Consumer News: Best summer jobs for teens in 2026: Flexible gigs that build skills and pay well

Today's summer jobs offer teens more opportunities to earn money, gain experience, and strengthen their resumes

• Summer jobs are evolving: Teens are increasingly seeking flexible jobs that offer competitive pay, valuable skills, and resume-building experience beyond traditional retail and fast-food roles.

• Customer service skills are still in demand: Monster's top jobs for teens in 2026 include roles such as camp counselor, cashier, barista, and babysitter, many of which help young workers develop communication and leadership skills.

• Early jobs can pay off long-term: Career expert Vicki Salemi says summer employment gives teens a chance to practice negotiating pay, build professional references, and gain insight into the types of careers they may want to pursue in the future.

Summer jobs have long been a rite of passage for teenagers, but the options available today look very different from the traditional fast-food and retail roles many parents remember.

As teens increasingly look for jobs that offer flexibility, competitive pay, and opportunities to build real-world skills, employers are responding with a wider variety of opportunities. To break things down, Monster recently shared a list of the top 25 jobs for teens and high school students.

ConsumerAffairs spoke with Vicki Salemi, career expert at Monster, who explained that many of today's summer jobs can help young workers gain valuable experience, develop confidence, and start building a resume long before they enter the full-time workforce.

The best jobs list

Heres a look at Monsters top 10 list:

• Babysitter

  • Average Pay: $13.71/hour

• Barista

  • Average Pay: $14.12/hour

• Busser

  • Average Pay: $14.12/hour

• Call Center Representative

  • Average Pay: $18.83/hour

• Camp Counselor

  • Average Pay: $21.82/hour

• Car Wash Attendant

  • Average Pay: $14.83/hour

• Cashier

  • Average Pay: $21.21/hour

• Catering Coordinator

  • Average Pay: $14/hour

• Delivery Driver

  • Average Pay: $14.75/hour

• Dishwasher

  • Average Pay: $13.98/hour

Interestingly, even though Gen Z and Gen Alpha are digital natives, the top jobs this summer point to jobs that are not in front of a screen, Salemi said. This is beneficial to teens to develop customer service skills that they'll be able to apply to future jobs.

Start negotiating early

For teens looking for a summer job, this could be their first introduction to negotiating pay. Salemi says this is a great opportunity to sharpen negotiating skills at a young age.

They may want to ask if there's room for a higher amount and if that is not possible, they may want to ask if there are milestones they need to reach or if it can be evaluated mid-summer, she said. The answer may still be no, but it's a good idea to leverage this opportunity for references in addition to building valuable skills such as a work ethic, integrity, punctuality, and professionalism.

Additionally, they may want to keep this in mind for next summer and beyond: if they want to continue working there during future summer breaks, they should articulate that and plant the seed. They will have more negotiating power next summer to say something like, Last year I got paid X/hour, and you were happy with my work, is there room for an increase this summer?

How parents can support their teens in the job hunt

If your teen is looking for a summer job, Salemi recommends the best thing to do is provide guidance.

While I'm not a parent to give parenting advice overall, they may want to advise their teens to set up job alerts on Monster, use one of our free resume templates and of course, apply as soon as they see a job available, she said. It's not too late either. If they haven't landed a summer job yet, companies are definitely still hiring.

Look for natural connections

Salemis last piece of advice for teen job hunters: have fun!

While pay and skill-building are important, they should also think about something they would enjoy, she said. For instance, if they enjoy golfing, they should ask local country clubs if they have any openings.

And even if they get the job and don't enjoy it, the good thing about summer employment is a finite end date. By not enjoying work, it's valuable information to lean into once they launch their full-time careers a few years down the road. They'll be able to remember which task, skills, and/or environment and more they want to steer clear from.