In terms of work, teenagers find themselves in quite an awful position.
For one, they're unlikely to have lots of experience and since they'll still be in school or just starting university, it's very unlikely that they'll have any qualifications.
Most jobs that teens can do won't pay particularly well. After all, they're often entry-level or part-time positions and ones that “anyone can do”, at least from an employer's perspective.
So what can you do if you're an enterprising teen looking for a job that pays more than the minimum required by law?
Here are some of the better-paying jobs that teenagers could do.
Childcare Provider/Babysitter
Babysitting and providing childcare have long been one of those classic roles for teenagers to do. It works out as a great opportunity for teens to prove that they're responsible while also earning some extra cash.
However, when done right, babysitting could become a real money-spinner. With the right kind of service and professionalism, you could command a much higher salary than a few Euros an hour, though it's unlikely that you'll make the average salary in Ireland.
Discerning parents will pay extra to know that their child is properly being taken care of rather than just watched.
Consider coming up with tailored plans and activities for each child, offer a tailored babysitting service, and make it clear to parents what they're paying for.
This could include cooking dinner, cleaning the child's room, and going through their homework. There are lots of ways to add extra value to the service you're offering and if you do it right, parents will pay a premium for an excellent service.
Delivery Driver
Delivery drivers once needed a driving license and a car to do their job. Now, with the democratisation of delivery services, especially for food and groceries, deliveries are being increasingly made by bicycle and scooter.
Certain delivery services operate through apps. They can go from one takeaway to another or from one supermarket to another making deliveries for customers.
If you do it right and are quick with your deliveries, you could earn a decent amount while being out and about. However, if you have a driving licence and can drive a car or van, you could look into doing deliveries for companies. This could be shopping or even white goods and tends to pay more than the apps.
Event Staff
Catering companies and event organisers are often looking for staff to help with events. This is the kind of job that doesn't always require much experience or any qualifications, but to work for the best and highest-paying companies, experience certainly helps.
While you might start with basic event catering, experience will be your way into more prestigious companies for fancier events that often come with better salaries.
Look directly for the companies that pay event staff the most and remember that far more will be expected of you during your shifts from those that pay the highest salaries.
Golf Caddy
It's suspected that an entry-level gold caddy earns around €25,000 a year in Ireland. If you live near a golf course and have spent your life playing, caddying could be an excellent way to spend even more time there.
The more time on the course, the better, and certain golfers may even tip you for your services. If you take pride in your job and are incredibly helpful, you might find a few extra banknotes in your pocket at the end of a round of golf.
Lifeguard
To become a pool lifeguard in Ireland, you need to take the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification. This qualification is open to those over 16 years old.
Naturally, you also need to be able to swim. Specifically, this includes jumping or diving into deep water, swimming 50 metres in under 50 seconds, and swimming 100 metres continuously on front and back in deep water.
The average entry-level lifeguard positions earn close to €24,000 a year. The most experienced lifeguards can earn €35,000.
Pet Sitter/Dog Walker
Much like taking care of children (sometimes without too many differences), pet sitting and dog walking involve taking care of somebody's most precious possessions.
Pet sitters can earn well, especially if they're enterprising.
You can get into pet sitting and dog walking through various apps. In Ireland, these sites and apps include Cat in a Flat, Mindme, Pawshake, Gudog, and Pet Lovers Ireland.
Most sites effectively work as freelancing websites for pet sitters. You can create a profile, look for work, and start building your reputation as a pet sitter.
As always, the better the service you offer and a few extras can go a long way to helping you build your reputation.
Retail Sales Associate
A common job for teenagers is working in a shop. While most shops are happy to accept and train teenagers to work as retail sales associates, sales assistants, or whatever they choose to call them, you want to look to more prestigious shops and stores to earn the best money.
Of course, the more prestigious the store, the more they'll expect from their staff and the pay will be more in line with their expectations.
In retail, you can earn your money by stacking shelves, helping customers, and ringing up customer purchases. Depending on the company, there may be much more to it than that and you may be required to gain in-depth knowledge of certain products and services.
Working in retail is one of those roles that you'll never forget and one that will provide you with opportunities to work with interesting customers from all walks of life.
Tutor
While teenagers mightn't have professional experience or academic qualifications, their knowledge in certain subjects can make them great tutors. You could become a private tutor, especially if you're good at a certain subject.
Generally, tutors won't teach people at a level higher than them for obvious reasons, but you can typically teach up to a level below the level you have.
Junior Cycle is counted as Levels 1, 2, and 3. The Leaving Cert is Level 4 and 5. It's a good idea to get your Leaving Cert before tutoring Junior Cycle, a degree before tutoring Leaving Cert, etc.
Generally, tutoring isn't a job that you need any qualifications to do, but you do need to know what you're tutoring and understand the teaching approaches that will help you to teach effectively. There are lots of great jobs you can do without a degree.
However, if you'd like to tutor kids in primary school, you won't need more than a secondary school education and a lot of patience. You can sign up to websites like Superprof to create a tutoring profile and start offering private tutoring immediately.
Tutors are typically paid hourly for their tutoring so to make a decent wage, you have to charge a rate per hour that will work out as profitable once you've taught each session.
Waiter/Waitress
Much like with catering, working in restaurants as a waiter or waitress doesn't necessarily need any qualifications though experience will greatly help.
The best way to earn well as a waiter or waitress is through restaurants where you can offer great service and customers are likely to tip handsomely.
For teenagers with no experience or qualifications, if you work hard and provide impeccable customer service, you can earn quite well waiting tables. Typically, waiters and waitresses are paid hourly for the time they work, but tips for good service can make the difference.
However, just remember that it's often much harder than it looks. You're not just ferrying plates to and from the kitchen, you also need to be aware of who's having what, what food goes where, and how long each table has been waiting to order.
Writer/Content Creator
Now, the world is full of content creators. Whether this content is written or filmed for social media, many people are looking to make money from the content they create. While not one of the highest-paid jobs on average, the best content creators are definitely top earners.
Monetising content can be tricky, but if you have a knack for writing or creating engaging content, you might find you can make decent money from it.
You can create your own channels or platforms and look to monetise them or you could work for larger media companies and be paid by the word, hour, or video minute.
There are lots of different ways to get into content creation and as a newer industry, there's not really an established career path for it.
Instead, you'll have to research the different ways others have been able to live off content creation and look to emulate their successes (while avoiding their mistakes!).
Copywriting is also one of the best jobs you can do remotely.
Work with a Private Tutor
If you need help developing skills or studying an academic subject, simply look to a private tutor to help you.
There are plenty of qualified and experienced tutors on the Superprof website so you just need to search for what you want to learn and start browsing.
On each tutor's profile, you can see what skills they have, what their hourly rate is, and what their other students thought of the work they've done.
Tutors on Superprof usually offer the first session for free so try a few out before choosing the one that's right for you and how you like to learn.
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
