“My tips have dropped from around $100 a night to $50 a night,” says senior Jazmine Roberts.

Winter hits our little tourist town like a blizzard, and just like that, half the summer jobs vanish. The ice cream shop kids worked at all summer? Closed. The restaurant? Empty tables, slow hours. Even though it feels like everyone just stops working when colder months come, teens still want to do something, make money and overall keep busy after school. Teenagers want to feel like they’re not just sitting around waiting for spring to come around. It’s hard, but the first step would have to be realizing that winter doesn’t have to mean giving up.

The problem is, even when high schoolers want to work, options are limited. Most places that stay open year-round want people with “experience” or a large availability, which is kinda impossible when you’re young and in school. The few places that do hire teens get so many applications that it feels like you’re competing for the last charger in a room full of kids with dead iPads. Additionally, school becomes more challenging in the winter, with increased homework, projects, and exams. So even if you find a job, you’re stuck trying to balance everything. It’s like we’re all trying to balance making money and still succeeding in school, but our town doesn’t really give us the chance to show it. 

“I got my job from connections, but I don’t know how other people are supposed to get jobs during the winter since almost no jobs hire teens with little to no experience,” says junior Chazney Williams.

And even for the teens who do manage to keep their summer jobs during winter, it’s not like things stay the same. Hours are cut so drastically due to availability and demand that some people go from working five days a week to barely getting one or two shifts. You can stand there for hours and make almost nothing because nobody’s coming in, and it starts to feel pointless, like you’re giving up your time for basically pocket change. It’s frustrating when you’re trying to save money or pay for things, but your paycheck looks like a joke compared to what you made in July.

“In the winter, I’ve been working two jobs,” says senior Tucker Hamilton. “The hours at my first job do not allow me to work as much as I want, so having two jobs allows me to afford what I want and still do everything I want to do.”

It’s even worse that winter is when everything somehow gets more expensive. We still have to pay for gas, school events, random things that pop up—basically all the normal stuff, just with less money to cover it. It’s embarrassing when you have to say no to hanging out with friends because you can’t afford a $7 cookout meal or a movie ticket. And asking parents for money all the time feels annoying, like you’re little again, even though you’re trying so hard to be independent. When you think about it, teens get blamed for being “lazy,” but really, we’re stuck trying to stretch whatever we saved from summer while everything around us keeps costing more.

But even with all of this, there are a few things that can help if you’re a student trying to survive the winter money struggle. One thing is getting creative with where you look for work. For example, babysitting, dog walking, tutoring, or even mowing lawns. They’re not huge jobs, but they add up, and people you know actually need that stuff during winter. Another idea is selling things you make or providing services for people. Some people make good money selling baked goods, clothes online, or even doing people’s hair or nails.

At the end of the day, winter might slow our whole town down, but it doesn’t have to stop us. Teens here work hard, we show up, and we keep trying even when our job opportunities disappear with the tourists. Maybe we can’t change the season or our circumstances, but we can change how we get through it. Honestly, maybe the best thing we can do is stop waiting for “perfect” jobs to appear. Winter might be slow, but it’s also a chance to try random stuff, make a little cash, and figure out what we’re good at. Even if it’s just walking dogs, shoveling snow, or selling cookies, it feels better than doing nothing. And who knows, one of those small ideas that you think of to make money might turn into something bigger.

“During summer, I always made around $100 in tips a night, but the last shift I worked I walked out with $15,” says Williams. “It’s hard trying to pay for my car insurance when everything else is also so expensive. I’ve had to take out of my savings just to be able to afford gas.”