Colorado teens turn to networking and entrepreneurship as summer job market hits 78-year low
By
Tamara Chuang
Front-window bakery material. Catches the eye, delivers the goods.
Summary
The article covers how Colorado teens are navigating a tough summer job market (at a 78-year low) by taking alternative paths like networking, entrepreneurship, and directly reaching out to CEOs. It highlights Nick Wetterling, a 17-year-old who landed an AI engineering internship at Iterate.ai through connections rather than a formal hiring process. The piece also discusses broader trends including Denver ranking 2nd for employers rehiring after AI-related layoffs, SBA funding for small business centers, and the shifting landscape of teen employment.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledNick Wetterling put his regular summer lawn-mowing service on hold for an opportunity of a lifetime — or at least a teenager's lifetime.
He landed an AI engineering internship at Iterate.ai, a Denver developer of private artificial intelligence software.
It's not that Iterate was hiring for the summer, or that the company even had an internship. Wetterling, 17, just used his connections.
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