To have the things you want and need, someone has to pay for them. Right now, someone who takes care of you probably pays for most of those things. In the future, you will likely have to work to earn that money yourself through a job.

Working a Job

Most often, having a job means that someone hires you to do a task, often for a set time each day or month. The time you work is often referred to as your shift. This task could be super specific, like cooking hamburgers, or very broad, like planning the direction of a company. You could also start your own business and pay yourself from the profits. If that business gets big enough, you could hire other employees to help, but you’ll have to pay them as well.

Working Now

The youngest you can be officially hired for most jobs in the US is age 14. If you think you want to start working then, research about what jobs around you are open to hiring young workers. You will likely have limited hours that you’re allowed to work, and will probably make minimum wage, which is the lowest legal amount an employer can pay an employee. Jobs you may do as a young worker include cleaning tables at a fast food restaurant, cleaning your school after hours, or helping bag items at the grocery store.

If you aren’t old enough or don’t want to work an official job, you can still work small jobs to earn money. Talk to your parents about earning an allowance in exchange for doing chores, offer to walk your neighbor’s dogs, babysit kids, or do any number of other smaller tasks for pay. Even if it’s not a lot, making money now can help you start practicing creating and working with a budget. Use the calculator below to experiment with different amounts you could make.

Working in the Future

Thinking about your future job can be super exciting! Will you help patients as a doctor? Will you study nature as a scientist? Will you create beautiful paintings as an artist? The possibilities are endless. When thinking about what you want to do for work, consider the things you like or find interesting now, and look into what jobs are related to them. Once you find a few options, start taking steps to prepare by working hard in school, learning more about your areas of interest, and building your skills. Some careers require very specific training or schooling—some of them for a long time. Consider making an education plan, where you map out the classes or schooling you’ll need to set yourself up for success in a certain job.