<p>abasket… yes very athletic - caddying is one idea we have not thought of - and will try. he has done basketball reffing in the past but he is not patched. It is quite a process to get patched - I don’t think there is enough time right now to do that, but good idea for the future. </p>
<p>garland - we do live near a major city - but I’m not sure what kinds of canvassing organizaitons you mean… can you give me an example or two?</p>
<p>such great ideas - thanks everyone.</p>
<p>Retail jobs are the easiest ones to get, especially over summer. Also I think it will help him become a better customer. </p>
<p>Is this his first job ever? If so, protip, tell him to apply in person (give app to manager) if there is an option to and call appropriately afterwards to check up on the application.</p>
<p>lullabies- he has tried some retail…Staples, Kmart for example. most of them require on-line application</p>
<p>For picking up summer work, ours had more success by asking a friend who was already working there mention their name to the supervisor, as soon as the application was filed (same day). If they like the employee, they figure the friends will be similarly capable and responsible, so would go look up the application. </p>
<p>One summer at that age, a son worked for a local family-owned moving company. It was very hot, physical work. He isn’t large or muscular, rather quick and wiry/strong. Moving teams also need a few quick people to run boxes up steps, or help the really strong guy balance the refrigerator on the dolly. It’s a bit dangerous, though, so don’t do it if you’re concerned about that.</p>
<p>To me, the best job at a moving company would be packing. They need people who can look over a room full of stuff, handle it carefully and quickly, balance the load in the box. With some on-the-job training, an engineering student could do that very well! Usually they have women do it, but there’s no reason a man couldn’t.</p>
<p>concerned–groups like Clean Water Action, Citizen Action, PIRG, Greenpeace, etc. Actually, in cities they tend to do street canvassing, which is harder than door to door canvassing which generally happens in suburban areas around bigger cities. So like I wouldn’t recommend street canvassing in NYC, for instance (my D tried that once and hated it) but there are several canvassing organizations around NY in NJ, LI, or Westchester. My kids work in North Jersey, but they have partner organizations around the country. If you PM me where you are located, I might know of some. But regardless, they tend to advertise year-round in places like Craigslist and with college campuses.</p>
<p>Could he take a class or two at local CC to fulfill some of his lower division gen ed requirements? One of my kids was a lot attendant for a local car dealer one summer. He mastered parallel parking with 4 inches to spare! Granted it had nothing to do with how he wants to spend his life, but it did teach him people skills and customer service skills.</p>
<p>Must be tough out there as I remember it being relatively easy to get summer jobs many years ago. If he doesn’t find anything he could resort to the jobs many of us had as students - caddying, mowing lawns in your community, weeding, dog walking, babysitting or petsitting while neighbors are away on vacation. Don’t know how it is now but when I was in college there was always a shortage of life guards for some reason. And the certification is relatively easy to get for an average to above-average swimmer.</p>
<p>A lot of the guys around here paint houses or work as roofers. Horrible, hot work, but the pay is fine for those that can stick it out.</p>
<p>One thing to ease your mind, is that many of these kind of jobs do not hire three weeks out. They are looking for someone who can start the next day, so when he gets home he should do a round of calling to places he has already applied.</p>
<p>Landscapers and lawn service companies also hire young men, pretty much on the spot, if the recession is starting to lift wherever you live. Again, hard physical work, but he’ll get into shape faster than at a gym.</p>
<p>If he works as a roofer, find out if it’s a company that allows its employees to wear safety belts and headgear. They’re supposed to require it, but since it’s cumbersome, some companies don’t enforce it properly. OSHA inspectors shut down their operations for a few days with fines, but it still seems to be an ongoing problem.</p>
<p>Power washing and staining decks as a self employed person. Post flyers at the supermarket and put cards in people’s mailboxes. Best to power wash in the afternoons when it is hot and stain decks early in the morning while it is cool.</p>
<p>@OP: I mean places like clothing stores. Their turnover rate is higher than tech retail places such as Staples or Kmart, which means they’ll hire more people.</p>
<p>Construction subcontractors and surveying companies. Also welding shops. He’s a prime candidate for a “helper”, and it will help him too. My D had good luck last year applying for summer daycare positions.</p>
<p>OP: you mentioned that your S is athletic. Does he have a particular skill that he could teach? My S taught swimming lessons to young kids at our neighborhood pool, first in group lessons, then in private lessons. The group lessons didn’t pay as well as the private lessons but helped him establish a reputation as a good instructor that the kids loved. He was also a soccer goalie & was able to teach private lessons on goalkeeping to young soccer players through our local soccer league. Another young man that my S knew was an ranked chess player. He taught chess clinics to elementary school players.</p>
<p>In our area, there is always a need for valet parkers in the summer at country clubs and beach clubs. My d’s worked in nursery school camps, local retail, pass checker at town beach, paid six week internship at museum in NYC, unpaid summer theater internship…and so on.</p>