Experience matters: Early work opportunities help teens build skills for the future

How a summer job, internship, or volunteer position on your application may be viewed favorably in college or career considerations.

Key takeaways

• Work experience. Meaningful work experience can take many forms beyond a traditional part-time job.
• Build confidence. Early exposure to real-world responsibilities builds confidence and life skills.
• Discover your passion. Work experiences help teens explore interests and potential education and career paths.
• Money management. Financial literacy often grows naturally through earning and managing money.
• Balance matters. Work experience during the high school and college years may help teens maximize learning opportunities while maintaining a healthy balance.

Theme Park ride operator, slushie slinger, fast food team member. While these job descriptions don’t sound like they could be life defining, they can have a notable impact on the future of those who hold them. These are frequently summer or part-time after-school and weekend roles held by high schoolers or college students.

According to Pew Research Center analysis, only 35.5% of U.S. teens ages 16 to 19 held a paying job for at least part of summer 2026 (and 29.1% for those working year-round). That employment rate, which averages figures for June and July, is up slightly from summer of 2024’s rate of 33.8%. Just a few decades ago, that rate was hovering around 50% (while year-round teen employment was around 41%) which was steady since 1948 when that data tracking began. Millennial and Generation X teens were far more likely to hold summer or part-time jobs than their Gen Z peers.

The case for high school work experience

It isn’t just kids who need to hold part-time jobs to help contribute financially to their family that are seeing the benefits of part-time work. Many can benefit from the everyday lessons that having a job can teach. It is also less common for highly selective college-bound high schoolers to hold summer or year-round part-time employment. And many college admissions professionals view meaningful work experience favorably when evaluating applicants.

Ivy Coach, a private college counseling and admissions consulting firm highlights the importance of curiosity and grit that work experience can help individuals develop traits that reflect well on a promising applicant’s resume.

High school work experience isn’t limited to retail shops and lifeguarding. Work experience can take on many forms, including unpaid internships, volunteer opportunities, and job shadowing. The key is responsibility and engagement. But flipping burgers or spending summers lifeguarding at the beach can signal socioeconomic diversity. Ivy Coach noted that in an admissions landscape where students and families increasingly feel the pressure to participate in ever-more-elaborate extracurricular activities often with a high price tag admissions officers at elite colleges delight to see a student who has put in some good, old-fashioned hours on the clock.

Weigh the pros and cons of a high school job

U.S. News shared the pros and cons of high school jobs for college applicants. From purpose to the development of critical life skills, a part-time job during high school demonstrates to college admissions how teens spend their free time. Certain jobs can even help a student recognize a passion they may never have known they would have, sparking inspiration for a career path before they ever set foot on campus.

Key life skills from work experience:

1. Responsibility and accountability

   A job often comes with commitments, deadlines, and specific responsibilities. This requires the ability to manage time effectively and take ownership of tasks and outcomes.

2. Communication and collaboration

   Working with peers, mentors, and supervisors of various ages, experiences, and backgrounds creates an environment for collaboration and cooperation. These experiences may help build confidence and a feeling of capability in various settings. It is also a great opportunity to learn to give and receive feedback, which can span from constructive, to positive, or even to coaching.

3. Problem-solving and adaptability

   The ability to navigate challenges independently can start as early as preschool while adapting to the environment outside of home. But in an age where there may be resistance to allowing children to navigate conflict or hard things on their own, independent problem-solving and adaptability may be an unintended loss for kids as they grow up. Work experience can help hone those skills that boost the opportunity to become the “tough that get going when the going gets tough.” This may contribute to the development of both resilience and resourcefulness as teens and young adults learn to adapt to new environments and expectations.

While life skills should start early and at home working has the potential to teach life skills that translate into work ethic, capability, perseverance and more importantly the sometimes-elusive grit of navigating difficult customers or situations and working in an environment of varied demographics rather than solely same-age peers. High school employment also opens the door to important lessons in money management.

The potential to earn income and save at an early age may pay dividends, literally. The North American Securities Administrators Association suggests that if a 25-year-old saves just $500 per month, with a 7% rate of return (though that rate may initially be out of reach for high school and college students) by age 65 they’d have a potential savings of $1.2 million* through the power of compounding interest. Starting even earlier, say in your high school and/or college years, that can really add up.

A few cons that should at least be considered, according to U.S. News, include the potential time constraints and any impact on academic performance as a result. In this case, a summer job may be a better option, as the workload in high school can be quite rigorous. The second consideration goes back to the type of jobs accessible to teenagers. These may not be relevant or applicable to a full-time career in their preferred field. That is where job shadowing, internships and volunteer experiences can come in handy.

Supporting the journey: Parents’ role

Parents play an important role in a high school or college student’s attitude about work experience. If you worked as a teenager, share stories about the experience, good or bad and help them begin to explore what may interest them. Is your student a swimmer? A summer gig as a lifeguard may be right up their alley. More the creative type? Perhaps they can get a job at the local community or children’s theater where they can get behind-the-scenes experiences to learn more about the craft. And don’t discount the local coffee shops or fast-food restaurants. There are some employers out there that offer college scholarship opportunities in addition to the chance to build core skills.

Help your teen develop goals for themselves as they explore work opportunities. Can your talented writer start a newsletter or run social media for the ice cream shop they work for? Provide guidance without telling them what to do or how to do it. This can be a great way to explore who they are and learn more about what they enjoy – and what they don’t.

The bottom line

Early work experience is about far more than earning money. Whether teens are volunteering, interning, working, or building something of their own, these opportunities can play a key role in helping them develop confidence, responsibility, financial awareness, and practical skills that will serve them well throughout their lives. And it may even help them discover a passion that leads them to a career and future where they can love what they do while making money.

Talk with your Regions Wealth Advisor about:

1. Teaching kids of all ages about money.
2. How compound interest may kick-start their savings.
3. Considerations on providing financial assistance to your college student.
4. Student and young adult banking solutions.

Looking for professional guidance on wealth planning?
Find an advisor in your area or get started on your journey via our wealth management guide.

* This is for illustrative purposes only. Individual results may vary and are not guaranteed. This hypothetical example is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to predict or project investment results. Assumed rates of return are not guaranteed, actual results will vary, and investments involve risk, including possible loss of principal