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I've been thinking a lot about this question the past few months and collecting local data and observations. I've concluded that the easiest STEM job for a high school student to get in many places is tutoring math, physics, and/or chemistry at a local college tutoring center. Unlike labs, these places are less concerned with liability or return on training investment if a student tutor only lasts a semester or two. They usually have demand on the higher side compared with the number of qualified applicants. Earning As and Bs in two semesters of the subject course sequence tends to be enough to land you an interview, though having a good reputation with the teachers of those classes also helps a lot.
Given these observations, the key for landing a STEM job in high school would be getting enrolled in those courses early enough in high school to earn good grades in them soon enough to then have a successful subsequent STEM tutoring gig. Most colleges these days have multiple tutoring centers that offer services in Calculus, Physics, and Chemistry. For example, one may serve athletes, another may serve the whole student population, and another may serve a special subset like military or adults returning to college beyond a certain age. You might start by identifying them all, contacting the manager, and finding out what their requirements are. Late march 12th grade may be too late, but a lot of readers and lurkers on PF are still much earlier in their high school experience.
On STEM major I mentor parlayed his math tutoring gig as a 12th grader at a local college into a higher paying job when he went off to college. He also just informed me that he will be welcome back in the local tutoring center if he ends up back at home over the summer. Of course, he's knocking on doors and getting his resume out there trying to land a paid research job. (He's been offered unpaid jobs, but is unwilling to give up the good money he's making tutoring math.) For whatever reason, there is a lot more competition for those entry level (student) research jobs than there is for those student tutoring jobs. This student has taken a wise approach by making money and gaining valuable experience biding his time with tutoring jobs while waiting for that research job to open up. (He's also doing some research with me, but after several publications and productive years, I'm already writing him about as glowing a recommendation as possible, and all parties are in agreement that he needs some non-DoD research experience with a separate research adviser.)
Given these observations, the key for landing a STEM job in high school would be getting enrolled in those courses early enough in high school to earn good grades in them soon enough to then have a successful subsequent STEM tutoring gig. Most colleges these days have multiple tutoring centers that offer services in Calculus, Physics, and Chemistry. For example, one may serve athletes, another may serve the whole student population, and another may serve a special subset like military or adults returning to college beyond a certain age. You might start by identifying them all, contacting the manager, and finding out what their requirements are. Late march 12th grade may be too late, but a lot of readers and lurkers on PF are still much earlier in their high school experience.
On STEM major I mentor parlayed his math tutoring gig as a 12th grader at a local college into a higher paying job when he went off to college. He also just informed me that he will be welcome back in the local tutoring center if he ends up back at home over the summer. Of course, he's knocking on doors and getting his resume out there trying to land a paid research job. (He's been offered unpaid jobs, but is unwilling to give up the good money he's making tutoring math.) For whatever reason, there is a lot more competition for those entry level (student) research jobs than there is for those student tutoring jobs. This student has taken a wise approach by making money and gaining valuable experience biding his time with tutoring jobs while waiting for that research job to open up. (He's also doing some research with me, but after several publications and productive years, I'm already writing him about as glowing a recommendation as possible, and all parties are in agreement that he needs some non-DoD research experience with a separate research adviser.)