Meet the Gen-Zers and millennials working summer jobs on top of their 9-to-5s: ‘It’s helped me feel happier, more relaxed.’

Anna Laquintano has spent 12 summers scooping frozen custard and Italian ice at Rita’s in Rockledge, Pennsylvania. 

Laquintano, 28, started working there with her older sister when she was 16 to kill time while she was off school.

Now, she works full-time as a marketing coordinator at the American Heritage Federal Credit Union in Philadelphia — but from June through September, she’s also at Rita’s three nights a week, managing the store from 5:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. 

“I love that the job offers an additional source of income, but it’s more than that,” Laquintano tells CNBC Make It. “Rita’s has been a part of me for so long that I could never imagine letting it go … it’s more than a job, it’s where I grew up.”

Over the past few summers, Pat Fullerton became a regular at Bird & Betty’s, a popular waterfront bar and restaurant in Beach Haven, New Jersey. He spent so much time and money there that he thought: “Why not get paid to be there?”

This is his second summer working as a server at Bird & Betty’s, a part-time gig he has in addition to his full-time job as an account executive at a software development firm. 

Growing up, he spent most summers vacationing on Long Beach Island, an 18-mile strip of land off the coast of New Jersey where Beach Haven is located. Fullerton says Bird & Betty’s has always been one of his favorite places to grab dinner or go dancing on the island. 

Between June and September, the 29-year-old spends 40 hours a week at his sales job, then works at the restaurant three nights a week, from 5 p.m. until midnight. 

Although Fullerton lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, about a two-hour drive from the restaurant, his sales job is 100% remote, so he spends half the week — usually Thursdays through Sundays — living and working from his aunt’s beach house on the island.

“It’s such a fun job and quickly [has] become something I look forward to after work and on the weekends,” says Fullerton. “Everyone’s happier at the beach, it’s such a laid-back setting. I get to watch the sunset over the water from the restaurant’s rooftop, I’m getting extra steps in.” 

As a remote employee, Fullerton says working at Bird & Betty’s has also given him a much-needed social outlet. “There are days where I could see no one in person, but on the nights I’m at the restaurant, I get to see the friends I work with, and chat with customers. Oddly enough, working more has helped me feel happier, more relaxed.”

He anticipates that by the end of the summer, he’ll have earned anywhere from $6,000 to $8,000, depending on tips and any additional shifts he picks up. Fullerton says that money will go straight to the wedding he and his fiancé are planning.

Krystal Alvarado has her summers off, but she’s spent the past six weeks working in the middle of the woods in central Texas. 

She says it’s been the highlight of her summer. 

Alvarado, 25, is a family services coordinator for the Hidalgo County Head Start Program, working with students from low-income households in school districts throughout South Texas.

But between June and August, when schools are closed, she’s a counselor at the Kickapoo Kamp for Girls in Kerrville, Texas. She’s paid close to $1,500 for those six weeks of service.