What are the 15 highest paying part time jobs for high school students? Being a teenager is never as easy as many parents make it sound, especially when you’re trying to balance school, work, and friends, and at the same time try to earn some extra cash.
If you’re a high schooler, and you’re going to give up some precious hours of studying and/or going out with your friends for the sake of work, the compensation better be worth it. This is why we’ve compiled the most popular, most suitable jobs for high school students and picked out 15 with the ones that have the best salaries.
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For this list, we have taken suggestions from Chron, Money Crashers, and from our own archives at Insider Monkey, with our article The 5 Highest Paying Summer Jobs for Teens. The hourly compensation figures we’ve indicated here are rough estimates and may vary according to city or state.
Read on to find out which jobs you’re better off spending your time with!
15. Car Wash Services
Usual Rate: $5 to $10 per car
This is something you can do after school, on weekends, and maybe even every day in the warmer months. How much you can take home will depend on how many cars you can work on every ‘shift’. You can do this on your own – by going through each of your neighbors – or get employed at your local car wash.
14. Dog walker
Usual Rate: $5 per dog per walk
Dog walking has got to be one of the easiest jobs on this list of the 15 highest paying part time jobs for high school students. For the amount of work that it entails, the pay is pretty decent. It normally does not take more than an hour to walk a dog and the more dogs you can squeeze into your routine, the more money you can earn! This job is best marketed by word of mouth so don’t forget to leave a great impression on each client so you can get some more.
13. Movie Theater Attendant
Usual Rate: $8 an hour
Working part time in a movie theater may not be all about watching movies for your entire shift but it does have its perks – free popcorn, free movie, and pretty chill on down times. The $8 an hour pay is pretty decent as well.
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9. Hotel Housekeeping
Usual Rate: $10 – $12 an hour
If you have the patience to clean hotel rooms, has no problems removing soiled sheets and basically cleaning up other people’s mess, hotel housekeeping presents a lucrative summer or weekend job. If you’re lucky, you can even get tips!
9. Grocery Store Worker
Usual Rate: $10 – $12 an hour
There are so many things a high school student can do in a grocery store. From stacking produce to basic inventory, bagging groceries, and even manning the cash register, your local supermarket is a treasure trove of high paying jobs.
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9. Restaurant Wait Staff
Usual Rate: $10 – $12 an hour
Working in restaurants sound like such a tedious job, but it is actually one of the best when it comes to compensation. It may require hours of being on your feet, maybe even dealing with hungry, irritated customers, but the pay for this kind of job can go beyond the hourly pay. With tips and free meals, there is a lot of reward to waiting tables a few hours a night.
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9. Office jobs
Usual Rate: $10 – $12 an hour
This job may not seem at all glamorous but is not just one of the highest paying part time jobs for high school students; it also happens to be one of the most convenient in our opinion. True, you can end up with grumpy bosses and a truckload of paperwork on some days but you can sit comfortably in the office and get decent pay.
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8. Tutor
Usual Rate: $10 – $15 an hour
Someone somewhere will always need help with schoolwork – and that someone could be your source of extra dough. For a few hours a day, or on weekends, turn your book smarts into an earning opportunity by working as a tutor. The secret to prospering in this business is a word of mouth, so make sure that every client is happy and they’d be more than happy to endorse you to other students.
7. Food Delivery
Usual Rate: $12 an hour
If you have a ride, quick, and are okay with repetitive work, and love free food, then food delivery is the best for you. For about $12 an hour plus tips, going back and forth the restaurant and each delivery is pretty easy work in our opinion.
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4. Pet Sitter
Usual Rate: $12 – $15
This job is as easy as it is profitable. Pet sitting, unlike pet walking, requires a little bit more work. But if you genuinely enjoy taking care of furry friends, pet sitting will be one of your best options in this list of the highest paying part time jobs for high school students.
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4. Babysitter
Usual Rate: $12 – $15 an hour
Babysitting is, in essence, a right of passage for every teenager. It is only logical that this part time job makes it to this list. Babysitting jobs have evolved and babysitters are now making rounds online – this girl, for instance, owns her babysitting empire that’s seen to make millions as it continues to grow. Now that’s a feat!
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4. Sales Associate
Usual Rate: $12 – $15 an hour
Sales associates can be anything from standing at the makeup store to being an assistant at the yogurt shop. And while this sounds like a rather demanding job and pays just about as much as other less tedious jobs, the best part about being a sales associate is the training you get from the experience. This is especially useful for if you want to pursue a degree in business and marketing.
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3. Lawn Care
Usual Rate: $12 – $15 an hour
Just like babysitting, lawn care is one of the most common high school part time jobs known to most American teenagers. The rates are pretty standard, but it can go higher depending on the size of lawn you are mowing. Don’t stop with your dad’s lawn – expand to your neighbors by sending out flyers and using your parents’ connections!
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2. Caddy
Usual Rate: $50 – $100 an hour
You don’t necessarily have to know or play golf extensively to be a great caddy, but some golfers don’t hold back on the tip if you can offer some sound answers when they do occasionally ask for your opinions. You’re in luck if you live in the warmer states because golf courses are open for longer times of the year than they do in colder states where they are only open during the summer. The work can be pretty tedious, with all the walking and carrying of golf bags involved but two rounds can earn you over $100 for four hours per shift. There’s so much money in caddying that in fact, this is not just one of the highest paying part time jobs for high school students but is also a leading choice of part time job for adults!
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1. Etsy Seller
Usual Rate: Unlimited
If you have a knack for arts, crafts, and making wonderfully creative things, Etsy is the best place for you to use your creativity to earn some cash. Because it’s basically running your own business, you will earn as much as you can create and sell, which is why Etsy seller tops our list of highest paying part time jobs for high school students. This sounds like a cliché, but if you can work out being an Etsy seller, you can be your own boss.
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