Hey everyone I’m 17 and I’m going to be buying a car soon and I’d love to get a nice one and make it nicer. Does anyone have any good suggestions on what kind of jobs to look for to make a good amount of money this summer? Or maybe just any idea to make money at this age in my life, with out selling drugs or stealing? Thanks everyone. 
General Questions is for questions with factual answers. IMHO is for opinions and polls.
I’ll move this to IMHO for you.
DrMatrix - General Questions Moderator
Crap maybe this should have gone in IMHO? Sorry if I make a boo boo!
Even a minimum wage job can be quite profitable if you work a lot of hours and are living at home (and therefore have no rent, etc.)
Even better, find a job that pays off the books. Thay way it’s all tax free.
Some of my friends in high school made a killing caddying at the local golf course. If you’ve got a golf course near you (especially a private one) you could try that. Some of them made $300 in tips a day or more.
If you’re good with a particular subject, you could hire out as a tutor: most of that pays under the table. The downside is that unless you sign up with a school or the like you can’t really depend on steady hours. It also looks good on college applications. 
The trick you’re going to have when working officaly (be it at Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, whatever) is the local ‘child’ work laws: I can’t remember if at 17 you’re still restricted as to what hours you may legally work or not.
Whatever you do, do not do pizza delivery once you have a car, unless it’s a junker. Sure, the tips can be good, but it’s pure hell on your car. Flower delivery, on the other hand, is another possible: if you plan your route, it’s not that hard on your car, and you get to have fun making people’s day. (Well, usually.) Of course, these two require a car to begin with, unless for the latter there’s a van or something they’ll let you use.
Good luck!
<< Tea, no tea. >>
Until you’re 18, you can’t take up a career-related internship at most companies (which is really the best option, since it pays relatively high and you gain experience in your field).
So, before you turn 18, it’s like friedo said, minimum wage. Unless of course you’ve got connections.
My cousin started doing lawn work when he was in high school. Now, at 24, he has his own company, with several employees, a few trucks and lots of expensive equipment. He’s doing well enough that even in the off-season he’s busy doing landscaping and other related things.
StG
What’s with this “off the books” and “under the table” stuff? The Board has consistently held that advising how one might conduct their affairs illegally is a no-no.
Rob, learn early to keep up with both paying and filing what’s required by the IRS. For one thing, you can get into serious trouble. And also, I pay mine, you should pay yours (and I realize you haven’t said anything about trying to dodge that responsibility).
One of the better paying things I did as a teenager was yard work in the 'burbs. It paid better than minimum wage, and landscaping is seasonal and they work in the summer. Another gig many a teen can pursue is working in a fast food joint. I made lifelong friends from my stints in some burger joints, and it motivated me to move a little further ahead.
Good luck!
My first job, when I was in high school, was washing pots at a local restaurant. Paid just over minimum wage, I worked two or three evenings a week and most Saturdays and Sundays when I was in school, and when school let out for the summer I worked 30-40 hours a week. It was a family-owned place; the owner’s wife was the hostess, two daughters were waitresses and his son (who IIRC was a year or two older than me and acted like he owned the place) was a busboy and general assistant.
It wasn’t the greatest job in the world, but it was a pretty good introduction to working life and kept me in book money. It also made me aware that there were people who didn’t have the same background as me; the guy who ran the dishwasher was an old (or at least he seemed to me) black man - the first non-white person I’d ever really met - who was real helpful to the “new kid”.
How do you feel about manual labor? I realize it’s not the most exciting idea, but there’s lots of people like me who would love a set of willing hands and a strong back for garden help, gutter cleaning, window washing, house painting, and other odd household/yard jobs. Lawn maintenance is good too. Right now, around here the going rate for weeding and other miscellaneous yard work is between 10-15 dollars an hour.
Right now I have a 23-year-old neurology student (the son of a friend) who weeds my garden… he keeps the place thistle-free, and I pretty much make the payments on his car. I am also the only person in my neighborhood who can (semi)truthfully say, “the brain surgeon is coming over to shovel manure with me.”
I second the tutoring idea with some small caveats. You’re expected to travel to the student’s house, which might be a problem if you don’t have transport. And while the pay is good (here it’s minimum $18 per hour for high school subjects, and I know a guy who charges up to $35) the hours are pretty crappy unless you have lots of students.
I make a reasonable - if sporadic - income selling things on eBay. If you have a digital camera, and enough things to sell, it’s quite fun. I did it full time for about one week (had maybe 30 items up) and made about $300.
Let’s see…part time, decent money. That sounds like MY dream job too!
I deliver newspapers. It’s decent money, and it leaves enough time during the day that I could work a second job if I wanted. That might be worth looking into.
I definitely second the yardwork/manual labor idea…I’d pay a small fortune to any teenager with a truck, a willingness to load and haul a mountain of trash out of my basement, and an ability to go through the rest of his/her life without telling anyone what a mess it is.
Good luck!
~karol
Thanks everyone, I’ve discovered telemarketing as a mindless way to make easy money around here, currently I’m making alittle over 100 dollars a week , until school let’s out then I’m going to find either an addition, or just a different job. Any more telemarketing then 12 hours a week might kill me
Good luck, Rob. Just do be prepared for the remote possibility that people on the other end of the phone just might not be too happy to hear from you, and try not to take it personally.
Hmm…this thread right above “strip club experiences” gives me an idea…
Oh, wait, 17 you say…? Never mind, illegality and all.
Have you considered selling drugs or stealing?
One guy that I know works with a temp agency. He’s 16 or 17. They work with his hours during school and apparently find some really good jobs for him. There was an airshow here back in May and he worked concessions. Apparently made something like $200 or $300 just that weekend. You might want to check into something like that. I was considering it. I keep some weird hours and my parents really want me to get a job.
jessica
If you live in a big enough city, there should be a number of decent-paying city jobs for you to get. Sure there’s manual labor but what else beats a lazy day in the office with no real work and the knowledge that the government is paying you to sit on your butt. It’s much easier to find if you have a connection (like me 
) but if you ask around, you should be able to find a job no problem.
If not, check out the park districts and their summer camp jobs because they have similar benefits.
At 17 I sold porn VCDs but besides being illegal I realize that that might not be an appropriate job for everyone.
You could also find a wealthy chickenhawk to buy you a car. A little soft trade is good for the soul and remember “It’s not gay if I get paid for doing it.”.