Noëlle started out as a babysitter, now she's about to become a dental assistant

The meatballs were frying on full heat. The macaroni boiled over. And neither Noëlle nor the two kids she was babysitting could quite figure out how the stove worked.

It was Noëlle's very first babysitting job.

"The kids laughed when the pot boiled over, but it actually turned out pretty good anyway."

Noëlle was 15 and nervous about making a good impression. Today she's 18, has reached Level 10 on Yepstr, and completed 369 jobs.

Now the next step is waiting too: a part-time job as a dental assistant.

"It's really thanks to my experience from Yepstr that I managed to land that job."

The first job: a trampoline, boiled-over macaroni, and a bedtime story

Noëlle had worked a bit as an assistant at her grandmother's gymnastics camp before, but Yepstr became her first experience of something that felt like a real job.

"I mainly wanted to start working because I thought it seemed fun, kind of like a hobby."

A friend had just gotten her first job, and Noëlle was inspired. On top of that, the chance to earn her own money was appealing.

Then came the first babysitting job.

She was watching two girls while their parents were out for dinner. The afternoon started on the trampoline and continued with getting changed, brushing teeth, and bedtime.

Then dinner had to happen.

That went so-so.

"Neither the kids nor I could figure out how the stove worked, so I fried the meatballs on full heat."

But the food made it to the table, and the kids were happy.

"Next time, the stove was the first thing I asked about."

"I was worried I'd come across as irresponsible"

When it was time for bed, almost everything went according to plan.

After the bedtime story, one of the girls had trouble settling down. She missed her mom, and Noëlle first tried to comfort her herself.

In the end, they called the parents.

"I was worried I'd come across as irresponsible, since it was well past bedtime."

But when the parents got home, she got a completely different reaction than the one she'd imagined.

"They explained that stuff like that happens all the time and that I can call them whenever I need to."

It became an early lesson: taking responsibility doesn't mean solving everything on your own. Sometimes it means knowing when to ask for help.

The hardest part was really just daring to try

Before her first job, Noëlle had worried about almost everything.

How do you greet the kids? What will you play? What if it gets awkward?

When the door opened, she got a big hug from the kids, who immediately wanted to show off their favorite toys and crafts.

"That's when I realized I hadn't needed to be nervous."

The biggest obstacle had actually been there before she even started.

"The hardest part of getting started and applying for my first job was probably just daring to do it."

Most of her friends weren't working yet, and she didn't have an obvious person to ask about how job interviews or part-time jobs worked.

"The nerves disappeared as soon as I'd actually started working. Almost everyone is really kind, and it was fun to start taking on more responsibility."

He was eight months old when they met. He's about to turn four.

Most of Noëlle's 369 jobs have been babysitting. She has several families who book her regularly, but one has become especially important.

When she started watching the family's son, he was only eight months old.

Now he's about to turn four.

"He's one of my best friends."

Noëlle is with the family several times a week. Over the years, she's watched him learn new things, grow older, and develop his own personality.

At the same time, her relationship with the rest of the family has changed.

"If I'm there on the weekend, there's usually breakfast waiting for me, and sometimes we even eat dinner together."

What started as a babysitting job has become a relationship she hopes will last even after she's no longer working there.

"It's really grown into a good relationship."

A runaway dog made for a more complicated workday

369 jobs, of course, also means a few unexpected things have happened along the way.

One day Noëlle was out in the park with the boy she was watching when they found a dog that seemed to have run off from somewhere.

She asked around the park if anyone recognized it, but no one knew who it belonged to. A few people suggested she just leave it there, but Noëlle wasn't sure what the right thing to do was.

Eventually, she and the boy had to head home.

That's when the dog decided to follow them.

"It came along on its own and stayed in the garden until I went home myself. Then it followed me home too."

So Noëlle wasn't trying to bring the dog along, it simply kept following her wherever she went.

Once home, she posted a picture of it on Facebook. The post eventually reached the owner, who came to pick it up.

"I thought the whole thing was a bit stressful, but the boy I was watching thought it was great fun. He got to play with the dog, after all."

A pretty ordinary day of babysitting had suddenly turned into a small dog mystery, with a happy ending.

369 jobs became the experience that took her further

When Noëlle started, the goal was to do something fun alongside school and earn her own money.

Along the way, she got something else.

She learned to plan her time between school, work, and free time. She got to manage her own money. Above all, she got to take responsibility for other people and build relationships with families who can now serve as references.

Now she's about to start working part-time as a dental assistant.

"My babysitting jobs have been about more than pickups and drop-offs from preschool. They've given me some great relationships and references, which made it possible for me to apply for the dental assistant job."

At the same time, she'll keep working as a babysitter.

"The jobs through Yepstr have helped me grow a lot as a person. Working has made it easier to figure out what I want to keep doing after high school."

Noëlle's advice for anyone thinking about their first job

To a 15- or 16-year-old standing where she once stood, the message is simple:

"It's not strange to be nervous. You gain experience by starting to work."

No one expects your first shift to be perfect.

Sometimes the macaroni boils over.

Sometimes you don't know what to say in the interview.

And sometimes you need to call the parents and ask for help.

"It's okay to make mistakes."

What matters is daring to start.

And to the adults: clarity first, trust second

Noëlle also has some advice for families who might be considering hiring a young person for the first time.

Be clear.

Explain the routines, what's expected, and the kind of things a new babysitter might not know to ask about on their own.

But once the instructions have been given, the young person also needs to be trusted to actually do the job.

"It's important to give the person you've hired some freedom. Combine that with clear instructions, and they'll know what's appropriate while still getting the chance to get to know the child themselves."

For a parent, a few hours of babysitting can be exactly the help that makes a dinner, a meeting, or the rest of everyday life come together.

For a 15-year-old, that same evening can be the start of something else entirely.

Noëlle's first family needed someone who could watch their two kids.

Noëlle needed someone willing to give her her first real job.

369 jobs later, that experience has helped carry her all the way to her next workplace.

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