Guide for 12 year old kids: How to find, get, and keep a job in 2018.
Updated April 11, 2018
Is there a website that can help 12 year olds learn about finding jobs and getting hired?
Visit Boostapal’s find teen jobs section to learn about jobs, interviews, careers and the different types of employment and how best to get hired. There are many rules that limit the type of work 12 year old minors can do. It’s important to know these rules and learn what will be expected when you try to land your first job. You can also search for employment posters in your state – these posters will reveal all the information about what types of jobs you may be eligible for. And here is another great reference to find jobs for teens information.
Rules regarding work for 12 year old boys and girls: What jobs can you get hired at?
Laws prevent pre-teens from working at most traditional jobs. Working at places such as Panda Express, Panera Bread, Papa Johns, Papa Murphy's , Party America, Pearle Vision, Pizza Hut, Pizza Inn, Planet Fitness, Play It Again Sports, Popeyes - that’s a lot of P's! - are usually off-limits to 12 year old youngsters but your older brothers and sisters may find work available. While these jobs will be available to you in just a few years, for now you will have to limit yourself to odd jobs or even starting your own small business. Don’t worry it’s not as hard (getting hired or starting a small business), as it seems and you can earn easy money!
How can a 12 year old get a really fun summer job?
Twelve year olds can check out the jobs on this page when they begin their search for a summer job. In a few years you can get great ideas for summer jobs here.
Is there a limited amount of cash a 12 year old boy or girl can earn working at a job?
There is no specified limit on the books as far as how much money a 12 year old can make at any particular job. There is also no minimum amount you can expect to earn. You might make $5 and up per job or $10 for any particular work you decide to perform. Because you probably won’t be working at a traditional job it’ll be up to you and your employer to determine how much you should be earning from any work you perform. As another example, you may ask for $10 to wash cars in the neighborhood. You’ll have to experiment with different prices to find out what people will pay for the service you’re offering.
Is it possible to work at a traditional job at 12 years old?
Yes, although rare, there are exceptions to laws prohibiting 12 year olds from working at a traditional job. Each state has different rules and requirements. For instance, there may be an application process in your state that requires you and your parents to submit a formal request for bypassing state laws. Try searching the name of your state and “employment restrictions for minors” to find out the rules in your state. Here are the federal guidelines for hiring minors. Below you can read about some typical exception to work restrictions for 12 year old kids:
- A. Working for a business owned by your family is the first exemption. For instance you may not be able to work at Target helping stock items but you can stock items at a business owned by your family. Even here, though, you cannot work at a business if there is danger involved such as hard labor or dangerous equipment. Your family must be present while you work and you may be limited to a certain number of hours per day;
- B. If you watch TV or go to the movies you know that twelve year olds can work in the performing arts. Again your parents must consent to this;
- C. Depending on your state, a twelve year old may work as a delivery person for local newspapers.
Tips on finding people that will hire a 12 year old boy or girl for side-work.
If you think you may be eligible for a traditional type of job, find out the rules in your state and whether you meet any of the typical exemptions. If not, you’ll need to find side jobs to earn fast and easy money. This can be anything from washing cars to babysitting (we provide a complete list of jobs so keep reading). You’ll need to show adults that you’re responsible and that you’ll do a good job. Start with the people closest to you (family and neighbors), to gain a little experience before you try to get a lot of work. Use some of the people happy with your work to show others that you are reliable and do a good job.
Best jobs for 12 year olds.
Below you’ll find a long list of jobs for 12 year old kids to earn fast and easy cash after school, on the weekends and during the summer months. Find the right employment opportunity for you based on your interests, location, and time available to work:
- Become a teacher or tutor
Whether you’re 12 years old or 20 years old you probably have something that you’re really good at and can make fast and easy money at instructing. Whether it’s math, science, kickball, or skateboarding there are always kids younger than you that can benefit from your talent. Get the word out and you’ll find parents eager to hire you on to teach your skills to their young kids. Show them your grades or give them a demonstration of your talent to convince them you’ll do a great job.
How much can I earn teaching? Most twelve year old kids earn about $8.00 and more per hour at this type of job. Once you’ve shown how good you are you’ll have parents eager to hire you to help their kids.
- Light outdoor cleaning around the neighborhood
This is a great job for a twelve year old minor looking to earn some extra money. Just look at your neighbors’ houses and you’ll see many opportunities for work; from cleaning flower beds to windows. These aren’t difficult jobs so you really don’t need experience to be hired for this work. And the great thing is that other neighbors will see your great work and want to hire you too.
How much can I earn from outdoor cleaning? A 12 year old can expect to get paid by the job, not by the hour. Expect about $25 and higher for jobs that take about 3 hours. Remember your fee is negotiable. As more people want to hire you, you’ll begin to charge more per job.
- Attic and basement cleaning services job
Unlike outdoor cleaning, here you can’t easily see whether someone would need your work but rest assured almost everyone needs to hire someone for this job. Everyone has a ton of junk. If their garage is clean, chances are their attics or basements aren’t. Print up some fliers offering to be hired on to complete this type of work and hand them out to neighbors. Expect to haul away junk and pack away other things. The older neighbors will likely need the most work. You’ll be sure to clean up!
How much can I earn from basement and attic cleaning services jobs? You’ll be paid by the job so price your service correctly. Charge about $10 and up for each hour you think the job will take.
- Sell your neighbors unwanted items
You probably occasionally see garage sales in your neighborhood. Most people want to have a garage sale but don’t want to go through the trouble. So make a job of it and earn some extra money. For a 12 year old it’s a great, easy, and fun side job. Go to your neighbors and offer to hold a garage sale for them. They’ll hire you, give you the items and you set up the rest. You’ll put up signs, set up the merchandise and sell it. Soon you’ll be the neighborhood go to sales person making great money, especially in the summer months.
How much can I earn from running a garage sale? A twelve year old can expect to earn about $15 and up per day for each garage sale. Instead of charging a flat fee you can instead offer to run the sale and earn 10% of all the money you bring in.
- Become a marketer of garage sales
Another good way to earn from garage sales for a 12 year old is to market garage sales for your neighbors. For those neighbors who want to hold the garage sale themselves, offer to help them bring in customers. They’ll hire you to put up signs or stand near a corner with a big sign. Both of these are great ways to have a successful garage sale. You’ll be bringing in more customers to the sale and your employer will be making more money. Offer to place signs for $1 each or to stand at the corner holding a sign for $7 per hour. Either way you can make good money at this kind of work and your employer can make more money from all the additional sales.
How much can I earn from marketing a garage sale? Depending on what task you perform for this job you should be able to make about $15 putting up signs or $25 holding up signs to bring in customers.
- Babysitter for smaller kids
Even at twelve years old you can find work as a babysitter as long as you are responsible and reliable. Start with neighbors with younger children. Once you’ve gained some references the jobs will be easier to get and you’ll find people are itching to hire you on! To get even more work look into a CPR certification classes. This shows your dedication to taking good care of the kids. You’ll see more parents interested in hiring you and you can charge more for employment like this.
How much can I earn babysitting smaller kids? On average, a twelve year old will likely earn about $8 and up per hour but as you gain experience expect to earn as much as $15 and more per hour.
- Trimming, gardening and other yard work
As a twelve year old youngster, you probably have more experience at this type of employment than you realize. Help you provided over the years at your own house will go a long way in getting you jobs helping others. You’ll be hired to help trim plants, rake leaves, plant gardens, and a variety of other small jobs. It’s not hard work and you can enjoy being outside. Look around your neighborhood for yards that could use some work. Once you have a few customers under your belt ask them to recommend you to their friends.
How much can I earn doing yard work? Expect to average about $6 and up per hour. As you gain some experience you can charge by the job and not by the hour.
- Good swimmer? Give lessons
Being only 12 years olds doesn’t mean that you can’t teach others. If you are a good swimmer you can help others (especially in the summer months). Get credibility by getting recommendations from adults. If you’ve won any awards or trophies from swimming contests make sure people know about them. Post flyers at the local library and swimming pools saying you’re available to be hired. Go to your neighbors first to get experience for this job. The longer you do it the more you’ll earn.
How much can I earn working as a swimming instructor? Twelve year olds can expect to start at about $9 and more per hour. Once you gain some experience you’ll earn much more doing this type of work.
- Become a writer’s helper
Twelve year olds with excellent writing and grammar skills can find work online as a writer’s assistant. You’ll be given small jobs of writing or rewriting articles, descriptions, or summaries. You can set your own hours for this type of job and work from home. As your experience grows so will your earning. Be sure to be able to provide samples of things you’ve written to prospective employers. Also you’ll likely be required to write something to show your ability before you get the job.
How much can I earn as a writer’s helper? Twelve year olds will be paid by the article rather than an hourly wage for this sort of work. Expect to earn about $1 and up for a short summary under 50 words to $10 for a long rewrite.
- Editor
As an editor/proofreader you help others with less than exceptional writing abilities. Similar to a writer’s helper you’ll need great grammar and attention to detail for this type of job. The internet is where twelve year old kids will most likely find this type of work. The best way to find work is to proofread your favorite blogs and contact the writer with errors you’ve found. Let them know you’re willing to do this work for them. They’ll be impressed you were able to help and hire you right away!
How much can I earn as a blog editor? Twelve year olds can expect to be paid based on the length of the article. Some blogs also pay by the amount of work performed. For a small article expect to make about $6 and up.
- Doggy day care
At twelve years old you get out of school long before most adults get home from work so you have the perfect opportunity to be hired to walk and play with dogs. If you like dogs and like to walk and play with them then let your neighbors know you are available for this sort of job. Dogs are a part of the family and owners want to treat them well. Let them know you’re the one for the job.
How much can I earn working as a dog walker? A twelve year old can expect to earn about $3 and more per dog for a walk.
- Sell water, soda or lemonade
When you see an event in your neighborhood such as a parade, baseball game, or just a large garage sale set up a small stand to sell refreshments. You’ll need your parents help with the supplies but you can make good money at this side job, especially on hot days. You can even do this in the winter by offering hot chocolate.
How much can I earn selling refreshments? How much a twelve year old will earn depends on what is being sold. Expect to resell a can of soda or water for about $1.
- Become a photographer
If you like taking pictures this is a great job for a twelve year old. Go to school events and take digital pictures. You can set up a small website and let the parents know that you have pictures available. You can offer them for sale for a small fee. Many parents are too busy watching the event to take good pictures so they’ll love hiring you to take pictures.
How much can I earn selling digital photos? A 12 year old will usually receive between $.50 and $1 per photo taking job. Remember you can sell the same photo many times over with this type of employment.
- Swimming pool care
Similar to yard work, doing swimming pool work doesn’t take experience and is great for a 12 year old looking to earn some extra money. Your main job will be keeping the pool free of leaves and dirt and making sure the skimmer baskets are clean. Leave the complicated stuff like chemical testing to a professional. If you aren’t sure about the work involved have a family member or neighbor with a pool show you how to do this sort job.
How much can I earn working at swimming pool maintenance? A 12 year old can earn about $8 and higher for each cleaning. This will need to be done at least once per week for each pool so the money can really add up.
- Sell water at outdoor events
For twelve year old selling water is a great side job to earn money. Ask your parents to help you buy a large quantity of purified water. Then look for outdoor events in your area such as flea markets, bicycle races or just head up to the park on a hot day. The hotter the day the more you’ll sell at this type of work.
How much can I earn at a job selling water? Twelve year olds can expect to buy the water for about $.15 per bottle and resell them for about $1. Sell just ten bottles and you’ll make over $8 and up for this type of employment.
- Wash dirty cars
Walk up and down your street and you’ll see a lot of dirty cars in driveways. It’s because adults hate doing it and it costs about $15 to take it to a quality car wash. This is where a 12 year old can clean up (literally!) doing this sort of job. Offer your cleaning services to your neighbors. Once people see you do a good job you’ll have a lot of people wanting to hire you. And since cars need to be washed weekly this can be a great way to earn steady money.
How much can I earn being employed washing cars? Twelve year olds can expect to earn between $6 and $12 depending on the size of the vehicle.
- Interior house cleaning
Like yard work, this is a job most 12 year old have experience with from doing chores around the house. This job is not as easy as some of the others mentioned but it pays more money than most. Get an early start on a Saturday morning and you can probably squeeze in three or four houses in one day. Ask the homeowner who hires you if they’ll provide the cleaning stuff so that you can be sure to come prepared.
How much can I earn being hired on to clean houses? A 12 year old usually makes about $30 and up for a small house and $50 for a big one, at this type of job.
- Keep your subdivision clean
Many homes are now part of subdivision which means that all the homeowners are responsible for keeping their area clean from trash. Ask your parents to help you get this job by bringing this up at a homeowners’ meeting. You can charge each homeowner $1 per week to keep the area clean. Do a good job and you can expand to other areas.
How much can I earn at this job? A twelve year old can expect to earn about $30 and up per week at this kind of work.
- Collect recyclables
For a 12 year old, collecting recyclable bottles and cans is a great way to earn money as a side job. Ask your family, friends, and neighbors to save them for you. Offer them a bucket to store them in each week. Remember to clean the bucket each time you empty it. Many cities already require homeowners to sort out their bottles and cans so it’ll be easy for them to save them for you. For where to recycle, check out Recycle Nation.
You will need some holiday lights for this job. You can use either your neighbors’ lights or have your parents buy them (and charge the cost to the neighbor). At 12 years old, you want to stay away from ladders so put the lights up where you are able to (walkways and bushes is always nice).
How much can a 12 year old kid earn putting up holiday lights? Usually a kid can earn $20-$25 per neighbor. Don’t forget to charge extra if you are supplying the lights!
- Shovel snow.
In colder areas, shoveling snow from your neighbors’ walkways and driveways can be a very good way to earn extra cash. Most people don’t enjoy shoveling snow so it’s an ideal task for a kid. You will need a snow shovel and warm clothing (also waterproof gloves) to perform this type of job. You can also have your parent buy rock salt in bulk and sell it as an extra service (to melt the ice).
How much can a 12 year old boy or girl make shoveling snow? Usually $10-$20 per neighbor is a very reasonable amount. Don’t forget to charge extra when you add the additional service of using rock salt to melt the ice!
- Paint house numbers on houses, curbs and mailboxes
You've probably noticed house numbers painted on the street, curb and mailbox. Every wonder how those numbers got there? Someone probably painted the numbers. You can be that painter! All your need to perform this type of job is paint and stencils (for tracing the numbers). This job will bring out a 12 year olds true artistic abilities!
How much can you earn from painting numbers on houses, curbs and mailboxes? A twelve year old can expect to earn about $10 per house. Think of all the houses in your neighborhood that will need your service!