how do the "kids" earn money for rockets

[karatekicker271]

hey i am a kid who is under 15 and cant find any ways to earn money for the rockets, motors, and other accesories. i have one job to pull up weeds and lay down pineneedles in my backyard but it have been really muggy and humid lately and i dont think that it is worth it for the payment. i was interseted in how other kids make jobs on TRF for rocket stuff

 

[grimlock3000]

Can't you get a job at 15? I got a job with worker's permit right when I turned 15, I was the only one of my friends with money, it was sweet. I worked at a comic book store, so it was just about the easiet job ever

 

[JoJo]

pawn everything you own and spend it on rockets...



















yeah right. just mow some lawns and shovel snow ect.ect.

 

[dr wogz]

I was lucky, that my dad helped me with my first few jobs. He needed a drafter, I could draw. He bough the supplies, and got me started (we're talking pen & paper, not CAD!) I also did some assembly work for him..

I also did the odd things about the neighbourhood: mowed lawns, washed cars, cleaned patios, shoveled driveways, etc.. I would approach the neighbours, and ask if there was anything that needed doing, and if I could do them..

Head out to the local 'unemployment office' and speak to them, to see if there is a 'student work program'. Some small stores will require a stock boy, or a shipper, some 'joe job' guy.

And here's a hint: Try to get work, anything! at teh local hobby / rocketry shop. That way, you're likely to get your supplies for cost.. Or strike a deal with the owner; you'll work for only rockektry stuff.

But ya gotta be there when he wants you , be dedicated to what you do, and make teh commitment to the job. if you start to slack, goof around, not show up one day, etc.. you can kiss the job good-bye. If you show enthusiasm & commitment, chances are, you'll keep the 'part time job' for a few years!

 

[karatekicker271]

the only problem is i am not 15... im 12. i just said i was under 15 because i didnt want to give out my exact age

 

[Dbarrm]

Do what my kids do to make money, babysitting, mow yards, wash cars, rake leaves. Stuff like that. Yea its hot outside but how bad do you want your rocket stuff???

Dan

 

[BlueNinja]

I get allowance.

Every once in a while if I'm bored then I'll mow the lawn and get 10 bucks, but I'm usually too lazy.

 

[powderburner]

Originally posted by karatekicker271
i dont think that it is worth it for the payment

Well, my perspective (as a parent of two boys) is that children should expect to participate in some of the household chores without expecting to be paid. At all.

If my kids don't help me, then I get to do all the yardwork. Who pays me? I don't like being out in the heat and dirt either, but what choice do I have, chores HAVE to get done.

If one of my kids does help me (and with a decent attitude about the whole thing), it makes me a lot more likely to slip him some extra cash when he wants to go to the store for his stuff.

Now if you are working for the neighbors, that's a bit different. You need to look over the task carefully, remember (from your experience at your own house) about how long it takes to get something done, and decide if you can do the work for a reasonable price. Remember not to get greedy, because that little old lady next door may be living on a limited income-----and besides, if your folks hear that you demanded $100 to do some little chore for the neighbors, they might send you back again to do it for free.

I know it's tough finding $$$ for toys, but you might as well get used to the idea of working for your fun. It doesn't ever change.

 

[DynaSoar]

Originally posted by karatekicker271
hey i am a kid who is under 15 and cant find any ways to earn money for the rockets, motors, and other accesories. i have one job to pull up weeds and lay down pineneedles in my backyard but it have been really muggy and humid lately and i dont think that it is worth it for the payment. i was interseted in how other kids make jobs on TRF for rocket stuff

Make a list of stuff you'd do for people.
Cut grass, pull weeds, wash dogs, walk dogs, wash cars, whatever.
Put your name and number on it and print out a bunch of them.
Go door to door and ask people if there's anything you can do for them to earn money for your hobby.
Give them the list.
If they don't need anything done right then, ask them to call you when they do.
You'll probably find something now and possibly even have something later.
Keep it up, treat your customers right so they ask you back, and you'll have your own rocket-earning business.

Also, get yourself to the local rocket club and ask there. Here's the stuff from the NAR web site about the NAR chapter near you:

Rocketry of Central Carolina (ROCC) #608

Steven C. Bumgarner
4012 Tamerlane Drive
Charlotte NC 28205
(704) 568-1374

Meetings: Third Saturday each month, Midland.
Launches: Third Saturday each month, Midland.

 

[karatekicker271]

ya i got to the ROCC launch and my dad is a friend of steve's

 

[rabidsheeep]

hedges, hedges, hedges...

save any money, all change...

make rockets out of scrap in the time between kits...

 

[solrules]

I had been saving up for a car for about 3 years previous. Turns out, cars are a big, endless pit of money. I realized that I would spend my *life* savings on a junker that would work for 2 years at best, and since I am going off to college in a year and it is very hard to get a parking spot on campus, I opted out. That left me with ~$2000. Mostly from misc. computer jobs and some allowance. Somehow, I get enough cashflow and have not had to dip into that savings just yet (no real reason to keep it in though....<.25%...yes, you heard me. Less than a half of a half a percent. Interest sucks.)! My job now consists of pretty much house-call computer fixes. I charge $20/hour, and that is pretty reasonable considering the other comptuer place in town charges 50+ and you have to bring the computer there. In short, if you have a special skill (rocketry?) you can use it to your advantage almost anywhere.

 

[Steward]

I too cut alot of lawns...rocket kits and rocket parts cost alot of money. If there was something that I wanted, I HAD to work for it. The parents weren't about to give me money for something that went up in smoke...LOL
That was only forty years ago...

I'm sure my son will do the same....he's nine years old...

 

[WiK]

I have a paper round and I work Sunday mornings at a local nursery (Growing plants for garden centres, NOT looking after little kids lol) and they keep me in cash pretty well. I would say sometimes, its not what you know, its who you know. I only got the job at the Nursery because my mum works there.


Keep trying, and no matter how hard the job, it'll be worth it!


Phil

 

[Elapid]

wash floors
wash windows
mow lawns
wash cars

 

[rocketkid88]

rob banks.

j/k.

actually... i'm 15 but still don't have a job. we live near a burger king and a dunkin doughnuts, but i'm going to be gone the last week of this month, and the second and fourth weeks of July, and i don't think they will give me that kind of vacation time two weeks after i started on the job
so what i need to do is mow lawns and stuff, right? well, that would definitly be the nicest thing to do... only thing is we live in an industrial park (yes, we really do!) and so we don't have any neighbors. the reason we live in an industrial park is b/c my mom and dad live 'on site' for their buisnes... basickly the apartment and stuff is included in the pay role. so last year i wanted to mow the lawns for them, figuring i could save the compony allot of money since their currently paying some other people to do it for who knows how much (allot more than i'd get i'm sure!). but the compony won't hire any1 under 18 so i'm stuck with doing things for my parents, and trying to make money in every way i can.

good luck trying to find some way to make $$! and mabye you should consider scratch building more than just kits, that way what ever you get can go towrds motors and things like epoxy

 

[Ryan S.]

I work like 4 or 5 jobs bring in money that way. I have been working since I was 10.

Right now I;

Referee hockey games
Teach little kids how to play hockey
score-keep hockey games
paint houses
worked at a golf course for a while
At my house I; mow the lawn, weed wack, take care of all the animals and run errands. I don't get payed, but I guess my parents driving me to launched is payment so in a way I do.

 

[powderburner]

Originally posted by DynaSoar
Make a list of stuff you'd do for people.
Cut grass, pull weeds, wash dogs, walk dogs, wash cars, whatever.

Don't overlook your computer expertise. There are a lot of people out there who need help with M.S. Word, Excel, etc, who are intimidated by going to the store and asking dumb questions. They would love to have someone who can informally show them how to manipulate files, how to position text on the page, how to select fonts------stuff that most of us see as pretty basic is still bewildering to many other people out there. I'll bet you could get $5-10 per hour for a little computer tutoring?

 

[karatekicker271]

that sounds good powerburner... I love the computer

 

[jflis]

when I was a kid...

man...

I had to help make pizza sauce (right down to picking the tomatos), pizza dough and even pasta. Up at 4am and off to the fields.

On weekends it was trash and off to the dump

Weekday afternoons it was washing dishes in the resturaunt. all for my grand parents up in Schroon Lake NY

Their phone number was 346

way cool

 

[dr wogz]

And dog walking / pet sitting

That's what y wife wants to do. When we win the million, she's starting her own 'dog walking' business.

But something to think about (assuming you like dogs!)

go around teh neigbouhood, and offer to walk their dogs, for a nominal fee!

 

[loopy]

Originally posted by jflis
when I was a kid...

man...

I had to help make pizza sauce (right down to picking the tomatos), pizza dough and even pasta. Up at 4am and off to the fields.

On weekends it was trash and off to the dump

Weekday afternoons it was washing dishes in the resturaunt. all for my grand parents up in Schroon Lake NY

Their phone number was 346

way cool

Not to date yourself or anything...lol

 

[Neil]

I mow lawns. And mow more lawns. And more lawns.

A little other misc yard work here and there, and a crappy little allowance (usually about $3 a week. Doesent get you very far at all), and sometimes I paint the house when its needed...

But theres this job from home where you make electronic circut boards... If you make your quota or whatever, you get about $350 a week! (thats meant to be an awed face there btw...) You gotta send in $27 to get started tho... THats a weeks worth of work for me... But if it really isnt a scam to get my money or anything, I could be filthy rich! Thats over 10X what I am making now!!!!!!!!

 

[Ryan S.]

it also isnt easy to do

 

[jflis]

Originally posted by Loopy
Not to date yourself or anything...lol

LOL oh, not at *all*!

 

[LMazza]

You really have to be creative about earning money when you're young. I have a main job at a restaurant but that doesn't really cover everything so I also work on people's computers...$10 an hour. And then I do random house work and sell things on ebay for this one guy. Pretty much just always look for a little job opportunity here and there.

 

[RocketboyG80]

You can also think a little longer term and put some of your money in a C.D. or a mutual fund. The interest you get is a lot better than than a bank account. I have to say, I get about 10% interest (depending on the market) in the mutual funds my cash is in. Just an idea I wanted to put out there.

 

[Mike]

Originally posted by Neil
If you make your quota or whatever, you get about $350 a week! (thats meant to be an awed face there btw...) You gotta send in $27 to get started tho... THats a weeks worth of work for me... But if it really isnt a scam to get my money or anything, I could be filthy rich!

Neil, there often a lot of scams involving these schemes, the ones I've heard of involve your work getting rejected due to poor workmanship and you never getting paid. You often have to buy the "kits" yourself which you may need a bit of capital, they're all different so some may not.

You may have to be over a certain age for them too.

 

[Neil]

It DID sound too good to be true....

So is it worth trying, or is it almost a certain scam?