If you’re scrambling to find a summer job as the school year winds down, don’t worry, you’re not alone.

Many students wait until the last moment to figure out their source of income for the summer but I highly discourage you from that. Lining up a job that you are excited about may take weeks, so this is your sign to start looking now. I gathered up some of the best local summer jobs around the city of Adel and interviewed some students who have worked in those positions in the summers previously.

Lifeguard- Adel Family Aquatic Center 

What summer job could be more fun than sitting outside all day and soaking up the high UV indexes? While lifeguarding is seen as a staple job for high school students, it is also a lot of work and responsibility.

“Most people don’t realize how much work there is to be a lifeguard and the liability the position holds. You have to make sure you’re always paying attention or things can turn bad,” Camryn Mager said.

Mager has been working at the Adel Family Aquatic Center as a lifeguard since the summer of her freshman year. Recently, she has been working as Head Guard and sometimes doing manager duties.

“As a head guard, normally we just sit in the office. But normal lifeguards will watch the water and make sure patrons aren’t drowning,” Mager said when asked what her normal duties are for her shifts.

Mager revealed that the pool’s starting wage was $9.50 when she started, but it has increased since then. Mager also said that she chose this particular job to fill her summers with because her older brother worked there and she always wanted to do it as well.

“It’s a good experience and you learn a lot of skills like CPR and first aid,” She said. “Sometimes the actual work you do isn’t fun but the people you work with always are.”

If you’re interested in becoming a lifeguard this summer, make sure to get certified in CPR as soon as possible, as the process can take up to two weeks.

Course Attendant- River Valley Golf Course 

Luke Miller, a junior at ADM High School, worked at the River Valley Golf Course last summer and plans to continue this upcoming season.

Miller says he enjoys working at the golf course because he likes to see the new people who come and use the course regularly, and because he golfs there for free with his employee benefits.

“The starting wage was $10… basically what we do is park carts, take out the trash, and make sure the course looks good for people to play on,” Miller explained.

Miller encourages people to apply for a position at River Valley because they are currently hiring and he believes it is an ideal summer job for high school students, especially golfers.

Barista- Morning Grind 

Cameran Smith is a barista at The Morning Grind. Smith says her job includes working the window, making drinks, and interacting with customers.

“I like knowing all of the people that come in, I feel like I get to know their orders and what they like,” she said.

Smith says that the starting wage for a barista is $8.50, and she enjoys being able to work with her best friend and “do their thing.”

“I think a lot of people don’t actually know about The Morning Grind, but it has a lot of good stuff and is a great place to work,” Smith said when asked what she thinks other people should know before applying.

Team Member- Fareway 

Fareway is everyone in the city of Adel’s automatic place to grocery shop, and it’s often a landing mark for high school students looking for their first job.

Freshman Christian McAdon loves his job at Fareway and considers it a mostly easy job.

“Usually we’re bagging people’s items and taking it out for them, or you have to restock or face items, which is pulling stuff from the back to the front,” he said. “You also pay attention to expiration dates and throw food away if it’s expired.”

McAdon says he started at $10 an hour and has slowly gone up. “Now from being there for a little over a year, I’ve moved to $13.50 an hour.”

McAdon says he loves being able to talk to everyone and enjoys helping someone out with something as little as groceries.

“We don’t know what they’re dealing with at home, or in the car so like, if a parent has a really hectic kid just taking the groceries out to their car and helping put them in can really help them,” McAdon said.

One of the reasons he chose this job was because his sister used to have the same position and was familiar with most of the employees. She had told him the ins and outs of working at Fareway so he felt readily prepared as soon as he started.

“It’s a common-sense job. It may seem like it’s going to be difficult some days, but it’s really not,” He said. “If you’re under 16 the most you can work on a weekday after school is 2 hours, which isn’t bad at all. Weekends are 6 hours, but you get a break in between. Once you turn 16 you can work longer and get paid more.”

Fareway is known for treating its employees well and offering flexibility with their scheduling.

Summer is almost always more enjoyable when you have a little bit of income to get you looking forward to payday. Plus, it prevents boredom throughout the season and promotes a healthy work ethic that looks good on future resumes.