Sizzling Summer Jobs

The final bell rings and students sprint out of the classroom. Summer has started and it is time to let loose and forget about school for the next three months. They are about to go watch the newest movie with their friends until they reach into their pocket and realize that they are out of money. They’re broke and in order to be able to go to all the sweet summer concerts and satisfy the sweet tooth with the occasional TCBY frozen yogurt they are going to need some money. There are two options: sell everything in the house or get a job. Instead of selling the X-Box and TV, here are some the best local jobs East students are working that students could get hired to do.

It doesn’t matter if someone is working at their carwash at 85th and Stateline or at 119th by Town Center one thing’s for certain, they’re going to make bank. The pay may be near minimum wage but the tips will make up for it. Junior Patrick Blackburn who has been working at the carwash for two years, said that the tips can make the hard labor worth it.

“On a typical week, I make about a $100 a week working 20 hours a week,” Blackburn said.

Waterway allows their workers to get to polish up Johnson County’s wide range of automobiles. “Sometimes there were some old dirty cars that were a pain to clean or P.O.S.’s like I like to call them, but then there were some sweet cars like Bentleys or Benz’s that we got to get inside of,” Blackburn said. “It’s pretty cool since I’ve never really been up close to one.”

According to Blackburn the only downside to working at “The Way” is going to have to be working on the blazing hot 100 degree summer days. But if someone can work through the heat and wants to fill their pockets up with some cash, Waterway is the perfect job.

Junior Jackson Stephens nannied for a couple kids last summer and believes it’s the most convenient and easiest job he’s ever had.

“The worst part was probably picking the kid up from his house,” Stephens said. “Other than that I would usually just take them to the pool which is never a burden.”

The pay for this job can vary and mostly depends on the parents that are employing the sitter. Stephens received about $100 for 21 hours a week which is pretty low but other nannies can receive between $10 to $15 an hour.

No matter the pay, the most important job of a nanny is to ensure the safety of the child they babysit. Stephens says this job requires responsibility and the ability to connect with kids. Parents will be entrusting the nanny with their child and failure is not an option.

“As long as the kids are well behaved then the job won’t be that hard and it will be an easy few bucks.” Stephens said.

This job requires the capability to swim and a lifeguarding certification that costs about $95. According to sophomore Maddie Hise who lifeguards at the Carriage Club, the best part of the job is having the opportunity to meet new people everyday.

“You really get to know the members and see your friends,” Hise said. “It’s also nice to hang out by the pool on nice days.”

Unfortunately, lifeguarding isn’t as easy as getting certified and sitting by a pool. Hise has had a couple memorable experiences on the job that she would have rather not dealt with. One was when a couple of members were overserved and her manager made her tell them to leave.

“It was awkward kicking them out but it had to be done,” Hise said. “It’s important to make sure the Carriage Club pool is a friendly zone.”

Hise said that other than the one instance, the only other problems she’s had to deal with are swimmers’ injuries and kids acting up.

“If a boy starts getting too loud or throws things then it’s my job to give him a warning and make sure that he doesn’t do it again.” Hise said.

Despite rowdy kids and having to deal with a few boo-boos, Hise loves her job and plans on continuing it this summer.

Every summer the demand for for a well-kept lawn is high. That’s why this job has the one of the highest market than any other of these other jobs. According to sophomore Jackson Granstaff, the first thing somebody who wants to make a lot of money is going to want to do is to make flyers and hand them out to your neighbors. Once they get a few customers they are going to want to make sure they do a good job on their yards so they can build a good reputation. A good reputation means the customers will recommend the mower to their friends. This means more customers; more customers equals more money.

Granstaff, who has been mowing since seventh grade, started off with a few yards but has now escalated to over 10 yards.

“I started mowing with someone else but this summer I’ll be doing it by myself,” Granstaff said. “This summer I’m going to cut back on the yards so I have time to swim and my social life.

The best part about lawn mowing? The tax-free cash.

“It’s nice not having to deal with tax and getting one hundred percent of the profits,” Granstaff said.

Granstaff says he made $5,000 last summer and used that money to buy himself a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

“Now that I bought myself a car I am planning to just save the rest of my profits for college,” Granstaff said.