Technology blew traditional teen jobs right out of the water

 

Introduction/James Morgan

Data and Context/ChatGPT

JUNE INEVITABLY TAKES me back to all the summer jobs I had as a kid. When I was 12, I rode my bike weekly to every house in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, delivering “circulars” listing weekend sale items for a local grocery store. When I was 13, I bagged groceries at that same grocery. When I was 14 and now living in Miami, Florida, I operated a cash register at a drug store. When I was 15, I refused, after one day, to return to the job my dad had secured for me—taking inventory, screw by screw by tiny screw, at a cavernous old-fashioned hardware store (even kids have rights)—and my mother shipped me back to Hazlehurst to spend the summer with my aunt and uncle, so as to keep my dad from killing me.

The next summer, when I was 16, I had two jobs—one was a great one-day gig appearing in a Coppertone TV commercial in Miami. That ad, which ran once a week for four years on a popular show called “American Bandstand,” ended up paying for part of my first year of college. The other, less glamorous job that year was to strip the old paint off our stucco house and apply a new paint job, being careful not to miss any of those elusive stucco crevices; it was a long, very hot summer under the beating Miami sun. It required a whole lot of Coppertone.

When I was 17, my dad got me a job designing ads at a Coral Gables company called Direct-O-Dial, maker of an automatic flip-up address book for people to list the names and numbers of their friends—interspersed with my handsome ads for local businesses—and keep handy next to their black rotary telephones. In the back warehouse of the building, the man who boxed up all the products for shipping was a medical doctor just immigrated from Cuba, and happy to have the job.

The summer before I left for Ole Miss, I worked several jobs for the Dade County (Florida) School Maintenance Department. First, I learned how to take apart, repair, and re-assemble mimeograph machines (Google them). Next, I drove a fork lift to haul heavy loads around the maintenance yard. I felt like a superhero sitting atop that mighty machine.

Even during college, I had summer jobs. After freshman year, I went home to Miami and got a job hawking “The Great Books of the Western World,” thinking this was the perfect summer job for an English major like me. After a couple of weeks of training, my colleagues and I were bused into neighborhoods in south Miami where we went door to door trying to sell the 54-volume-set of the greatest works in the English language to random housewives. In 14 days, I didn’t make a sale. I never could say the words, “And it comes with ‘The Amazing Syntopicon, a thesauris of ideas,’” with a straight face. Soon I quit and went back to Dade County Maintenance where I returned, briefly, to the mimeograph repair team. Soon, however, I was given the keys to my own UPS-size truck and began delivering school mail on a week-long schedule to all the schools in the county, from up near Fort Lauderdale down to the Keys. I kept that job for three mindless summers and dearly loved it.

All of that now feels so 20th century. Seems like everything in the world has changed since then, beginning with parenting. “We tend to shelter our kids more today,” Dr. Stephen Addison wrote in an article for this newsletter last fall. “Parents expect to be in contact with their children 24/7, so the kids don’t have as much independence as they used to.” Another cultural shift, of course, is the explosion of technology.

With that in mind, I asked ChatGPT to (a) tell us how summer work for young people has changed since my day; and (b) whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Take it away, Chat….

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ChatGPT:
THAT’S A GREAT and timely question—and one that touches on changes in technology, economics, parenting, education, and culture over the past few decades. Here’s an overview of how summer jobs for young people have changed from the 20th to the 21st century, followed by data to illustrate the shift.

What’s Changed Since the “Summer Job” Era
1. Decline of Traditional Teen Employment: In the mid-to-late 20th century, summer jobs were almost a rite of passage. Teenagers worked in retail, restaurants, landscaping, warehouses, and recreation (like lifeguarding or caddying). But since the early 2000s, the teen summer job has become far less common.

Key reasons:

• Increased focus on education: More teens are taking summer classes (for credit, enrichment, or college prep).
• Extracurricular pressure: Teens are encouraged to build “resumés” for college—volunteering, internships, sports, or specialized programs often take priority.
• Changes in labor market: Entry-level service jobs that once hired teens are now more often filled by older workers, recent immigrants, or adults needing full-time income.
• Digital gig economy: Some teens are finding flexible, online ways to earn money—selling on Etsy or Depop, gaming, tutoring online, or doing content creation.

2. Rise of Informal and Virtual Work: Many teens still work, but not necessarily in W-2 summer jobs. Instead, they might:

• Do freelance design or coding online.
• Babysit or dog walk via platforms like Rover or Care.com.
• Participate in online entrepreneurial ventures (dropshipping, affiliate marketing, etc.).
• Monetize YouTube, TikTok, or other social platforms.

3. Cultural Shifts: Parenting norms have shifted—there’s more concern about safety, fewer expectations for teens to work out of financial necessity. And technology offers entertainment, distraction, and ways to spend time that weren’t available decades ago—streaming, gaming, social media.

Data: How Much Has Teen Summer Employment Declined?
Summer Labor Force Participation (June–August)
1978…………………………………………………… 71.8% (peak)
1990……………………………………………………. ~66%
2000…………………………………………………….. 52%
2010…………………………………………………….. 43%
2019…………………………………………………….. 42%
2023…………………………………………………….. ~39%
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

Teen Employment vs. Education Trends
According to a 2021 Pew Research Center report:

• In July 2019, only 35% of teens were employed, compared to nearly 60% in 1980.
• Over 40% of teens enrolled in summer school in 2019—a sharp increase from ~10% in the 1980s.

Types of Work Teens Do (Recent Trends)
From BLS and Census Bureau data:

• Most common jobs in 2023: food service (33%), retail (22%), recreation (13%), office/admin (8%).
• Online/freelance income is underreported in government data but rising significantly, especially among teens aged 16–18.

In short: Yes, summer for teens has changed dramatically. The classic “summer job” hasn’t disappeared, but it’s no longer the norm. Teens today are more likely to be studying, building resumés, freelancing, or doing informal gig work than stocking shelves at a grocery store. Technology and shifting cultural priorities have made this generation’s summer experience far more diverse—and far less focused on traditional employment.

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NOW LET’S TAKE a closer look at how specific technologies and platforms have opened up modern, often unconventional, summer job alternatives for teens in the 21st century.

Tech-Enabled Summer Gigs for Teens
1. Content Creation Platforms (e.g. TikTok, YouTube, Instagram): Teens can earn money through sponsored content, ad revenue, affiliate marketing, or selling their own products. A 16-year-old with a TikTok following of 50,000 might earn $200–$500 per sponsored post. Meanwhile, the skills developed include video editing, marketing, branding, and public speaking.

2. Online Tutoring and Academic Help: On such platforms as Wyzant, StudyPool, Chegg Tutors, Outschool (for those 18+ or with parent involvement), teens with strong academic performance can tutor younger students in subjects like math, writing, science, coding, or test prep. Depending on the subject and platform, they can command $10-$30 an hour. Skills developed are teaching, communication, and subject mastery.

3. Freelance Marketplaces: Using such platforms as Fiverr, Upwork, and 99designs (some require users to be 18+, others allow supervised accounts), teens can offer such services as Graphic design (logos, YouTube banners, Twitch overlays); video editing (for streamers or creators); voiceovers or jingles; and writing blog posts or fan fiction. Earnings vary by niche, but successful teens can earn hundreds of dollars a month. The skills developed include business communication, pricing strategy, and client management.

4. Coding & Web Development: Teens who’ve learned programming can take on simple freelance jobs like building websites for local businesses or apps for small clients. Relevant platforms include Replit Bounties, GitHub Sponsors, or direct outreach through portfolio sites. Entry-level coding gigs might pay $100–$500+ per project, all while the teens are developing technical proficiency, problem-solving, and entrepreneurship skills.

5. Digital Reselling (Flipping): Using such platforms as Depop, Poshmark, eBay, Mercari, and Facebook Marketplace, teens can sell clothes, sneakers, vintage tech, collectibles, and so on. “Teen flippers” often source inventory from garage sales, thrift stores, or even their own closets. Depending on how hard they hustle, they can make $1,000+ over a summer. Skills developed include inventory management, photography, negotiation, and customer service.

6. Game Streaming and Monetized Gaming: Using platforms like Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Discord communities, teens stream themselves playing games and earn via subscriptions, donations, and brand sponsorships. This gig requires consistency and charisma more than elite gameplay, and in the process they learn video production, engagement, and community moderation.

7. Online Microtasks and Surveys: Some teens use such platforms as Swagbucks, Amazon Mechanical Turk, and InboxDollars as entry-level ways to earn a few dollars online.

8. Print-on-Demand and E-Commerce: On such platforms as Redbubble, Teespring, Shopify, and Etsy (for custom crafts or designs), teens create T-shirt designs, stickers, phone cases, or digital downloads that are printed and shipped by third-party providers. Once uploaded, sales can generate passive income throughout the summer. Meanwhile, the skills developed include design, niche marketing, SEO, and digital branding.

How Common Is This?
While exact numbers are hard to pin down due to informal income reporting, here are a few snapshots:

• A 2022 Junior Achievement/DECA survey found that more than 30% of teens aged 13–17 had tried making money online in the past year.
• Pew Research (2023) reports that about 1 in 5 teens say they’ve earned money through digital content creation.
• YouTube reports over 500,000 channels worldwide are monetized via ads—many by younger users or teams of teens.

Conclusion
Where once a summer job meant a uniform and a punch clock, now it might mean editing videos from a bedroom, running a vintage store on Depop, or tutoring calculus via Zoom. Technology has shifted the landscape from timecard labor to digital entrepreneurship—and while not every teen is getting rich, many are gaining useful 21st-century skills far earlier than previous generations.
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James Morgan is editor of the Apprenticely newsletter. ChatGPT is trying out for a contributing editor spot.