when applying.

Typically resumes are a page long and meant to show off your best skills in digestible sections. Your high school career has just as many important moments to document. It’s just a matter of identifying them.

High school resumes can include things like:

Education (High School), including your GPA
Clubs/Activities/ Hobbies
Achievements/Awards/Honors
Jobs

Your resume doesn’t have to include all of these sections, especially if they are not applicable. Avoid too much white space or unnecessary information. It’s all a matter of showing what you have accomplished and sharing your personality. Creating a 30-second video pitch on your WorkaPart profile will also give employers a better sense of who you are and what you enjoy, while allowing you to show your personality!

If you haven’t already, now is a good time to make a professional email address. Make it some combination of your first/middle/last name and tack on some numbers if necessary. This is the email you’ll want to use on your resume, when emailing potential employers, and for keeping your professional records.

Build Your Resume

To begin crafting your resume, you can build it from scratch or use templates on programs such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs. They’re already formatted and are generally accepted resume shapes, so it’s good to start with those.

If you are starting from scratch, building your resume from top to bottom is the easiest way to begin. At the very top, in the largest text size, should be your name. Then, your contact information. Be sure to include your professional email address, phone number, and general location.

The next section should be one of two options: either your high school information or your most recent job/internship experience. A quick tip for figuring out which you should choose is to determine what is more relevant to what you’re applying for. With little to no job experience, your high school education will likely come after your contact information.

For the high school section of your resume, include the full name of your high school, the town, and your expected graduation date. Include your GPA if it’s a 3.0 or higher and then make sure to highlight any special courses you take; AP, Honors, Dual Credit, and Electives are all great to document.

Next, including your extracurricular activities and other relevant experience will provide employers more understanding of your skills and interests!

Do you volunteer? Are you an athlete? Are you part of a club or organization? No one is expecting a student between the ages of 14-18 to have much (if any) work experience. What they are expecting is to understand your skills and capability for the job. List all of your activities, positions, and the duties that come along with them. If you’re a member of a group, don’t forget that attendance, participation, and dedication are worth mentioning.

There are a lot of ways to show your personality and skill sets. Here are a few you may not have thought of:

Babysitting
Mowing lawns
Pet sitting
Volunteering/ Community Service
Clubs, Extracurriculars, and Hobbies
School Projects

You can also choose to list some skills to conclude your resume. Typically, you’ll want to use a mix of soft and hard skills. Soft skills aren’t easily measurable. Examples include time management, communication skills, and/or leadership skills. Hard skills are measurable, such as language skills, the ability to use a program, like Adobe suite, and/or other software knowledge.

Put Your Resume To Use

Once your resume is complete, review and revise it to avoid as many errors as possible. It can be helpful to ask teachers, family, or mentors to review your documents before submitting. Too many overlooked grammatical errors, disorganization, and mistakes on your resume may prevent you from landing the job you want. Taking even more precaution and installing a program like Grammarly, a free typing assistant that reviews spelling, grammar, punctuation, and more.

One of the most challenging parts of a resume is building it. Thankfully, half the battle is finished! Now it is time to put your resume to use. Handing out your resume to local businesses or using job posting boards, such as WorkaPart, is the best way to begin your job application journey. Create an account on WorkaPart to find part-time jobs in your area. Don’t forget to be proud of what you’ve accomplished and show off your skills as you begin your job search!

7 Skills a Part-Time Job Will Teach You in Your Teens

The experience of having a real job, even if it’s part time, can teach you some valuable lessons about ‘real life’.

Here are some life truths that a part-time job is guaranteed to teach you;

1. Value of a dollar

When you start earning your own money, you will gain a better understanding of how much a dollar is worth. And it’s easy to equate things to “hours worked” when it’s your earned money instead of your parent’s cash. You will begin to truly understand money and what it takes to earn it (and save it!).

2. Budgeting

For me, work began as a way to make extra spending money and I didn’t have any bills, until I was preparing to get my license! When I learned about the cost of car insurance, gas, and other vehicle expenses, I began to save my paychecks and watch where I spent my money. Balancing my paychecks and saving my money felt good.

3. Taxes & Deductions. Where does it go?

The day you get your first paycheck is an exciting one…but it often feels long overdue because you’ve likely been working for a few weeks already! Then, the amount of money being withheld from your paycheck may concern you, because ‘how can they really take that much?!’ You may find yourself more interested in taxes and the leaders in your community to make sure your money is being used correctly.

4. Responsibility

Being a good student takes a lot of responsibility but if you learn how to balance school studies/activities and a part-time job, you will learn the true meaning of responsibility. 99% of life is “showing up” even when you don’t want to. There are days that you just don’t want to work, but days that you just have to.As you grow older, your amount of responsibilities will only increase so learning how to multitask at an early age will better prepare you for the future.

5. Not Everyone Will Be Your Friend

No matter your industry, You’ll likely learn how to be polite, deal with the public, and handle all types of people. While not everyone on your work team is destined to be your best friend, you do have to communicate and collaborate effectively with them.

6. Interpersonal Skills

As a student, it is easy to find jobs in hospitality and retail, which are both mainly customer-facing industries. You’ll be forced to interact with lots of people that you wouldn’t normally talk to. As a result, you’ll learn to be more comfortable around others. Learning how to interact with different personalities is an essential skill in all types of jobs.

7. Work Experience

A part time job provides the work experience that high school, college and post-graduate students so desperately need. Part-time jobs prepare you for the structure of the workplace, such as working under a supervisor and with co-workers, as well as how to be professional regardless of the work environment.