JOINING THE WORK FORCE.(Albuquerque Business)

Byline: Dan Mayfield WDMAYFIELD@ABQTRIB.COM 1/4 823-3620

Traditional jobs in food service and amusement parks await summertime job-seekers, but there are also opportunities at the mall, in retail and in the office

School's out for summer, and thousands of kids will be looking to get off the couch and into jobs.

The summer job options are many, said J. Howard Deme, director of the Albuquerque office of the New Mexico Department of Labor.

The state and city of Albuquerque both have programs that link teens with employers.

And enterprising students who don't mind pounding the pavement can find work at restaurants, retail stores and amusement parks, many of which are gearing up for more business this summer.

Mark Corbin, 15, found a job at Hinkle Family Fun Center, a popular place for teens to work.

He said it's more fun than most jobs, "and you get a discount."

"You can come back and play cheap," said Corbin, a "fun expert" at the park at 12931 Indian School Road N.E. His favorite part is the discount on paint-ball play.

This job, he said, beats his last one: selling newspapers in front of grocery stores.

"I called and got an interview a day later. Then they hired me," he said. Three months later, he's had his first promotion, to fun expert from trainee, and a 15-cent raise.

Here are some of the avenues for finding a summer job:

0Department of Labor

The largest …