10 surprising minimum-wage jobs
November 16, 2009 · Tagged with Career and Work
4. Preschool Teacher
Bottom 10% earn: $8.19 per hour
U.S. median salary: $10.50 per hour
Job description: Instruct children in activities designed to promote social, physical, and intellectual growth needed for primary school in preschool, daycare center, or other child development facility. May be required to hold state certification.
Have you ever been at a preschool or daycare facility and thought, “Wow, that teacher is so patient and caring.” That’s because preschool teachers are responsible for a group of active, inquisitive kids who get hungry, have occasional meltdowns, or don’t feel like sitting down — all day long. These folks are critical to your child’s development and education. And, they may not make enough to support themselves without a second job or income.
5. Amusement Park Ride Operator
Bottom 10% earn: $7.49 per hour
U.S. median salary: $8.74 per hour
Job description: Perform variety of attending duties at amusement facility. May operate amusement concessions and rides.
You wouldn’t be surprised to buy a hot dog at the fair from a young person making close to minimum wage, but what about the person running your favorite ride — the one with all the loop-dee-loops, drops and spins? It’s surprising that these workers don’t make much more than their concession-stand counterparts considering the complexity of some of the rides they’re operating.
6. Line Cook
Bottom 10% earn: $7.25 per hour
U.S. median salary: $8.98 per hour
Job description: Prepare and cook food in a restaurant. Duties of the cooks are limited to preparation of a few basic items and normally involve operating large-volume single-purpose cooking equipment.
In the fast-paced work environment of a restaurant kitchen, line cooks ensure that meals are prepared to the chefs’ exacting standards. Often these folks have completed pricey degrees at culinary schools and this is their first job after graduation. They’re skilled with knives and the finer points of making a cream sauce. Yet, their wage is sometimes better suited to heating up a frozen dinner.
7. Lifeguard
Bottom 10% earn: $6.89 per hour
U.S. median salary: $8.18 per hour
Job description: Monitor recreational areas, such as pools, beaches, or ski slopes to provide assistance and protection to participants.
Do you have the strength and skill to pull a drowning person from a crowded lake and resuscitate them? Lifeguards must be able to perform this important task, plus spend long hours getting kids to stop running on the edge of the pool and make sure lap swimmers share their lanes properly. Lifeguards literally help everyone stay alive.