Most high school students take the first job they are offered with very little regard to the quality of experience it will provide or the amount of money it will pay. Luckily, not all jobs require extensive experience or college education. There is no need for you to compromise by taking the first job you are offered. Here is the list of high paying jobs that require zero experience.
Many of these jobs also provide paid on-the-job training. When choosing a summer job, the goal should be to either gain good experience or to make a lot of dough. I have provided some suggestions that can knock two birds with one stone. I suggest finding a job that will improve your communication skills as it is an essential skill to have in any future position that you will work in. The last one would be my personal preference. Enjoy!
1. Tutor
If you are a good learner and a good teacher. A tutoring gig might be the best option for you. You can start tutoring some neighborhood kids for free to get some experience. Once you feel confident, you can start charging lower rates ($10-15 / hour). I suggest creating your own LLC and pay yourself to ensure you are doing the freelance work legally. Once you have some experience under your belt, you can charge as high as $65-75 per hour for one-on-one tutoring. Even though I now work as an engineer, my tutoring side business makes enough money to cover all my personal expenses. If you are 18 years or older, you can start with a big tutoring company (such as Varsity Tutors) to gain experience before you start freelancing.
2. Delivery Driver
It is very important to earn money as a high school student; you will be thankful for this saved money once you are in college. Being a delivery driver allows you to work as many hours as you would like to earn as money as you have the capability to earn. This is also a good option if you are doing another activity during summer as well such as summer school or an internship. Working as a delivery driver might not be an option for everyone as it requires a car and driver’s license.
3. Graphic Design
Nope! I am not suggesting you apply for graphic designer positions in companies without any previous experience. If you are good at video editing, logo making, designing business cards, posters, or if you are generally creating and artistic, I suggest you visit Fiverr. Working as a Freelancer is the best way to control the number of hours you work, the kind of work you do, and the amount of moolah you earn. I don’t suggest that you rely on freelancing for a summer job as it is highly unreliable. I would suggest that throughout the school year you try to advertise yourself to do a couple of hours of freelancing per week. Once you feel you have enough reviews on Fiverr and become recognized through word of mouth, then you might be able to do this full time during summer vacation.
4. The Etsy Jobs
E-commerce is booming right now. Like many of the jobs before, having an Etsy store allows you to set your own hours and set your own limits on earnings. The harder you are willing to work the more money you will make. Plus, the learning lessons from having your own business are invaluable. The easiest Etsy shops I have noticed are the ones selling stickers. The only investment you will need to make is a sticker printer. The light weight of stickers cuts delivery costs keeping the expenses low and revenue high. It might require some creativity, but there is an endless amount of inspiration on Pinterest.
5. Virtual Assistant
If you are looking for a job that has flexible hours and high pay, this might be one of your top choices. You will be able to earn anywhere from $19 to $35 hourly according to average pay on Google Jobs. The job description might be any of the following: customer service, scheduling, sales-related support, email writing, reports writing, etc.
The trick to making this job a useful experience is to find a virtual assistant position in the field of your interest. For example, if you are interested in going into medicine, it might be useful to find a VA position at a private doctor’s office. If you are interested in going into the engineering or tech field, you might be able to act as a virtual assistant for a startup company.
You will be able to find a log of variety in positions in terms of hours flexibility, hourly pay, the field of operation, and the job description. Thus, there might be something for everyone out there. These jobs are remote, thus you will have a lot of options as well.
Word of Caution:
Don’t fall for some jobs that offer empty promises of high pay such as filling out surveys to earn gift cards, watching videos to earn money, packaging/shipping from home, or stuffing envelopes from home.