8 Best Paying Jobs for Teens (First, Part-Time, Summer)

Teens gain some valuable lessons when they are allowed to work and earn money. A job doesn’t only provide high school kids with an income and sense of independence; it also allows them to acquire transferable skills, valuable work experience, and build confidence.

Earning money is also an excellent way for teens to learn about money because they are likely to view money earned quite differently than money given to them.

While they are many seasonal work options during the summer and lots of part-time jobs throughout the academic year, they don’t all have equal pay.

If you hope to get your kid to work a part-time or summer job, motivate them by pointing them to the best-paying jobs for teens. This article shares eight excellent job opportunities with high earning payouts, even for a first-time teen worker.

1. Lifeguard

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A lifeguard’s job comes with considerable responsibility, which explains why it tops as one of the best paying jobs for teens.

Teens need to be over 15 and are required to have CPR certification and complete water rescue training. The job involves a lot of sitting around waiting for something to happen. But it can entail high stress when something eventually comes up.

Teenage lifeguards can make roughly $20 an hour working at water parks, beaches, and lakes. However, the average pay could be a few cents less than $10 for teen lifeguards offering their services at a standard swimming pool.

2. Youth Sports Referee

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The demand for youth sports referees is steadily increasing with more young people participating in sporting activities.

Landing a part-time job as a youth sports referee requires training and certification. But it’s nothing difficult or time-consuming. In most cases, certification takes only one day for entry-level positions.

Teens age 13 and older can become refs, depending on the sports. The pay varies depending on location and type of sport and can range from $25 to $35 per game. With many sporting events taking place all year-round, teen referees can fit several games into their weekends to bring in more money.

3. Babysitter

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Babysitting is a perfect first-time job for teens and is usually not difficult to find. Many working-class parents need childcare, especially during summer.

Besides keeping an eye on children, babysitters may be required to help kids prepare for bedtime, bring them home from school, clean up play areas, or change diapers.  That’s a huge opportunity for teens to make good money while learning responsibility and life-long skills.

Teens can earn an average of $13 to $15 working as babysitters. During the academic year, high school students can choose to work part-time, offering their services only on weekends or evenings.

4. Lawn Caretaker

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With a lawnmower and string trimmer, teens can earn good money cutting grass, small weeds, and groundcover. High schoolers can fit this into their weekends and rake in some legit money.

Teens can earn an average of $12 an hour offering non-professional services, but the pay can go as high as $20 per hour.

Creating a stable income in the spring would mean working early to build a list of recurring clients. Teens can also target families that love vacationing, as these homeowners will need something to maintain their lawn while they are away.

5. Golf Caddy

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High school students hoping to play golf someday can start learning all about the game by applying for a caddy job. Teens working as golf caddies get the opportunity to learn golfing skills first hand from pros and adult players.

This job is most suitable for teens with physical stamina, as it requires carrying a bag or two full of golf clubs while doing a lot of walking across a golf course.

On the good side, it is one of the best paying jobs for teens, with only a handful of other options paying as much as it does.

Teenage golf caddies can rake in up to $120 carrying two golf bags for about four hours on an 18-hole course. That’s roughly $30 per hour, and that’s beside the tips caddies can get from generous players, which is just extra cash.

6. Prep Cook

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Here’s another excellent first-time job for teens with good pay. If your high school teen has a knack for food preparation or would like to develop good cooking skills, a prep cook is a great job choice.

Prep cooks work at the back of restaurants where food is stored, cooked, and dished out to customers. Their duties include making sauces, chopping vegetables, and preparing any other ingredient for line cooks and chefs.

Kids get hands-on training in food preparation and develop their cooking skills working as prep cooks. Teens can earn average pay of $12 an hour in this role.

7. Tutor

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Many parents need someone to tutor their kids during the longest break in the educational calendar. This makes tutoring one of the best-paying jobs for teens in the summer because of the high demand.

Parents want to avoid a slip in their kids’ performance during the 10-week (or thereabout) summer break look for the services of tutors. Others need to prepare kids for SATs or help those struggling with specific subjects.

The average hourly pay for a teen tutor is $21 and can be higher. The quickest way to land tutoring jobs this summer is for high school students to let teachers know they want to work as tutors.

Teachers can connect them with struggling students. It can also potentially be turned into an online job as well.

8. Construction Worker

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This is hard work, but with the potential to earn between $15 and $20 or more per hour, it certainly qualifies as one of the best paying jobs for teens. It is also considered a high-paying job for a teenager as well.

Starting at age 15 or 16, teens can apply to work as laborers in most construction sites without certification. The more labor-intensive a job is, the higher the pay.

Apart from the money teens can make (which can be quite a lot if they work throughout the summer), high schoolers hoping to pursue a career in civil engineering can gather valuable experience working at construction sites.

Featured image source: Pixabay