Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Teenager Jobs that Pay Well

When we think of jobs for teenagers we tend to think of minimum wage jobs at fast food joints. Back when my older son was first refereeing house league basketball, he dreamed of getting a “real” job in fast food to make more money. What he didn’t realize was that his refereeing gig paid more per hour.

My younger son is now refereeing house league basketball and gets $60 to referee four 45-minute games on Saturdays. There are 45-minute gaps between games for the teams to run a practice, and so he has to be there for a total of 5 hours 15 minutes.

You can think of this as either $20/hour during the time he actually works or $11.43/hour for the full time he has to be there. Even $11.43/hour looks pretty good when you get three 45-minute paid breaks. And running up and down a basketball court is a whole lot more enjoyable than flipping burgers.

I’m interested to hear from readers if they have other ideas for good jobs for teenagers that pay better than a “real” job.


  1. The alternate question is, do you want a teenager with a lot of money? Having a job that doesn't pay well and you don't like much, can be very useful on cold University nights, when you can't motivate yourself, just remember heaving large bundles of Yellow Page books up 4 flights of stairs, your motivation returns quickly.

  2. Self employment can be a way to make some money as a teen - babysitting, shovelling driveways, walking dogs, yardwork, and so on. There is more work involved with getting a good self-employment situation set up, but if you can negotiate a decent fee for your services, get a few good customers to start off with, and do a good enough job that you get some word of mouth advertising, you can make good money.

  3. Dillon: Apart from walking dogs, all the things you listed are jobs that I got when I was young. Unfortunately, I never earned as much as minimum wage doing them. Maybe a better approach could have earned me more money.

  4. Some of this depends on temperament. Your sons are focused enough to handle the rigours of refereeing. They are also willing to make mistakes that could affect a game involving emotionally charged players, coaches and fans.

    I remember a story on the news about a Winnipeg soccer referee getting chased to his car and punched by angry soccer players.

    I was in a softball league once that required us to ump a neutral game occasionally. I always feared close calls, and was happy when the game was a blowout.

  5. Nice point - there's plenty of jobs out there for teens that follow their interests rather than just flipping burgers or making sandwiches.

    Along with refereeing sports, they can also lifeguard lakes/pools in the summer, intern for a local small business, or mow lawns.

  6. Regardless of the amount of $, what you want a teenager to get out of that first job is the work ethic - My first employer called it "get up, show up, cowboy up" when I worked for him on the dairy farm.

    That self motivation to get there and do what you are told and do it to the best of your ability will be what you need to for success for the rest of your life

  7. Old Car Buff: I agree with the need for teenagers to develop a work ethic. However, I also think it's important for teenagers to learn how to figure out the financial benefits of the work they do. This involves taking into account the money they get, the time they spend, and expenses incurred.

  8. I filled my summers as a teen with odd jobs such as grounds keeping, building cleaning, and clearing land. These were great in teaching me that I could make a lot of money for my hard work.

    Another series of good jobs I had was as an Air Cadet. In the Cadets all services (Army, Air, Sea in Canada) have summer camps. You go for 2-6 weeks of training but while you are there you normally get paid a small stipend. They were paying me to train in things I was interested in, how sweet is that.

    The Cadet system is a great deal for any youth wanted to give their resume a boost. Before I had "real job experience" it was always a topic of interviews when the interviewer read that I had my Pilot License.