In California, a lot of students try to get jobs while still in high school; however, a lot of work places have their own set of rules for hiring.
To start, in California, according to the law, maximum weekly work hours change for minors depending on their school schedules and age. 14 and 15 year old students are permitted up to a maximum of 18 hours per week during the school year and 40 hours per week during weeks when minors do not have school.
For 16 and 17 year olds, the legal amount of hours is up to 48 hours per week. While the amount of legal hours worked increases, minors can still only work a max of four hours a day on school days.
Also, minors must receive a valid work permit which they can apply for through their school. At Aliso Niguel High School, students can go to the front office and get a form which needs to be filled out and signed by the school as well as their employer.
Sixteen and 17 year olds who have graduated from high school are not constricted to these rules.
As of 2026, the California statewide minimum wage is $16.90 per hour for all employees, regardless of the company size. However, some special higher rates apply to certain industries, such as the fast-food industry where people can earn at least $20 per hour. Specific health care workers can earn between $18-24 per hour.
Most high school students still live off of a separate income, mostly from a -parent or guardian, so students often apply to low-paying minimum wage jobs such as fast food restaurants.
“It was really hard applying for jobs because like a lot of places just took super long to respond and some of them didn’t respond at all,” says Elle Aguilar (10).
Some California companies which hire minors (depending on location) include McDonald’s, Burger King, Chick-Fil-A, Ralphs, Target, Wendy’s, Panera Bread, Chipotle, AMC theatres, Starbucks, Baskin-Robbins and Sky Zone.
These companies often offer jobs such as cashiers, bussers, food prep, baristas, stockers and assistance workers, such as baggers and cart attendants at grocery stores.
While these companies hire minors as well as adults, the hours that they offer change based on several different aspects. Offered hours can change based on the number and age of their employees as well as the average amount of hours that most staff members can work.
Most high school students can only work part time in order to attend school, so many workplaces will not even consider students, as they may look for more permanent, full time workers.
There are also several recreation and entertainment jobs which will hire minors such as lifeguard positions, camp counselors, theater team members and ride operators at theme parks.
These positions do not pay as much as fast food employers, however they work very well for most high school students because they are jobs that usually require summertime work when students do not have school. So students can go work during the summertime, and then focus on school during the school year.
“Wrestling takes up a lot of time so I haven’t been able to apply for any jobs yet because I don’t think I can work enough hours,” says Hayley Pascua(9).
A good example of an entertainment job would be Camp James which operates in Newport Beach, and tends to hire lots of high school students looking for jobs over the summertime.
A separate alternative job are self-employment options such as babysitting, lawn care, powerwashing driveways and washing cars. These types of jobs generally allow the workers to pick how much they can charge, however the amount of work and hours are not set and can sometimes decrease depending on the demand of customers.
Students should overall focus on fast-food restaurants, over the summer short time employment jobs or jobs that contain flexible hours which can work with their school schedules.
