Youthentity: Students, now’s the time to secure summer jobs

Written by Samantha Freese, Program Director

As the weather begins to warm, we begin to think about summer. Now is the perfect time for young people to secure their summer jobs. When I look back on my young working career my summer jobs hold some of my most cherished memories. It was a place to learn and grow my skills, have fun, help my community, and figure out what I didn’t want to do after college. Summer jobs are one of the most influential tools we have when embarking on a career path. But why is a summer job so important?

Earn money to learn to Budget: Save, Invest, Share and Spend

One of the most exciting things is earning a paycheck and being in control of your money. A summer job allows you to earn money and learn to budget for what is important to you. At Youthentity we believe in the 10-10-10-70 principle of budgeting. The first ten percent of your paycheck should go in your savings, the next 10% should be into investing, the next 10% into sharing (giving back to the community or a gift for someone important) and then last 70% of your income goes towards spending (bills and fun!). Learning how to budget early in a safe environment where there is still a safety net at home allows young people to make mistakes and learn skills that will help them later in life. Money should not be scary, and once you learn how to manage and budget what you earn, you begin to be in control of your future.

Build Skills:

Your first jobs are a place to learn soft skills such as communication, self-advocacy, leadership, teamwork and problem solving and creativity. Most summer employers are aware of the unique experience of hiring a teenager for their first gig. There is a learning curve for everyone, that might feel intimidating, but is natural. Your summer job might not be your end goal careerwise, but it's a great opportunity to build skills that you can transfer to future goals.

Learn what you Don't Like:

Learning what you don’t like is very important. It’s easy to imagine what career you might want to have in the future, but until you test run some options you might not know the exact right fit for you. I always say, you might want to be a doctor, but there is a big difference between a podiatrist and a pediatrician. Summer jobs are a great short-term opportunity to test run some career options, and to narrow down what you do and do not like. For me, I knew I wanted to have a career where I help people. Through my summer jobs, I realized that I loved working with teenagers at a summer school, and during my time as a server, I realized that helping adults often drained my energy. I wouldn’t have known that if I didn’t spend a summer as teacher vs my summer as a

server. Now I have a career that allows me to focus on programming for youth, using my background as a teacher, that started as a summer gig.

Build you network

Summer jobs are a great way to build your professional network. You never know which interaction is going to lead to the next opportunity. When I first started working, I was the go-to babysitting at a local boarding school. I loved babysitting, and quickly grew my network of families. Later in life, when I was looking for a summer job, I received a call from one of the parents at that school, and they were looking for a teacher for the summer to teach English as a second language at their summer program. I accepted the job, which was the first step towards my future career path. Building your network is a wonderful benefit of summer work, you will meet people that you may not normally interact with, which can benefit you in the future.

Help the community

The other benefit of summer work is being a part of your community. We live in one of the most incredible places. Working in the community really solidifies your place within it and creates a sense of belonging. You become a familiar face that greets someone with their morning coffee, or enhances their vacation, serves dinner to a family that is trying to connect. You become part of the community's experience.

In essence, summer jobs are more than just temporary employment; they are transformative experiences that equip young individuals with invaluable skills, insights, and connections, laying the foundation for their future endeavors.