Careers for highschool student

[austinino12]

Hi everyone. I am currently in 11th grade high school and afterwords i want to go to university for astronomy and physics. as of now i don't have a job and i am curious if there is anything that someone my age could do in terms of a career at this age. i am trying to get in contact with someone at the local planetarium but i want know if there are anyother opportunities?

 

[Turion]

Cashier?

I wouldn't call it a career. More of a job.

 

[jesse73]

real estate.

 

[fss]

What the others are getting at is that typically in high school you aren't going to start your "career" in the sense of a job you'll maintain for 20-30 years. Right now one of the best things you can do, in my opinion, is hold a steady job for a while to show that you're not a flake and try to demonstrate some semblance of reliability.

Typical high school jobs are pretty low-level. If you have a local university you might see about volunteering in a physics lab or something related to what you're interested in.

 

[Astronuc]

Hi everyone. I am currently in 11th grade high school and afterwords i want to go to university for astronomy and physics. as of now i don't have a job and i am curious if there is anything that someone my age could do in terms of a career at this age. i am trying to get in contact with someone at the local planetarium but i want know if there are anyother opportunities?

Many young folk work a part time or summer job in retail, or construction (depending on one's location). In high school, I had various part time jobs, e.g., gardening center/nursery and supermarket. Before that, I worked in a bike shop building and repair bicycles.

During university, I tried to get a part time job in the research division of an oil company, but they didn't have openings for someone with that little experience. However, I did get a job as a plumber's assistant (but that was expanded to maintenance of pumps, motors, compressors and HVAC systems), which lead to a part time job during my second year at university. I then got a position in the university food service, with which I got free room and board for the year. From the plumber's job, I met a guy through whom I got a summer job at an oil refinery. That pretty much paid for my third year in university. I also worked a few hours at night as a janitor. I switched majors and changed universities, and during that transition, I got a job as an iron worker, which bascially covered the remainder of my undergrad program, with money left for grad school.

In graduate school, I received research and teaching assistantships, and also found a full time job in the local municipal water department. I worked evening shift, and then graveyard, which enabled me to study because it was a simple operations job monitoring a system that more or less entailed checking gauges about once an hour or two. I actually ended up analyzing trends and developed a more optimal process that reduced the wear and tear on the pumps. I also predicted the failure of one of the pumps (bearing failure) by it's acoustic emissions. Two weeks after I informed the management that the bearing would soon fail, it failed. They were amazed that it could be predicted, but I explained that it was simply a matter of knowing how the equipment sounded in a good state and that the change in noise indicated a bearing problem.

 

[Lavabug]

I worked in retail and at a fast food restaurant when I was in high school. As long as you can speak English without swearing and have no visible tattoos or piercings, you can get a job at places like these.

 

[Julio R]

I work in a grocery store while in High school and it's not that bad. I get a decent pay for my standards, and I don't waste my time like some of my class mates.

 

[thegreenlaser]

Don't underestimate the typical "boring" jobs that most high schoolers do (e.g. fast food or a grocery store). They may not be fun, but they can help you develop valuable skills like having a solid work ethic and being part of a team. These are good things to be able to talk about when you're interviewing for a "real" job once you're done your degree. If you can find an interesting job that's relevant to the career you want to pursue, that's great, but I wouldn't worry too much about trying to make that happen. At this point, any work experience can be good work experience as long as you strive to be a good employee.

 

[danago]

It is maybe a bit early now, but when you graduate from high school you could look into becoming a math/physics tutor. Where I live, this seems to be a very common option for people who do well academically in school, and it has the advantage of flexibility with regards to work hours (especially if you work for yourself, rather than a tutor agency). It also looks great on a CV, because it allows you to demonstrate and develop skills that many employers look for. It is also a job that you can really become passionate about if you enjoy studying and teaching physics (which is more than I can say about my first job at a supermarket :P). Just something to think about for the near future.