Work experience year 10 ideas

You’re inching ever closer to graduation, and have likely started considering your future career goals. It’s around this time you and your classmates will be wondering how you can gain work experience. 

Are you looking to get into a trade? Or do you have your sights set on a career in healthcare, education, finance or law? Perhaps you like the idea of working in retail or hospitality. 

No matter which career path you choose (and even if you’re not quite sure), work experience is a great way to start building your professional skill set. Having work experience to put on your resumé will help you stand out when you eventually start looking for full-time employment. It could even help you get into your chosen degree.

In this guide, you’ll find suggestions for work experience for year 10 and ideas to get you started. 

Why work experience matters

Work experience gives you a taste of working life while you’re still a student, helping you decide which career path you want to take after graduation. In a hands-on role you’ll not only gain valuable experience and insight into what it’s like to join the workforce, you’ll also develop transferable skills you can use in any job, like communication, teamwork and problem solving. 

Year 10 work experience ideas

Whether you’re looking for your first paid job or are happy to try unpaid/volunteer work to get started, here are some work experience ideas for inspiration.

Volunteering 

Volunteering opens the door to a wide range of places to do work experience. Contributing to your community can provide a sense of fulfilment, while also building your resumé skills. You’ll learn teamwork, time management, communication and more, in addition to picking up relevant hard skills, depending on your role. While volunteering positions are unpaid, they give you valuable experience and expand your network, and can be a good stepping stone to a paid job. Here are some places you can get volunteering work experience. 

Animal shelter 

Animal shelters usually don’t have much funding, so they rely on volunteers to help run their facilities and provide care for their animals. There’s a wide range of duties you could be responsible for while working at a shelter, like animal intake administration, cleaning cages, greeting potential adopters, and grooming and playing with dogs, cats and other pets. Different skills you can gain volunteering at an animal shelters could include: 

• Animal tending 
• Interpersonal abilities
• Time management
• Administration skills, like updating databases
• Communication, like answering emails and phone calls

When deciding which animal shelter to volunteer at, keep in mind there are different types: shelters, rescues, and sanctuaries, which provide similar services, but offer different levels of training and professionalism. Registered organisations may offer a higher quality of work experience, with more oversight. As always, do thorough research before volunteering. 

Non-profit organisations and charities 

Not-for-profit organisations and charities invest all their profits back into their operations. While some staff are paid, many volunteer their services. 

As a volunteer community worker for a not-for-profit, you may learn:

• Strong communication skills 
• Empathy and compassion
• Retail or cashier skills
• Administration and office skills, updating databases
• Carer skills, if working with the elderly or disabled
• Housekeeping, cooking or cleaning skills

Working for a non-profit organisation can give you just as many skills as working in a paid position. To build your resumé skills and give back to the community, join a well-established and reputable organisation. To apply for volunteer positions, reach out to individual organisations you’re interested in working with or use platforms like SEEK.com.au to find volunteer roles for students. 

Community events 

If you’re interested in becoming an event planner, volunteering to help at community events can give you a good head start. Volunteer roles at community events include providing information, serving food or drinks, cleaning or collecting rubbish, directing people and setting up. 

Skills you may learn working for community events include:

• Customer service skills
• Communication skills
• Organisation
• Cleaning/janitorial skills
• Project management
• Problem-solving skills

Examples of community events include local fairs and festivals, school sports events, local conferences, voting/polling days and clean-up events, though there are many more types. Checking your local council’s website is a good way of finding volunteer opportunities at community events. Volunteer positions will often also be posted on local community group social media pages and on job-seeker websites.

Volunteer tutors 

Volunteer tutors are usually in high demand leading up to exam times to help students get passing grades, though tutoring work is generally steady work. Tutoring is an accessible work experience option, as you don’t need any qualifications, just subject expertise at school level. As a volunteer tutor, you have the opportunity to help students whose families may not have the resources to pay for tutoring. 

• Volunteer tutoring work experience can develop your:
• Interpersonal skills
• Communication skills
• Teaching skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Ability to provide constructive feedback
• Resilience 

If you’re looking for volunteer tutoring work, you can ask your school or local community centres, or register with an online platform that connects tutors with students. 

Internships 

Internships are fixed-term work experience roles for students or trainees, and can be paid or unpaid. They’re common for university/college students and graduates, but some are also available to highschool students. The skills you learn in your internship will depend on the role you take.

To find internship opportunities, check for advertised openings for interns on platforms like SEEK and individual company websites and social media accounts. It can also be worth speaking to your careers advisor at school. It’s a great year 10 work experience idea to get hard skills in your chosen industry – here are some examples of popular internships.

Marketing internships 

If you’re interested in advertising, public relations or branding, a marketing internship can give you good exposure to the industry. You’ll learn what someone who works in marketing does on a day-to-day basis, and assist them on campaigns, creating or strategising content or even advising on digital trends for young people. Practical experience you might gain includes research, finding images, helping create presentations, scheduling social media, ideation, and data analysis. 

Data analytics internship 

If you enjoy working with numbers and are a natural critical thinker, a data analytics internship will help you determine if a data analyst career is right for you. You’ll learn how collecting and analysing data can inform business operations, how to identify trends, and what it’s like working in your desired industry. Once you’ve done some work experience as a Year 10 student, it may be easier to qualify for a 12-week data analyst internship as a university student.

Business internships 

Are you interested in a career in business operations? If you’re taking classes like economics or business studies, an internship can help you get a look into the duties of a business advisory role, business management or business administration. If you have your sights set on a particular company, an internship will help you make connections and give you technical knowledge and soft skills specific to your desired career.

Engineering internships 

Engineering roles can be found across a vast spectrum of industries, so which internship you take depends on your personal interests and abilities. Generally you need to be enrolled in an engineering degree to land an internship, but some universities have special programs for Year 10 work experience students interested in STEM. Mechanical engineering four-year apprenticeships are also an option for Year 10 students. 

Healthcare internships 

High-school students might be able to gain work experience in the administration side of healthcare. If you’re a Year 10 work experience student, you won’t be paid, but you can still gain exposure to your chosen profession in healthcare. Some ideas for Year 10 work experience roles include registered nurse, dietician, hospital orderly, aged care worker, occupational therapist and nutritionist. Plenty of hospitals and clinics offer structured workplace learning (SWL) programs for Year 10 students, with internships available for school leavers. 

Freelancing 

Freelancing is a type of self-employment where you work on a project-by-project basis for different clients. You don’t need any qualifications or experience to be a freelancer, you just need to provide products or services people will buy. 

Freelancing can give you experience working with clients, managing projects, handling finances and marketing – as well as any technical skills involved in your field. You can use your experience to create a portfolio or build out your resumé, which you can leverage to get more work.

Popular freelancing work includes graphic design, writing, photography, content creation, and web development. Unlike many work experience and internship roles, freelancing is paid work.

Freelance photographer  

Freelance photography is a good option if you have a high-quality camera, skills in photo editing, and technical proficiency at a professional level. You’ll also need interpersonal skills and the ability to network or market yourself in order to get jobs. Once you get more experience, you can develop skills in a niche, like family photography, events photography or wedding photography. 

Fees for a freelance photographer depend on experience, reputation, quality of work, niche and the size of a project. Newspapers and magazines pay for photography at around $30 per photo, up to a few hundred dollars for a set. Established photographers can command thousands of dollars for a job, which includes directing photo sets and image retouching. 

Social media manager 

Social media managers create content strategies and often the content itself, to help increase the reach and engagement of social media profiles. Skills required include a high level of social media proficiency, literacy using social media management/scheduling software, knowledge of trends, content creation skills and data analysis. As you work for different clients, you’ll accrue more skills and knowledge in different industries. You might develop digital marketing skills and abilities in campaign management. 

Many freelance social media managers work on retainer, meaning they’re contracted to provide a certain amount of work per month. Pay rates generally depend on how many posts are required. Freelancers might charge per hour (subject to junior pay rates), while a retainer could pay anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars per month.

Content creator 

Content creators are more in demand than ever, as more companies see the importance of social media to their brands. Content generally means video, but can also include captions, graphic design, photography, and even podcasts. To be a successful freelance content creator, you need skills in at least one of the above – the more you can do, the more work you will get. With more experience, you can build on your skill set and progress into social media management or content strategy. 

Content creators also often work on retainer, providing ongoing work for the same client. Rates depend on the type of work and how much content you have to produce, with video earning the most per post. A well-edited Reel for a large company might be paid $50-$100, while on retainer you could earn similar rates to a social media manager. 

Videographer 

Videographers require technical skills in operating a camera and editing. Much like photographers, they can build on their skills to focus on certain niches, whether that’s weddings, conferences, or commercial shoots. You’ll hone your people skills, communication skills and admin skills.  

Freelance videographers typically charge per project, so the amount depends on the size of the project and the niche. For example, a professional wedding videography package that includes editing generally costs between $2,000 to $5,000. As a student, your rates may be substantially lower.

Graphic designer

Graphic designers create visual media, like logos, digital drawings and documents for businesses and clients. To be a freelance graphic designer, you need skills with software like Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Figma or Procreate – whichever suits your specific field of design. 

The skills you need depend on what you intend to sell, whether it’s your own designs, logos, marketing materials or illustrations, for example. You’ll also need interpersonal skills and time-management skills, as with most freelance roles. To focus on a specialty, you can develop skills in magazine or newspaper layout, game illustration, packaging or digital media. Freelance designers earn around $30 an hour. 

Web developer 

To be a freelance web developer you need proficiency in a coding language, as well as skills in creating wireframes, and in-depth knowledge of how to build websites. As a web developer, you can expand your technical skill set by learning different languages, and hone soft skills like client service, time management and networking.

There is high demand for web developers in Australia, and it’s a popular profession for freelance work. Freelance rates can be applied per hour or per project, with a starting point of roughly $30 per hour. 

Student writer 

Getting freelance jobs as a student writer will take patience and resilience as you build a portfolio of work and hone your writing abilities. Writers need English (or another language) skills, knowledge of grammar, research skills, and subject-matter knowledge.

Student writers can contribute content to school newsletters, websites and internal communications, for example. There are also blogs and websites that publish student articles and essays, though they may not offer paid work.

Getting work experience as a writer is valuable in teaching you perseverance and giving you writing practice. You can also focus on certain genres or topics to build your writing skills in those areas. Any published work adds to your portfolio, which will help you get work in the future.

Tuition tutor 

Tutoring other students is an accessible year 10 work experience option as it can fit around your own study schedule. As a tuition tutor, you help students with assignments or general study in subjects they need help with. The technical skills you need to tutor are directly related to the subject you want to teach, though you’ll also need good communication skills, empathy, and time management skills. If you intend to tutor online, you’ll need computer proficiency as well. Tutoring rates can vary depending on your subject – it’s up to you to set a fair rate with your students.  

There are many Year 10 work experience ideas that will teach you new skills and expand your resumé. Whether you want to volunteer at your local animal shelter, find an internship or start freelancing, you’ll find opportunities to suit your interests and abilities. One of the best things about doing Year 10 work experience is getting a taste of what work life would be like in a given profession, helping you decide what you want to do when you eventually leave school.

FAQs

What work experience should I do?

Choose work experience that suits your interests and abilities. This will help you decide if you  want to pursue it as a career, as well as give you experience to add to your resumé. 

Do you need a resumé for year 10 work experience?

You likely don’t need a resumé for Year 10 work experience that your school sets up for you. But for other work, whether paid, unpaid or volunteer, you should prepare a resumé. Even if you have no previous work experience, it shows employers your interests, skill set and areas of study. 

‘What is your work experience?’ sample answer

A sample answer you can give to someone asking about your work experience may include:

“I have [number] months/years of work experience in a [type] role, which allowed me to learn [list of main things learned in role].” 

What companies offer work experience?

Many companies offer work experience, including those in the creative industries, trades, healthcare and education. Using online job platforms like SEEK.com.au, you can find work experience in your area. You can also find work experience programs through government websites, schools and Registered Training Organisations. 

How can a 16-year-old write a resumé with no experience?

A 16-year-old with no experience can use their resumé to show:

• Skills
• Subject knowledge 
• Interests
• Volunteer work
• Hobbies
• Extracurricular activities, like music clubs and sports teams

Where do I ask for work experience?

You can ask for work experience at any company or organisation you’d like to work at. You can check online job sites, company social media accounts, and corporate websites for information about work experience or internships. Address your message to an HR manager or even to the business owner. 

What are some work experience examples?

Popular work experience ideas for Year 10 students include trades like hairdressing, hospital roles, vet assistance, hospitality and digital media. Some examples of paid and unpaid work experience include volunteering at a non-for-profit like an animal shelter, freelance writing for a blog, or undertaking an internship at a large company or government organisation. 

What should I do for work experience?

What you should do for work experience depends on your interests and professional goals. Do you want to support your local community? Volunteering might be the right fit for you. If you have a specific industry or skill in mind, then you may want to look into an internship or freelancing. The article above lists out suggestions to give you ideas.

What types of volunteering opportunities are beneficial for gaining work experience?

Most volunteer work at established organisations will provide beneficial experience. You can choose from animal shelters, aged care support, fund-raising organisations and community centres.