Volunteering at airfields
I have done my fair share of volunteering at airfields, plus some pretty dull jobs to support my flying habit.
At some airfields you can volunteer to provide services such as fire crew or air/ground radio service. Sometimes these are "paid" sometimes not. At one place I know they credit £25 to your flying account for a half day shift. This equates to around 10 minutes instructional time in an aeroplane.
I've cleaned quite a few aeroplanes both club and privately owned and earned between £20 and £50 per aeroplane.
I've worked as general dogsbody and helped move aeroplanes around hangars, swept hangars, painted beams, emptied bins, washed up plates, mowed grass, held spanners, acted as run-about, refueled aeroplanes and tidied up sheds. None of this is paid but it has resulted in opportunities to fly all kinds of interesting aeroplanes with some really good people, plus the bar time afterwards is just as valuable. People recognise hard working hangar rats, wherever they are working at the time, and will reward when it's least expected.
I've also taken second or even third paid jobs in kitchens (washing up!), bar work and cleaning. I've milked cows which can be a genuinely sh1tty job... I've worked on fruit farms and in a petrol station to earn money to do what I really want to do. Being snobby about what you will and won't do at 17 probably won't get you the same privileges that I have had, so it's down to what you are willing to put up with. I don't feel that I "put up" with any of my jobs - I tend to try to do the best job that I can and take pride in doing that. Anything unpleasant is just a part of work, and that is real life. If it's dirty, you can wash it off and if it's dull you can set yourself targets to make it more interesting. If it's hard, you can work harder just to make sure that you have the time to do the fun stuff.