10 Jobs for 14 Year Olds

The Struggle

As a teen I have struggled with making money to save, get things I want, or pay for things I need.  I tried every job I could think of.  Finding a traditional job is impossible at 14, and still hard for older teens.  Here are 10 simple things you could do to make some cash if you’re willing to work.

Shoveling/ Snow blowing Driveways

If you live in an area where it snows, you can make money every time it snows.  In order to make money doing this, you will have to be ready to start shoveling houses at around 8AM when people wake up.  You will be more likely to get the job if they are too lazy in the morning to do it themselves.  Also people usually have theirs done by 11AM or Noon, so you have to be out there before it’s already done.  Asking 20 dollars per job is reasonable.  In one afternoon, I made over $70 from doing this alone.

Raking leaves

In the fall, leaves on the ground are inevitable in seasonal climates, so why not make money from it.  It never hurts to go door to door and ask if they would like their leaves raked and burned.  You would probably want to work out an hourly pay system for a job like leaves, possibly around 5 dollars an hour.

Gardening

In rural areas, more people tend to have large gardens.  You can make money two ways with gardening.  You can ask someone if they would like you to help them tend their garden.  You could water, fertilize, weed, and harvest all of their plants for them.  The other way you could make money from gardening is growing it yourself.  You could start a garden, and sell your crops to your neighbors, family, and friends.

Farm work

If you live in a farm town, you can ask a farmer if he needs help on a farm.  You could pick blueberries, strawberries, and other crops.  You could also de-tassel corn, or even weed fields.  Farm work is hard and labor intensive, but it pays well.

Tutoring

If you are a smart cookie, you could share your knowledge with your fellow classmates, or younger students.  Tutoring is a good way to make money, and you get to help people

Baby Sitting

If you have good childcare skills, you could try babysitting.  Ask one of your parent’s friends or neighbors if they need a baby sitter, and presto instant job.  Make sure you know how to take care of children properly before trying this job; it can be more difficult than it sounds.

Music Teacher

If you are particularly talented in music, you can teach a young child, friend, or adult how to play an instrument.  For this, you can charge about 10 dollars/hour, and have one-hour time slots.

Landscaping

If you own a lawnmower, you can mow people’s lawns, and other landscaping duties.  I used to mow an older woman’s ditch, and she paid me about 20 dollars for about an hour’s worth of work.  This is a good job because grass grows quickly, so during the summer, you can mow someone’s yard every 2 or 3 weeks.

Referee

If you are a sports junkie and you know all the rules to the game, you can become a junior referee.  To become a referee you have to take a special course that cost about $40, but you can work all of the junior league games.  A few of my friends did this, and it seems like a pretty good gig.

 Metal Scrapper

Everyone finds cans laying around; sometimes even scrap iron and copper.  You can collect these metals and take them to junkyards, and recycling centers and turn them into cash.  All you have to do is basically go dumpster diving, and find scrap metal.  One time I made about $70 on some scrap copper that was laying around behind my garage.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of what job you do, whether you work at McDonalds or for the lady next-door, you will need to work your hardest.  If you don’t do a good job the first time you do a job, the person you’re doing it for might not ask you to come back a second time.  Here is a tip for managing your money, put at least half of whatever you make into a savings account.  That way you will have a large amount of money to fix your car once you start driving, or any other unexpected expenses.