Summer or after-school jobs vary so much. I think it ends up "easy" for a lot of kids to get jobs where everyone else in their high school is employed, because there aren't that many grocery stores or telemarketing firms or etc. in a given area. But this doesn't let them break free of the school stuff -- it just extends it to work. On the other hand, I knew kids who were primarily friends with the other barristas at the coffeehouse where they worked (who went to various high schools and colleges), and that worked beautifully for them.