Top 5 Dream Jobs In YA Fiction or Film

Hey, guys! Colleen, here! So, my daughter just turned sixteen and we're all set to start picking up applications at local businesses so that she can get an after school job. This rite of passage got me thinking a lot about jobs for teenagers and how they are often represented in fiction and film (and then how teen jobs usually play out in Real Life....) So, I came up with a couple of fun lists to share with you.

Here are my picks for Top 5 Dream Jobs in YA Fiction or Film

5. Barista in a Bustling, Locally-Owned Coffee-house Not Starbucks

4. Reluctant Fashion Model

3. Lifeguard

2. Used Book Store or Library Employee (Or, if you’re REALLY lucky, Records. Oh, yeah…TRAX Forever!)

Annnnnd….my pick for Best Job in YA Fiction or Film goes to:

1. Drummer in a Totally Bitchin’ Indie Rock Band!!!

Seriously, wouldn't it be (or have been) awesome to have one of these jobs as a teen? Sadly, I think most of us are (or were) relegated to the following lameness: 

Five Worst Teen Jobs Ever:

5. French Fry-Salter at McDonald’s, Burger King, or Wendy’s

4. Underpaid, Overworked Babysitter to Extremely Fussy Neighborhood Toddlers

3. Lawn Mower

2. Pizza Delivery, If You Have a Car and Insurance.

1. Doing Chores Around Your Own House (or Grandma’s) Because You Have No Car or Insurance.

What are some of your picks for Teen Dream Jobs and Worst Teen Jobs Ever?

Colleen Clayton holds an MFA from The Northeast Ohio Consortium. She teaches writing at Youngstown State University and is a mom to two teenagers. Her debut YA novel WHAT HAPPENS NEXT releases October 9th, 2012. Her first job, at sixteen, was a French Fry Salter at McDonald's. (She has a small burn scar on her arm to prove it....)

Follow her on Twitter @ColleenYA or visit her website: www.colleenclayton.com