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What Are the 10 Best-Paying Summer Jobs?

When school lets out, it can be tempting to want to put your feet up and do absolutely nothing all summer. Getting a seasonal job, however, is a much better use of your time.

Summer jobs teach you to be more responsible and provide the opportunity to get used to making and sticking to a budget. Depending on the type of work you do, you may also gain valuable skills you can apply in the workplace when you begin a more permanent career.

These 10 summer job opportunities offer some of the best wages and provide opportunities for you to meet interesting people, grow your network, and learn something new.

Construction Worker

Working on a construction site as a full- or part-time employee pays an average of $17 per hour and gives you a chance to spend the majority of your summer outside. These jobs require a high school diploma or GED and the ability to handle long hours of manual labor. If you’re strong, dedicated, and don’t mind physically tough work, you’re likely to be able to land an entry-level construction position.

Customer Service Representative

Do you have experience in retail or another job in which you had to deal directly with customers? Along with a high school diploma or GED and familiarity with computers, this is just what you need to make between $9 and $17 per hour as a customer service representative.

In this position, you’re required to take incoming calls and provide service to customers, which may entail looking up order information, resolving problems or escalating calls to a higher level if the issue is beyond the scope of your knowledge. Expect to work full time for the summer if you land a job in this field.

Delivery Courier

Thanks to apps like Uber and Postmates, you can make decent money picking up groceries, restaurant orders, drug store purchases, and more and bringing them directly to homes and businesses. These services connect traditional stores and eateries without their own methods of delivery to people who either can’t or don’t want to pick up what they order.

You earn a percentage of the delivery fee, which varies depending on the location and distance. With experience, it’s possible to make over $20 an hour making deliveries by car or bike.

Golf Caddy

If you have a golf club in your area, you could make $35 to $100 per bag plus tips carrying bags, cleaning golf balls and acting as a companion to patrons as they play their rounds. Landing a position at an upscale club can net you $200 or more per bag. Hours depend largely on when people are out on the green, meaning you’ll never have to work at night. The more rounds you work, the more you’ll learn about the job. The only experience you need is a solid knowledge of golf.

Housesitting or Pet Sitting

Helping friends, family, and neighbors out by watching their homes or pets while they’re on vacation is an easy part-time summer gig as long as you’re not adverse to chores like feeding, walking, and cleaning up after animals. If you’re just looking after a house, you’ll probably be asked to get the mail, bring in the paper, and make sure everything is secure. In some cases, you may have to stay overnight. Pay and hours depend on the nature and scope of the job.

Lifeguard

Once you’ve been trained by the Red Cross or another organization like Guard for Life, you can get a job as a lifeguard at a local beach or pool. It’s possible to earn between $12 and $24 per hour as you monitor the safety of swimmers and ensure everyone follows the rules. In the event of an emergency, you’ll be expected to intervene and provide CPR, first aid, and other help as needed. Lifeguard hours may be full- or part-time.

Summer Camp Educator

If you want to spend your summer channeling your inner kid, consider becoming an educator at a summer camp. Responsibilities include creating a curriculum, planning activities, and ensuring all the necessary materials are on hand. This full-time position runs for the duration of the summer camp, which can range between six to 10 weeks, and pays between $9 and $18 per hour. You’ll be required to have some prior experience and a high school diploma or GED to apply.

Tour Guide

Working part-time as a tour guide at a local attraction or amusement park generally gets you between $9 and $18 per hour, but if you happen to live near a particularly interesting or popular spot, you could make $45 or more. It’s not bad money for a job requiring you to memorize a tour script and lead visitors around all summer.

This is a great position if you’re outgoing, have a magnetic personality and enjoy interacting with a variety of people, although it does also require some skills in customer service and leadership.

Tutor

Use your skills in math, reading, science, history, or any other school subject to make between $10 and $50 per hour as a tutor. If you have prior experience doing this type of job over the summer, you may be able to ask for more.

Talk with friends, family members, and neighbors to find out whose kids need help with homework, test prep, or getting ready for exams like the SATs. You can set your own schedule and choose how much you want to work based on the type of tutoring you do and the number of students you decide to take on.

Web Designer

If you prefer to work from home and feel comfortable finding jobs online, you can make $20 or more per hour as a part-time web designer over the summer. You need enough computer experience and knowledge of web design to land positions from sites like Upwork, and the better you are, the more you can make. Being able to choose your clients, hours and work location is a big perk of working in web design.

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