How to Get a Job on a Paper Route
How to Get a Job on a Paper Route
Once upon a time, a kid’s first job was having a paper route. Times have changed, and many newspapers distribute their papers with adults driving around in cars, but the paper route used to be the domain of kids. My own first job was a paper route–I’d wake up at 4:30 in the morning, bundle my papers, and jump on my bike to distribute newspapers in a twenty-block radius. You could make enough money with a paper route in the summer to support a decent comic book habit all year long.
Luckily, not every newspaper is against using kids for paper routes these days. Here’s a quick guide to getting a job on a paper route.
1. Contact your city newspaper and ask who you need to talk to about getting a paper route. If you’re lucky enough to live in a city with more than one newspaper, you have more than one opportunity to run a paper route. When you talk to the paper, make sure the schedule is something you can work with. If you have a commitment that would interrupt or otherwise affect your paper route, you’ll have to choose between the two. Some papers have morning routes and afternoon routes, so you may have more than one option.
2. If you can’t get a job right away, you can contact the paper or a paper carrier and ask to get a job as a substitute. Many paper carriers are contract workers and aren’t employed directly by the newspaper. These people are responsible for finding their own substitute workers.
3. You need a reliable means of transportation to run your paper route, either a bicycle or a car. Make sure your bike is serviced and reliable, with wheels that are full of air and unlikely to break. Remember that you’ll need to deliver papers even if the weather is bad, so make sure your bike or car can run in rain or snow. If your bike or car breaks down, you’ll still have the responsibility of delivering papers, so be prepared to deliver on foot if you have to.
4. Now that you’ve got your paper route and a reliable vehicle, there are some things to keep in mind. Bring plenty of water and a light snack just in case your route runs long. Delivering papers can be thirsty work, especially if you’re delivering them as a summer job, and you may not have time to stop and get a drink or a snack. Also, keep in mind that you are responsible for hiring and training a substitute paper delivery person in case you are sick or unable to deliver papers.
A paper route is a huge responsibility–people get very angry when they don’t get their newspaper, and they expect it to be in their driveway or on their porch every morning. You can make a good deal of money delivering papers, but it is also a difficult job that requires commitment. Good luck.