Not much girls could do - no paper routes that's for sure. But at 11 years of age I had regular baby sitting jobs at $.50/hour and $1 after midnight. Word got out and I could actually turn away the sillies who paid by check three weeks later.
At 13 I had my first full time summer job as a receptionist at the Woolworth Building in Manhattan. I loved that job. And by 15 they used me as substitute on the 14th Floor Executive level. High places for me.
I remained in that summer job through three years of college and got $5/hr raise every year until the new head od HR discovered that I (and my brother) were making more than the permanent staff. We were both liked.
Money tight and I always took any job available - spent a day once folding mailings for the State police only to have a NY detective pull a gun on me and my friends in our car - turned out the mailings were political in nature. Should have had his ass for that.
I can't say I ever worked my ass of - I loved every job I got and was thrilled to have my own money. We didn't get money for chores. Allowance was to cover car fare to and from school.
I think kids today miss out on the satisfaction of a job well done when they are handed everything.
This next group will probably learn things the way we did- money is tight even for the wealthier folks these days.