Teen Jobs Articles

At a time when most teens are busy burnishing their college resumes with unpaid internships, summer courses, and volunteer gigs, the onetime rite of passage – the summer job – has lost much of its luster.

At a time when most teens are busy burnishing their college resumes with unpaid internships, summer courses, and volunteer gigs, the onetime rite of passage – the summer job – has lost much of its luster.

A summer job also provides a tangible pathway where teens can envision a future of employment, as well as links to adults who can provide guidance and job recommendations, professor Modestino says.

At a time when most teens are busy burnishing their college resumes with unpaid internships, summer courses, and volunteer gigs, the onetime rite of passage – the summer job – has lost much of its luster.

One clue as to why: When asked what they had learned from the summer jobs program, more than 40 percent of the Boston youths "agreed strongly" that they had learned how to manage their emotions and temper, how to ask for help, and how to resolve peer conflicts constructively.

A summer job also provides a tangible pathway where teens can envision a future of employment, as well as links to adults who can provide guidance and job recommendations, professor Modestino says.

"My aspiration," she adds, "is to be an immigration lawyer."

Seniors also are increasingly taking part-time jobs as a supplement to retirement income.