16 Jobs for 17 Year Olds in NYC

New York is an expensive place to live, and if you just turned 17 and hope to find a job, you will appreciate our list of 16 jobs for 17 year olds in NYC.

Being a teen in New York City is not easy. There is school, friends, social networks to keep up with and a whole host of other things going on at the same time.  If you’re interested in earning your own money and having more responsibilities, there is no better way to do so than by getting a job. Eventually, all of us must work and earn our bread at the end of the day. As long as you know how to manage it all, being a teen and having a job can be a rewarding experience, especially when you get to save the money you earn.

You want to get a job because you want the experience, and let’s be honest, any additions to your pocket cannot hurt. Now, according to Department of Labor New York State you can work pretty much unrestricted when you reach 17, even if you do not want to continue school. But, leaving school is certainly not advisable at this early age. You should put emphasis on completing your education, before you start working full time. Everybody has a different situation, so if you do choose to leave your studies behind and start working full time, 17 is pretty much the perfect age to do so. However, if you are planning on working through summer only, then you might be interested in 17 High Paying Summer Jobs for 15-Year-Olds in NYC.

For the purposes of this list of jobs for 17 year olds in NYC, we combed through various websites via a Google Search. However, I must point out one particular website that stood out from the rest. I am of course, talking about Class Curious. If there is anything New York City, then you can count on this particular website to deliver. Our list will contain 16 jobs that we find to be the most relevant for a 17 year old living in New York City. The jobs are not ranked in any order, and we attempted to add a variety of job types, to please different interests and skills. We tried to stick with jobs that require little to no experience, assuming you have none. To help us with average salary calculations, we sought help from Pay Scale.

If you are itching to get into the working world, take a look at our list of 16 jobs for 17 year olds in NYC.

16. Car Wash Attendant

Average pay: $8/hour

New York City is full of cars, even though most people use public transit. Many of these cars need washing as this isn’t the cleanest city on earth. The car washing industry is booming, and there are many outlets that hire teens. They payment is not that high, however there is a high possibility of tips, if you do your job right.

15. Lifeguard

Average pay: $10/hour

If you are an avid swimmer and have the strength and certification required to pull someone out of the water, then this might be a good job opportunity for you. Although this is considered to be a seasonal job, if you are good at it, you can get yourself employed in an indoor pool.

14. Music Teacher/Tutor

Average pay: $20/hour

If you know how to play the guitar or perhaps the violin or any other musical instrument, you can definitely try teaching others. For this though, you need to have proper training. Otherwise, you will not be able to find good employment opportunities. If you are not that musical, ignore this entry and move on.

 13. Lawn and Gardening Services

Average pay: $15/hour

You won’t need expert skills for this one on our list of jobs for 17 year olds in NYC, but you do need to know a few things when it comes to lawn care. However, this is not a standard job, and you need to do quite some looking in order to land a position. When you do find the right job, you are going to have a great time. It’s basically taking care of plants, which can be a soothing experience, to say the least. However, the job is labor intensive, and you have to have good physique in order to pull it off.

12. Amusement Ride Attendant

Average pay: $9/hour

I am sure you already know that there are quite a few amusement and theme parks around New York City. If you keep an eye out, you will spot an opening eventually. In this job that ranks 12th on the list of  jobs for 17 year olds in NYC, you basically have to man the booth, and see to the customers. The pay varies from one park to another, but on average you can expect to make around 9 bucks an hour for your services. Not counting employee discounts and perks.

11. Grocery Store Employee

Average pay: $9/hour

Again, you will make about $9 an hour, depending on what role you have been assigned. You could be a cashier, customer service attendant, a bagger and so on. There are literally thousands of grocery stores in New York City, and this type of job is always available. You just need to look for them carefully. This can be just to job to start off your career, but you must plan on ahead to move on when the opportunity comes.

10. Busser

Average pay: $8/hour

Being a busser means that you will be acting as an assistant to wait staff. Cleaning up tables and helping them in any way you can. The play is not great, but the opportunity is there to work your way up. You will gain valuable experience and on the job training, both of these are essential in order to climb your way up the hierarchy at the end of the day.

9. Packing and Moving

Average pay: $13/hour

Moving is a big business in urban areas, and opportunities are plentiful. They pay is good for relatively short working hours, and there is an opportunity to get tips from the customers. This job however, is rather physically demanding, so be aware of that. If you are strong enough, it is a good idea to contact your local moving agencies and express your interest.

8. Retail Store Clerk

Average pay: $10/hour

At about halfway through our list of 16 jobs for 17 year olds in NYC, we have the position of a retail store clerk. The job is pretty easy to do, basically you will have to man the counter and see to miscellaneous tasks, like keeping records, taking inventory and seeing to customer needs. They pay is moderate to say the least, but there will be plenty of opportunities to move up from there.

7. Babysitting

Average pay: $15/hour

Next up on the list of jobs for 17 year olds in NYC we have the babysitting that can be a very rewarding job opportunity. If you like children and want to earn some quick bucks, then by all means do some babysitting. The pay is good and the hours can be flexible.

6. Blogger/Writer

Average pay: $15/hour

If you have your way with words, then I do not see the reason why you should not opt to become a blogger or content writer. There are billions of websites out there, and someone has to put up content for them. This is a booming industry, and if you like to work from home, you can easily make a profile on any given freelancing website and have a go at it. Flexible working hours and good pay for what you have to do make this job very attractive in my opinion.

5. Dishwasher

Average pay: $9/hour

New York City has a lot of restaurants, and millions of utensils need washing each day at those restaurants. Given that this may not be the most glorious job to have, if it’s available, then you should go for it. Nobody is stopping you from being on the lookout for a better opportunity. It’s always better to keep working on something while you look for another job, than having no job at all. So, let’s see what else we have on our list of jobs for 17 year olds in NYC.

4. Library assistant

Average pay: $13/hour

If you love books, then this could be the ideal job for you. I mean, the perks of being a Librarian would be to have unrestricted access to thousands of books. Your primary responsibility will be to help the librarian with miscellaneous tasks. You will basically have a lot of free time to spend on reading books that you have been meaning to read.

3. Food Delivery Person

Average pay: $8/hour

Home deliveries make a large portion of total revenues for fast food companies and naturally they are always on the lookout for reliable and punctual delivery people. If you know your way around New York City, then this can be a really good opportunity for you. Though the pay is not good, you will almost always receive a tip from a satisfied customer. And now, let’s see the top two on our list of  jobs for 17 year olds in NYC.

2. Receptionist

Average pay: $12/hour

If you have the talent of eloquence about you, then you might want to explore this option number two on our list of  jobs for 17 year olds in NYC further. Receptionist jobs do not require a lot of experience, but you just need to know how to operate a computer and answer a few basic question about your employer. However, if you wish to get a job as a receptionist, be prepared to face a lot of competition.

1. Professional Care Giver

Average pay: $10/hour

If you are a people person, then you will fit right into the shoes of a care giver. You will be helping someone go through a very difficult phase of their life, and this will give you an immense amount of satisfaction. You will also be paid pretty handsomely for your efforts. However, compassion is absolutely necessary if you wish to pursue a career in the care-giving industry. If you are someone who feels deep compassion for those in trouble, this could really be a highly rewarding career path for you, both intrinsically and extrinsically.

This was our list of 16 jobs for 17 year olds in NYC, good luck on the job search!