Working during school breaks is a great opportunity for teenagers to earn money and maintain their independence. Summer jobs can help you earn extra income, reduce college tuition costs and corresponding student loan burdens, build practical experience for future careers, and provide opportunities that may not be available during the school year.
The hardest part is deciding what you want to do. Do you want to work outdoors? With people? Or with animals? Once you figure that out, you’ll find that almost any summer job aligned with your interests can meet your needs.
As a high school student, you might feel you lack the necessary experience for a good job. However, there are plenty of entry-level positions suitable for high school and college students that offer decent pay—with even more opportunities available over the summer. Below are some of the best options.
Top Summer Jobs and Opportunities for High School Students
Many summer jobs and employment opportunities for young workers also serve as ideal year-round part-time roles for high school students. Some pay only slightly above minimum wage, while others offer surprisingly high salaries—some even provide health insurance benefits for part-timers.
1. Babysitter/Nanny
Good babysitters are not easy to find. As a parent, I’ve seen both sides of babysitting: there are super reliable ones I trust to be on call and handle anything the kids throw at them, and there are surprisingly mediocre ones I’d never hire again. Reliable babysitters don’t just earn money—they can earn a lot of it.
The pay is also decent. According to data from Sittercity, the average hourly rate for babysitters in the U.S. in 2023 was approximately $21.50. In some cities, the average hourly rate is even higher, reaching $25 or more. Babysitters with family-approved certifications (such as CPR certification and a driver’s license) can demand higher pay, as can those caring for multiple children at once.
2. Camp Counselor
Do you enjoy outdoor activities like camping, hiking, or sports? Do you also like supervising and guiding kids? If so, a summer camp counselor role is perfect for you.
Summer camps exist across the country, covering nearly every activity you can imagine—so you’ll likely find one that matches your interests exactly. If you don’t mind being away from home for a few weeks at a time, you can choose a residential summer camp, which typically offers free room and board, opportunities to socialize with other counselors after hours, and plenty of outdoor leisure activities on days off. Alternatively, you can work during the day and sleep in your own bed as a day camp counselor.
Camp counselor positions are definitely entry-level, but employers may prefer or require candidates to hold safety certifications like CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) and basic first aid. Considering most camp counselors work only 8 to 12 weeks a year, the median annual salary (around $36,000, according to Glassdoor) is quite good.
3. Landscaper and Lawn Care Worker
Nothing says “summer” like mowing lawns on a sunny day. If you don’t mind spending a few hours a week moving around your own yard, why not mow your neighbors’ lawns too? Your parents might count chores toward your allowance, but neighbors will pay you fairly for your work.
Lawn care isn’t the only grounds maintenance work high school students can do. Gardens need digging, weeding, mulching, watering, and regular care throughout the growing season. Shrubs and trees need trimming. Patios and decks need cleaning.
Many high school students work independently, finding lawn care clients mainly among community residents. If you can get enough business to work 20 hours a week at an average hourly rate of $11.25 (per Payscale data), you’ll earn about $225 before taxes weekly—not bad for a job that barely feels like work.
Alternatively, look for grounds maintenance jobs with institutional clients, such as school systems or office parks. These roles may be more stable and could offer full-time opportunities. However, jobs involving heavy machinery (e.g., lawnmowers) are usually off-limits to applicants under 18.
4. Pool Cleaner
Pool cleaning is another outdoor summer job that barely feels like work. If you live in a community with many private pools, you should easily find work through door-to-door outreach, word-of-mouth, client referrals, or posting ads on community websites like Craigslist and Nextdoor.
If you prefer a steady income and a more structured work environment, target well-funded clients like apartment complexes and homeowners’ associations with public pools. Or, consider a pool cleaning company that hires workers under 18. (This may depend on local labor laws but should be clearly stated in the job description.) Either way, pool cleaners earn slightly more than groundskeepers: the national average hourly rate is about $16, according to Payscale.
5. Career-Focused Intern
Even if you haven’t decided on your “real” career yet, high school summers are an excellent time to test out a job you think you’d enjoy and might want to pursue long-term. If you perform well and still find the job interesting at the end of the summer, you’ll gain much-needed experience that can help you secure more opportunities later—like a part-time job during the school year or even a full-time role after graduation.
Summer internships are often unpaid, which forces students to consider whether the opportunity is worth the cost. This likely depends on the value of the experience and the professional connections you might build—connections that could lead to higher-paying, career-advancing jobs in the future.
6. Tutor
Many middle and high school students use the summer to continue learning or improve their academics. If you excel in a specific subject (e.g., calculus or physics) or have taken and scored well on standardized tests like the SAT or ACT, you can work as a tutor to help these students and earn decent pay.
Tutoring rates vary by subject, experience, and education level. High school students or recent graduates are unlikely to earn much more than the national average hourly rate of about $19.50 (per Payscale). But for a job that requires no physical labor and can be done in a comfortable, air-conditioned home office or coffee shop, this pay is reasonable.
Tutors also have some flexibility to set their own schedules. The biggest downside for student tutors is that platforms like Tutor.com often have strict requirements for teaching experience and education—usually a college degree—effectively excluding high school students. To be a successful tutor, you’ll need to advertise locally: on Craigslist, Facebook, other social media platforms, or Nextdoor—and leverage your community connections.
7. Barista or Restaurant Server
The food service industry has abundant job opportunities, and young people can easily get hired without experience. While the average base pay is low (sometimes even below minimum wage), employees who earn tips can make a good income. Some national chains have sufficient resources and are willing to pay higher wages: according to Glassdoor, Starbucks baristas earn an average hourly rate of $15 to $20 and may qualify for benefits including health insurance.
8. Grocery Store Worker
Grocery stores and supermarkets also have relatively ample job openings in densely populated areas. Most grocery store employees don’t earn tips, but their base pay is usually a few percentage points above the federal minimum wage—about $14 per hour, according to Payscale. Specialized roles like meat cutters pay the most, but jobs involving heavy machinery are generally prohibited for workers under 18.
Grocery store employees typically work in shifts, with part-timers working 4 to 8 hours at a time. Peak shopping hours tend to fall on weekends and weekday evenings, so this isn’t the best choice for students who want to minimize social conflicts during the summer. On the plus side, many grocery store employees are part of a union. Unions can negotiate for pay and benefits while providing protection against unfair treatment from poor managers.
9. Golf Course Caddie
The base pay is low, usually close to the local minimum wage. Job openings are also not particularly abundant—unless you’re lucky enough to live in an area with more country clubs than grocery stores. However, golf caddies earn decent money thanks to generous tips. According to the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA), tips can be as high as 50% of the greens fee—sometimes exceeding $200 per group on summer weekends, and even more at upscale courses. Combined with the sunny weather and freedom to move around, caddying can be an enjoyable and well-paying job.
Even for physically fit young people, caddying is hard work: you’ll need to walk the entire course at least once a day, jog to retrieve balls, and carry clients’ bags. It also requires familiarity with golf, including club selection—though new caddies usually receive basic training before starting. However, you can apply to be a caddie as young as 14, provided local labor laws allow it.
10. Lifeguard
If you’re an excellent swimmer and can stay focused for long periods, working as a lifeguard at a nearby beach or pool can bring in good summer income. In fact, for those who like working outdoors and only need to exert effort in emergencies, lifeguarding may be the perfect summer job.
Lifeguarding requires more training and certification than most high school summer jobs. No matter where you work, you’ll need to complete CPR certification, basic first aid training, bloodborne pathogen training, and a basic water rescue course. Open-water lifeguards—such as those monitoring beaches—may need additional training. Whether the relatively low pay (about $12 per hour, according to Payscale) is worth the effort depends on how appealing you find spending all day sitting by a pool or beach.
11. Handyman or Painter
Summer is peak season for home improvement projects, making it the best time of year to offer a helping hand with odd jobs.
Avoid jobs that require extensive training or licenses, such as plumbing or electrical work—few homeowners will hire inexperienced high school students for these high-risk tasks to save money. Instead, focus on relatively low-skill jobs that many people don’t have the time, patience, or energy to do themselves: painting fences or indoor rooms (exterior house painting is more difficult), laying or edging sidewalks, installing or repairing drywall, laying laminate flooring, or moving furniture.
Advertise your services on websites like Craigslist and Nextdoor, and use neighborhood and community networks to find clients in need. Just be sure to research how much the market is willing to pay for your services. The average hourly rate for handymen on Payscale is nearly $25, but this figure includes experienced professionals whose skills far exceed those of the average high school student.
12. Dog Walker or Pet Sitter
Many summer travelers love their pets but don’t want to take them along. That’s where you—an aspiring dog walker, pet sitter, or both—come in. Your job will be to care for clients’ pets as you would your own: feeding, exercising, and giving them attention while their owners are away.
Pet care is a potentially high-paying job for ambitious high school students willing to take on the challenging and sometimes tedious work of finding new clients and building client referrals to make potential clients feel comfortable trusting you with their pets. Platforms like Rover can save you some legwork but take a small commission. Even so, pet care and dog walking services pay well: according to Thumbtack, the average rate is $25 to $30 per session, and overnight services cost two to three times that amount.
Final Thoughts
Summer jobs have long been a rite of passage for high school students—those who can’t work part-time during the school year due to academics or extracurriculars can use the summer to gain valuable work experience.
Make the most of this opportunity. When summer arrives, focus on your interests and life goals, and try to find a job closely aligned with them. In other words, find a job you’ll actually want to spend your whole summer doing. Hopefully, you’ll look back on it as a meaningful experience that laid the groundwork for your success, no matter what career you ultimately choose.
If you need to adapt this content for a specific audience (such as international students or teens in a particular region), or want a simplified version for a school newsletter, let me know—I can help create a targeted summer job guide tailored to your needs.