Most jobs for kids at that age aren't going to pay all that well. $9/hr? After taxes, they'll need to be working almost 1000 hours per year to contribute $5k

Most jobs for kids at that age aren't going to pay all that well. $9/hr? After taxes, they'll need to be working almost 1000 hours per year to contribute $5k per year from those sources. 1000 hours. Was comparing this to my own state school numbers from 20+ years ago. One year was < $5k. Min wage at $3. One could work a summer job (or two) and pay for a year of school. That just doesn't seem possible any more, or at least not without a lot of assistance programs.