15 Year Old -Looking for Summer Office Job Options Question (high school, college)

[DMom]

Do offices hire 15-year-old to work part time as a data entry or other task in the area over the summer ? If so do we just reach out to them and ask if they are hiring?

[spencgr]

If they are in need, they will post a requisition. Check Craig's List.

[MedvedActual]

Check local hospitals, major offices, etc. At times they will post those types of jobs on their own websites.

[FCNova]

Check out job posting websites. We hire interns occasionally who are paid an hourly wage. The only time we really hire high school students are when they are relatives or friends of employees, definitely prefer college grads even for intern positions. But it can't hurt to apply if you see an opening.

[ChristineVA]

I'm not saying it does not happen, but when my kids were that age and looking (as well as even at age 16), there was NOTHING like that out there. The only way some type of job like that came up was the whole "you gotta know someone" thing. My kids had a hard time even getting retail jobs at 16, but it got better at 16. Fifteen was almost impossible.

[LynchburgLover]

As ChristineVa said, 15 is really tough to find paying jobs. My kids both did part-time volunteer day camp work. Granted they didn't get paid, but they were busy, learned some responsibility and stayed out of trouble.

Best of luck.

[Ffxdata]

As I recall, there are different laws that protect children/workers under the age of 16 including more breaks and shorter work hours (like couldn't work after 10pm). The only jobs that hired 14 and 15 year olds were bagging jobs at the grocery store. That was 10 years ago though.

[spencgr]

Just trying to think back to what jobs I held in high school.....at 15, I babysat and had a paper route. My sister, though, was a lifeguard at a local retirement community. It was a great job for her because there wasn't actually a lot of "activity" at the pool. Just enjoying the days in the sun.

Looks like you can obtain your Red Cross lifeguard certification at 15.

Lifeguard Training | Train to be a Lifeguard | American Red Cross

[boyd888]

No, offices don't hire 15 year olds because they have many restrictions on when they can work, how many hours, time of day, etc that even 16 year olds do not. Unless you can find a friend of a friend type thing I think you will have a very difficult time finding something in those areas you listed. It is a potential major PITA for employers and just isn't worth their time.

[Vectorhead]

Originally Posted by spencgr

Just trying to think back to what jobs I held in high school.....at 15, I babysat and had a paper route. My sister, though, was a lifeguard at a local retirement community. It was a great job for her because there wasn't actually a lot of "activity" at the pool. Just enjoying the days in the sun.

Looks like you can obtain your Red Cross lifeguard certification at 15.

Lifeguard Training | Train to be a Lifeguard | American Red Cross

Lifeguarding is definitely one of the best ways for a 15-year-old to make money. Another possibility is soccer refereeing. You can actually get certified at age 12 in Virginia.