My first "computer job" (early in high school) started as gopher duty at a local PC shop in my hometown. I unpacked boxes of hard drives, swept the floors, and occasionally cleaned the bathroom (aside: every high school kid's first job should involve cleaning a toilet!). Eventually, I moved up to doing diagnostic and assembly work, and the owner realized that he could hire high school kids to do most of the tech jobs. The guy is still in business nearly twenty years later, and as far as I can tell, he's done quite well for himself.
The only problem is, it's not the most intellectually stimulating work in the world, and it's certainly not for the high-aspiration type of person. But when you can hire smart high school kids to do most of the labor, set up some basic process automation and establish a reliable network of customer recommendations, it takes very little effort or time to maintain the business. I'm sure I work longer hours in the bit-mines than he ever did.
The only problem is, it's not the most intellectually stimulating work in the world, and it's certainly not for the high-aspiration type of person. But when you can hire smart high school kids to do most of the labor, set up some basic process automation and establish a reliable network of customer recommendations, it takes very little effort or time to maintain the business. I'm sure I work longer hours in the bit-mines than he ever did.