The first paid employment for a country teenager is detasseling. Detasselers meet at the city park each morning of July at 4:30am and ride a school bus to the detasseling site. Upon arriving at the corn field detasseling “crews” walk through rows of corn and tear tassels off the top of cornstalks. When working as a detasseler expect to get very wet in the mornings, to grow very hot in the afternoons and to get “corn rash” at some point during the summer. You will earn between $4 and $5.50 per hour and will be paid in cash. Expect to be asked by friends, “why do they do that for?” and be prepared to respond “I have no idea but its something really scientific.” If you detassel for at least 3 summers and have good attendance you can apply to be a “crew leader.” Crew leaders receive paychecks directly from Pioneer or Dekalb.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I deffinitely got paid minimum wage when I was a “picker” and I recieved paychecks not cash from Pioneer. I never applied to be a crew leader this year, and it is my second year, they just said okay you’re now a crew leader.