Lots of teens carry part-time jobs during the school year or the summer, we all want to make money! There are many common workplaces for teens in Wilsonville. Restaurants, storeplaces, clothing shops, and freelancing are common places of work for high schoolers. 

  Carter Meoak, junior, said “I worked as a server at the Butteville store. My friends worked there so I applied, and I worked in the fall.  I got paid $15 an hour; I’d say the job gave me customer service skills, and taught me time management.”

  Some students found it easier to work in the summer vs. the school year, or vice versa. Working around other commitments like sports schedules, family and friend duties, or extracurricular activities is something high school age students who want to work need to consider.  

  “I was working in landscaping my freshman year and part of my sophomore year. I would mow lawns and pressure wash houses. I just had friends of my parent’s and people in my neighborhood call to ask me to work on their house. I got paid $15 an hour. What got me into this job was my dad, he works in landscaping. I would say that having this job taught me time organization,” shared Joel Thiessen, a junior. 

  Students seemed to think that jobs that they held something in common with, whether that be involving a sport they play, friends who work the same job, or family members in the business. 

 Junior Kenley Whittaker remarked “I have worked as a licensed referee for grade-school soccer teams. I started in 2019, because I play soccer and I wanted to learn the rules of the game better. I got paid about $18–30 per game, it was more if I was the center ref. I wanted to work this job because it was easy access to me, being on the soccer field.”