Many high school students take on part-time or full time jobs on top of their school priorities. Many work small shifts during weekdays, or even treacherous hours on the weekends. Obtaining a job as a student can be very beneficial;. it teaches students fundamental skills of how to work as a team, solve problems, and time management. Though many are intrigued by the idea of earning their own money to spend on materialistic things, it is also important to learn how to save for the future. In high school we learn about quadratic equations, how the nucleus is the control center of a cell, etc. Now, those are all good things to know that help students with their knowledge in the future. However, there is a lack in the educational system about how to manage money, learn professionalism, leadership, and balancing work-life with personal-life. Intermixing school work and job priorities can better prepare students for that! Interviewing a junior at John Adams, she explains her experience being both a full-time student as well as a hostess. Ava Bolin works two to three times a week and notes this number of days helps her not feel too overwhelmed during the school week. At work Ava feels like she met great new friends and a community outside of school. She enjoys working in high school because she gets extra spending money to hangout with friends, go out to eat, and go shopping. She has learned how to communicate with people in a professional way, what it’s like to have a boss, and how to interact with different kinds of people. One benefit she likes about having a job is that it gives her skills that she can use when she gets older.
However, there are a couple of concerns with students having a job. For example: will having a job affect school work and performance? In Ava’s interview she mentioned how some days it can be easy to juggle work and school when she doesn’t have a lot of homework. During instances when she does have a lot of homework, it can be more challenging finding motivation to do her school work after the work day is over. This raises concern for most student workers being that they don’t want to stay up late doing homework, but would rather find the time to hangout with friends or family. Ava expresses how she solves this problem by trying to get the most time-consuming school work out of the way first, that way she can fly through her easier assignments after her work shifts. This skill is also teaching Ava time management skills, which are very useful for the future. A job can also help students perform better in school because of their outside knowledge of work and the real-world.
If you find yourself with an opportunity to take on a part-time job during high school, it is highly encouraged!