The way the economy has been going the last couple of years, teenagers aren’t often finding work as easily as they have in the past.  Obtaining employment at McDonald’s, Dairy Queen, and similar establishments is becoming increasingly harder to come by.  According to a survey taken by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in July 2011, employment among youth (ages 16-24) is lower than it has ever been since 1948, with an all-time low youth employment rate of 48.8 percent.

Some have taken on more unique forms of employment, whether out of convenience or to follow a passion.

In junior Rachel North’s case, her summer job was a matter of convenience. North spent her summer working at her boyfriend’s grandfather’s law firm, filing paper to be destroyed.

“My boyfriend already worked there. He went out of town for a long enough period of time that his grandpa asked me to keep the work going,” North said.  “It was pretty boring but it was a job.”

North sat at a computer from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., two to three days a week, tediously filing information.

“Each box weighed about 35 pounds,” North said, “I had bruises on my hips for weeks, carrying all those boxes up the stairs.”

Although it may not be the most exciting job, North enjoyed getting a paycheck at the end of each week. Senior Anne Stollsteimer, on the other hand, already felt passionate about what a job requires.

“I do it because I love it. I get the gratification from changing the world and people’s lives. I really appreciate it.” said Stollsteimer, who works as a ranch hand at The Flying W Ranch in Cedar Point.

The Flying W is a tourist ranch on an authentic 1890’s homestead that offers a Cowboy Culture experience. Guests can participate in doing the the daily chores such as feeding the horses and cattle, as well as other experiences. Stollsteimer feeds and cares for the animals as well as moves cattle.

“I have to wake up at 4:30 A.M. everyday. It’s a time-related process; the cattle will get irritated after a while once it gets hot. Moving [the cattle] can be a life or death situation. A stampede could happen unexpectedly; anything could happen,” Stollsteimer said.

Surprisingly, this is the only stress she experiences on the job.

Junior Kelsey Hook, however, says she experiences stress almost daily.

Hook is an ice skating instructor at the Independence Events Center. Hook teaches a “Basic Skills” class two to three days a week for children ages 2 years to 11 years old after her own skating practice.

Hook said that sometimes it gets difficult to teach her pupils due to their lack of focus and their mistakes.

“I know they’re little, but they all fall and they don’t always listen,” she said.

She has also had a run in or two with some very unique students.

“This one kid would bite me. He was about four years old, and he tried to bite me the whole time I was teaching.” Hook was stunned at this odd action. “I told his mom what he was doing, and she made him apologize. It was so weird …”

In a much different environment, junior Emily Jackson and sophomore Dimitri Horton, both work at From the Summer’s Garden, an art studio in a residence. It is open only during the summer and early fall. Here, both of them are free to express their creativity and love for art.

“I had always really liked art and painting, but this job makes me love it even more,” Jackson said.

Jackson likes that her job is fun and that there is always something creative for her to do.

“The environment is pretty stress-free and the hours are flexible. I like that,” she said.

Jackson admits that having a job does force her to get her priorities together some of the time.

“You go to work for a few hours, and then get home and sometimes it’s hard to get started on your homework and things. But at the same time it is teaching me responsibility,” she said.

Horton also loves the freedom and the creative environment.

“My favorite process would have to be paper-mache and hypertufa,” he said.

Hypertufa is a mixture of cement and other earth-friendly materials such as paper and sand.

Another great aspect of the job that both Jackson and Horton agree on is that there is very little interference with their work schedules and their school schedules, if any at all.

“I get a ride from one of my co-workers and its in a pretty convenient location in relation to school,” said Horton

Horton experienced little success at finding a job before he was employed at From A Summer’s Garden. While Jackson has worked at From the Summer’s Garden for over a year, Horton has only worked there for a couple of weeks.

“I had so many applications floating around this summer,” Horton said.

Horton had filled out what seemed like a stack of applications for positions at restaurants, retail stores, and countless other places. Following up on most of the applications was discouraging.

“Some places would call me back, and say that they ‘weren’t really looking at the moment but that they would get back to me’ or after interviewing me, would tell me that they don’t even hire teenagers. And some wouldn’t even call me back.”

Although she likes the idea of teens taking on jobs around their already busy schedules, North thought that having a job as a teenager is only necessary to a certain extent.

“I think that having a job is nice, but it is more important to focus on school. Your education is going to get you farther in life than trying to tackle a part-time job,” she said.

On the other hand, Jackson thinks that having a job as a teenager is a valuable learning experience.

“It teaches you responsibility. Most kids are so used to their parents buying everything for them these days, while I choose to work my tail off for the things that I want,” she said.

Passionate about her job, Stollsteimer said, “Pick [a job] that you like. The money only makes it that much better.”

As for Horton, he said “[Having a job] has taught me responsibility and organization. It has been a great learning experience.”

By Shelby Johnson