Money :(

[Kryptik]

I'm having trouble figuring out what to do with this problem.

I'm 16 years old and a soon to be junior in high school. I've come to the point in my life where I pretty much need an income source (for example, I need to get my driver's licence, but I need money so that I can pay for the insurance).

I can't really work a 9-5 job due to school, and my schedule outside of school is very irregular (I'm a dedicated member of the local search and rescue team, and as far as I'm concerned that goes above everything else). In fact, I'd like to avoid having a '9-5' style job all together, it just doesn't seem like something I'm interested in. I love helping people. All the type of jobs I would like to do (EMT, police officer) are regulated to people 18+. I've gone to all of the departments and hospitals in my city and have asked if there are any jobs outside of actual duty, but for all the jobs, once again, the applicant has to be over 18.

If I have a job, I want to actually enjoy it. I have better things to do with my life than sit around doing things I don't like, and I figure that if I need money bad enough, I will find a way to get it while still doing things I enjoy. Qualifications aren't a problem in the field I want to be in (I have college credits for medical terminology, have 1st aid/cpr cards, practice mantracking and such skills regularly been involved with SAR 2+ years, and have tons of experience working with 'subjects'. Next year at school, I will be taking human anatomy and physiology, as well as forensic science and psychology) I was thinking of starting a blog or something of that nature online relating to emergency stuff, but I am not all that great in writing regularly and having new content added regularly.

This is why I come to you guys. I was just wondering if anyone here had any ideas or tips that might help me in my hunt. I know I might have to cave in and find a job at a fast food restaurant or something similar, but I would like to keep that as a last resort.

Thank you,

Fiona

[JimC]

Well, you must know that a blog usually will not provide immediate income, but if you have a few months to develop it, it can be very rewarding.

That being said, you could blog about your experiences on the search and rescue team and maybe some professional advice relating to that field.

In high school, you shouldn't be too worries about finding a job, especially with other activities going on; however, small projects can be good for a little extra cash.

As it's been said a million times before: "Find what you like and go with that."

[Pat P.]

If what you are struggling is writing in a consistent way, maybe what you need is a more systematic approach to blogging.

First, I would brainstorm topics and post ideas to write about. Start with a central concept like "search and rescue", and branch out with terms or sentences that you associate with it. For example, "basics on S & R", "how to's on S & R", "equipment for S & R", "advice for victims relatives in a S & R situation", etc. After you run out of ideas, you can organize them by area, so in the end you will have a list of potential posts for your blog. If you are not familiar with brainstorming techniques, I suggest you take a look to this video.

The ideas brainstormed will serve as a starting point for your posts. You can repeat the process of brainstorming, but now on the scale of a post, and decide which ideas you would like to include on the post. Don't worry much about structure and organization on the first draft. Just write. Once you consider you are done with it, it's time for editing and organizing your post.

Following this system, you can prepare two or three posts for the week (or as many as you want) in one session, and program your blogging system to publish them on specific days. This way you can dedicate an entire evening to prepare posts for your blog and publish them one at a time during the week.

Also, you should carry a small deck of index cards and a pen to capture ideas on the go. This way you will grow your list of ideas for posts and avoid blockage.

Now, about other ideas to make money on the site.
1) Use your blog posts as a starting point for an ebook that you can sell on the site. The other day I saw a site that charges you 1 GBP for downloading a printable version of a post (http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/basics.cfm), so that's another way to go if your posts are to long.

2) Get money from affiliate programs. Since you are in S & R, you could come up with a basic list of supplies that every excursionist should take on a trip, and if the items are available online, you could get some money for each sale. Links to amazon.com for books or videos that go deeper on the subject also could provide some extra cash.

3) Advertisement programs like Google Adsense.

Hope it helps,
Pat

[1000feet]

There's no easy solution to this - as you said, you aren't old enough to use your most developed knowledge the way you want to.

There's nothing wrong with taking an "ordinary" minimum wage job for a few years - it's a convenient short-term way to solve your problems, and you'll still have time when you're a bit older to do something you really like. You can even make it specific to your chosen career - ask around to see if the organizations you work with as a volunteer have any part-time jobs that would be suitable. It may not be something directly involved with what you want to do but if you're in the same organization it still gives you a chance to learn and meet people.

You could also start a blog on the side, but don't expect that to be an easy way to make money. A lot of people here seem to be inspired by Steve's success, but that takes years (by which time you'll be old enough to have more options) and even if you're willing to wait the blogs that make it usually come from some combination of having original and interesting things to say, putting a lot of work into it, and being well-known already. It's true that if you write well you can build up an audience and make some income, but even then many people fall short of what they would get with a regular part-time job. It's better to think of it as a bonus for something you would do anyways than as a way to make money.

[Doku]

Red Cross instructors age is only 17.
Lifeguard at most pools is only 16. (getting close to the end of summer, so that's not likely an option)
Might want to check into the YMCA. Your safety training may come in very handy there.
Might check into a local community college about teaching safety/first aid, etc. classes at night.