USA Today, July 2024
At 18, Michelle Chen covers her cellphone bills as well as school expenses. She squirrels away money for college. And, with her earnings from a summer job with the city of Boston’s SuccessLink Youth Employment Program, she helps her parents by stocking the fridge with groceries when the shelves are bare and makes sure her two younger brothers have pocket money. Chen, a nursing major at Simmons University in Boston this fall, said she began working in fourth grade when her family ran a Chinese takeout restaurant. Since then, she has worked in social media marketing for a hair care company and as a coding instructor, learning soft skills that aren’t typically taught in school such as teamwork and time management.
Those skills, she said, helped her thrive in her classes. And the extra pocket money means she can pitch in with family expenses. “I’ve done many programs with underrepresented students my age all over Boston, and I’ve noticed a lot of my peers contribute to their families with their earnings,” said Chen, who is Chinese American. With consumer prices up more than 20% over the past three years, more teens are getting jobs to help out parents who are feeling the financial pinch.
