Turning 14 is an exciting milestone. As you start high school and gain more independence, you may be eager to earn your own spending money. But the limited work experience and availability around school at your age can make finding jobs challenging.
As a mentor to young entrepreneurs, I want to make sure you have the detailed guidance you need to successfully land good-fit, fulfilling roles that teach important skills without overwhelming your schedule. This definitive guide shares insider tips to set you up for work success.
Table of Contents
- Pros and Cons of Working at 14
- Job Search Preparation
- Obtaining Working Papers
- Building Your Resume
- Finding Open Positions
- Avoiding Online Job Scams
- 27+ Best Jobs for 14-Year-Olds
- Entry-Level and Gig Jobs
- Small Business Ideas
- Online Side Hustles
- Managing Finances
- Interview Prep and Confidence Building
- Balancing Work and Academics
- FAQs
- Closing Tips
Pros and Cons of Working at 14
Benefits of starting to work at 14 include:
- Earning and managing your own money
- Exploring interests and building skills
- Adding experience to resume and college applications
- Learning time management and responsibility
- Reducing reliance on parents for spending money
However, working at a young age can also lead to:
- Less time for schoolwork, friends, and activities
- Stress, fatigue, or burnout if taking on too much
- Increased likelihood of workplace injury
- Slowed cognitive development if exceeding 20 hours/week
On balance, moderate and meaningful employment teaches good lessons. But avoid overcommitting yourself—make sure to keep communicating with guardians to find the right workload.
“My first job at 14 as a bakery helper gave me confidence talking to strangers and a good work ethic. Working a few mornings a week before school taught time management while allowing a balanced schedule.” — Mark Cuban, Entrepreneur & Dallas Mavericks Owner
Job Search Preparation
Doing a few key things ahead of sending out applications will ensure you present yourself professionally and set clear expectations with guardians and employers.
Obtaining Working Papers
Almost every US state requires a work permit before starting a job under 16 years old. Specific rules vary, but generally:
- Get the permit form from your school or state labor office
- Parent/guardian fills out their portion granting permission
- School confirms your enrollment status and age eligibility
- Employer finishes final section after hiring
- File completed permit with state
Some states may also request a physical exam, proof of age, or homeschool enrollment verification. The process takes 1-2 weeks, so begin early.
Building Your Resume
With limited direct experience, include:
- Volunteer work or community service activities
- School coursework showcasing relevant skills
- Awards and academic achievements
- Sports, clubs, and other extracurriculars
- Babysitting, lawn mowing, or informal work for neighbors
Focus on skills versus experience. What strengths can you bring in areas like customer service, responsibility, problem-solving, work ethic, attention to detail, equipment usage?
Finding Open Positions
Check websites of nearby stores, theaters, fast food chains, and recreational facilities. But also canvass the neighborhood for opportunities since over 75% of teen jobs come from small businesses.
Ask family, friends, teachers, coaches, and youth program leaders to keep you in mind if they know anyone hiring. Attend job fairs, check community bulletin boards, and directly reach out to managers of places that interest you.
Avoiding Online Job Scams
While the internet expands options, it also hosts scammers targeting eager underage job seekers with tactics like:
- Vague "employment" ads directing applicants to suspicious third-party websites that harvest personal information
- Posts mimicking real companies misrepresenting positions
- Requests for upfront payment for training kits or materials
- "Easy money" offers requiring students pay a fee to start
Do research on any unknown companies that contact you. Avoid positions involving direct sales, advertising, or fundraising as those commonly use predatory recruiting tactics on teens. And remember – if an opportunity seems too good to be true, it often is.
27+ Best Jobs for 14-Year-Olds
The 300 hours or so of free time in your average school year means you can take on substantial work without compromising your education.
Let’s explore options fitting for an early high schooler’s schedule and skills.
Entry-Level and Gig Jobs
1. Babysitting
- Skills Gained: Childcare, responsibility, communication, problem-solving, creativity
- Pay Rate: $10-$15 per hour
Watching neighborhood kids during evenings and weekends provides flexible income. Get first aid certified, then make flyers and tell everyone you know you’re open for bookings.
2. Pet sitting
- Skills Gained: Animal handling, scheduling, customer service
- Pay Rate: $12-$15 per 30-60 minute visit
Offer dog walking and animal care services through sites like Rover or NextDoor while owners travel. Carry waste bags and paw wipes to leave visits mess-free.
3. Yard and garden work
- Skills Gained: Landscaping, physical labor
- Pay Rate: $15-$20 per hour
Many homeowners dread lawn and landscaping chores. Start a neighbor referral service mowing, raking, shoveling, trimming, mulching, or watering.
4. Party assistant
- Skills Gained: Hospitality, event planning, customer service
- Pay Rate: $15-$25 per hour
Prepare crafts and games ahead of kids’ birthday parties and bridal showers. Engage groups actively during events as a junior host.
5. Tutoring
- Skills Gained: Teaching, communication, subject mastery
- Pay Rate: $15-$20 per hour
If academics are a strength, offer homework help or test prep tutoring to middle schoolers struggling in English, math, science or social studies.
6. Errand runner
- Skills Gained: Time management, reliability, organization
- Pay Rate: $15 per hour + mileage
With a bike or parent’s car, provide personal assistant services like grocery delivery, prescription pick-ups, or returning packages. Schedule efficiently.
7. Referee/umpire
- Skills Gained: Sport mastery, decision making, conflict resolution
- Pay Rate: $9-$20 per game
Officiate youth basketball, baseball, soccer, lacrosse or volleyball if you know rules sharply. Check local recreation leagues for classes and openings.
8. Website tester
- Skills Gained: Analytic ability, communication, online presence
- Pay Rate: $10-$20 per test
Provide user experience feedback to developers on new apps and children’s websites before public launch.
9. Data entry
- Skills Gained: Admin, tech literacy, analysis
- Pay Rate: $12-$18 per hour
If fast and comfortable with computers, offer administrative assistance inputting information from paper files into Excel sheets and online platforms.
10. Subscription box assistant
- Skills Gained: Packaging, production, operations
- Pay Rate: $10-$15 per hour
Local specialty good shops need part-time help making and mailing gift boxes showcasing homemade food or crafted goods.
11. Festival vendor
- Skills Gained: Sales, hospitality, merchandising
- Pay Rate: $100-$300 per festival
Run a lemonade stand, face painting booth, or henna tattoo stall at busy outdoor fairs and events. Engage crowds passing by.
Small Business Ideas
Beyond traditional jobs, entrepreneurship teaches key competencies like strategic thinking, financial planning, and self-direction. Consider testing ideas like:
12. Handmade goods shop
- Skills Gained: Crafting, product branding, marketing
- Potential Earnings: $300+ per month
Leverage creativity into cash selling homemade soaps, jewelry, candles or artwork on consignment and sites like Etsy. Reinvest into materials and equipment to expand inventories.
13. Baked goods company
- Skills Gained: Cooking, recipe development, budgeting
- Potential Earnings: $500+ per month
Many families will pay convenience premiums for premade homemade cookies, cupcakes, cakes, or bread loaves. Start basic with top sellers.
14. Custom apparel line
- Skills Gained: Graphic design, production, sales
- Potential Earnings: $200+ per month
Use print-on-demand sites like Custom Ink to upload original t-shirt designs without upfront inventory costs. Sell through social channels and pop-up shops.
15. Handyman service
- Skills Gained: Repairs, time/project management, advertising
- Potential Earnings: $600+ per month
Offer basic installation, landscaping, cleaning, and maintenance help that busy homeowners struggle to find time for.
16. Tech support specialist
- Skills Gained: Customer service, problem-solving, communication
- Potential Earnings: $500+ per month
With software mastery beyond your years, teach digital literacy basics to older adults struggling with new devices, apps, online tools, and social platforms.
17. Instructor
- Skills Gained: Public speaking, confidence, leadership
- Potential Earnings: $100+ per class
Leverage expertise from years of dance, music, sport, coding, academics or hobby classes to begin teaching your own workshops and lessons. Schedule initially around existing session spaces.
18. Pet grooming
- Skills Gained: Animal handling, salon operations
- Potential Earnings: $1,000+ per month
Offer clipping, bathing and nail trimming from converted garage or share of profits with existing groomers to tap into recession-resistant industry.
19. Power washing
- Skills Gained: Equipment operation, sales, manual labor
- Potential Earnings: $75+ per job
Rent an industrial power sprayer to deep clean outdoor surfaces like houses, fences, patios/decks, driveways, commercial buildings. Get bonded and insured.
Online Side Hustles
The internet opens unique ways to make money from anywhere with minimal time commitments when structured safely. Consider platforms like:
20. Affiliate marketing
- Skills Gained: Digital marketing, strategic thinking, sales
- Potential Earnings: $100+ per month
Earn commissions promoting products through coupon sites and your own social channels and blogs. Monetize your existing online influence.
21. Freelance writing
- Skills Gained: Communication, research, interviewing, editing
- Potential Earnings: $200+ per month
Pitch ideas and write articles around gaming, teen culture, lifestyle trends, or academics. Build a portfolio for sites like Contena.
22. Selling stock photos
- Skills Gained: Photography, metadata keywords, contractual literacy
- Potential Earnings: $100+ per month
Upload images to stock image sites like ShutterStock. Get model releases signed for recognizable people and locations.
23. Transcription
- Skills Gained: Detail orientation, technical writing, focus
- Potential Earnings: $100+ per month
Convert audio and video files to text documents. Check platforms like Rev and Scribie for project availability. Use productivity tools to optimize speed.
24. Bookkeeping
- Skills Gained: Organization, data analysis, accounting software literacy
- Potential Earnings: $300+ per month
Help small businesses owners track expenditures, income, payroll, taxes, and day-to-day finances part-time. Start taking online QuickBooks training now.
25. Survey tester
- Skills Gained: Analytic ability, critical thinking
- Potential Earnings: $50+ per month
Provide user opinions on new products and kids’ media content prior to broader launch. Check sites like UserTesting.com for remote project opportunities.
26. Chat representative
- Skills Gained: Multitasking, problem-solving, stress management
- Potential Earnings: $200+ per month
Provide customer service and sales assistance to clients browsing online stores or company websites during peak hours.
Managing Finances
Working allows earning and managing money yourself for the first time. But avoid common financial mistakes like:
- Mindless spending whenever cash builds up
- No savings going to college or emergencies
- Missing tax deadlines and getting penalty fees
- Letting friends/boyfriends pressure you into covering their expenses
Instead, put up to 80% of each paycheck into a separate teen checking account and set smart money goals:
- College savings
- Car purchase by 16
- Buffer for surprise expenses
Pay tithes, taxes, and periodic fun money directly then let the rest accumulate over months. And make sure to get financial literacy guidance from parent, teacher or banker mentors.
Interview Prep and Confidence Building
Interviews often provoke nerves at any age. Prepare yourself for first-time job interviews by:
- Researching the company so you understand their mission and values to align your answers
- Practicing introductions, common questions, and projecting steady confidence
- Dressing neatly in casual attire showing you take the opportunity seriously
- Arriving 10 minutes early to complete new hire paperwork
During the interview, be honest selling existing strengths vs. overstating experience you don’t have. Show eagerness to learn on the job. Ask smart questions about training, advancement opportunities, and company culture.
And don’t get discouraged if interacting with new authority figures feels intimidating at first – that discomfiture fades rapidly with early work.
Balancing Work and Academics
While you may be eager for new challenges, don’t spread yourself too thin. Prioritize not letting new jobs negatively impact your baseline school performance, sleep health, or involvement with existing activities.
Observe how an addition of even just 5-10 hours per week of employment impacts your stress levels and bandwidth over the first month. Keep communicating with parents often about your comfort with managing added responsibilities.
And don’t hesitate to quit roles that prove overly demanding or not the right fit. Some failure and course correcting in your first year of employment is expected.
FAQs
What‘s the minimum legal age to work?
14 in non-hazardous jobs, except on paper routes (12 years old) and in family businesses.
What hours are 14-year-olds allowed to work?
- No more than 3 hours on school days
- Up to 8 hours on non-school days
- Only between 7AM and 7PM
What‘s the average pay for a 14-year-old?
$9-$11 per hour for entry roles like retail, childcare and food service. Technical or sales positions may pay up to $15 depending on skills.
Should I be paid in cash or check?
While getting cash might seem more convenient, paychecks provide record of your income, mandatory withholdings, and proof-of-work for building resumes.
Do I owe taxes on income earned?
You need to file returns for any annual income over $12,900. However if Federal Tax was withheld from your pay, file to get full refunds under $12,900.
Closing Tips
As you being your professional journey, remember:
- Start slow – add working hours cautiously to avoid burnout
- Ask managers regularly for feedback on improving
- Save aggressively each check to build longer-term funds
- Keep safety the priority in any roles around machinery
- Learn which industries most interest you for future education
The jobs available at 14 have expanded dramatically in recent years. Whether you’re looking for flexible side cash or hoping to bankroll bigger purchases, use the coming 12 months to responsibly explore new working adventures!
You’ve got this! Now go make that money!
