The final bell rings marking the end of a school day. Students start to head home, as well as head to after-school activities. However, for some the work is not over as their shift is about to begin.
Students have the option to take on a job while attending high school. This option allows students to obtain money doing multiple activities and buy a variety of different items. This gives students a reason to have a job, but there are more reasons than these.
“What made me get a job during high school was that I wanted to earn my own money, so that I could buy my own things,” junior Diego Vazquez said. “I also decided to get a job so I could help my parents financially, by providing another [source] of income. Another factor that helped me commit to a job is to gain real world experience.”
Taking on employment can turn out differently for each student based on a multitude of reasons. There are aspects certain people are going to like and dislike. There are going to be areas where these students succeed as well as ones where they must overcome problems.
“It is different for everybody,” Vazquez said, “but my general experience of having a job while still in high school is as follows: On the job, you get hands-on practice of what a fast food place is like. Also, you interact with many people such as coworkers, customers, and many more people. Your communicating skills improve and develop. You can also make new relationships such as becoming friends. It can vary, depending where you start working and how you adapt to your environment.”
One major problem that may occur is balance. Students committing to a job must find their own way to balance their school work and events with their job. This can lead to positive or negative outcomes.
“[A negative is] probably just the work and school balance…,” junior Andres Lucio said. “Because I was like, ’I need a job. I want money. I don’t care what hours they give. I need to work and want money.’ But starting up this junior year, I had done yearbook. I’m a choir officer, and I’m an AB Tech. Having to do all those events mixed in with having to go to work; it’s a little bit weird because I have to cancel for work or cancel an event. I was supposed to go to all state, but I didn’t get to go because I couldn’t leave work. So, it makes me miss out on chances like that.”
Once a student works for an extended period of time, they will gain a significant amount of experience for the future. However, for some who don’t have that experience yet and are on the fence about deciding whether or not to get a part time job, Vazquez has provided some intel.
“Set your availability [to work] to the amount of workload you think you can actually handle,” senior Aylen Garcia said. “For example, for your first job maybe only work two-three days a week and have them be primarily on the weekend so your week isn’t so packed.”
It seems that work-life balance is a common struggle among high-school employees.
“I have multiple pieces of advice for someone who is thinking about working while in high school, one would be managing your time,” Vazquez said. “Having [ample] time is something I highly recommend for people trying to work while still in high school. Making sure you have time to handle both high school and work is stressful and time consuming. Also, [know you may have] to sacrifice other activities that you want to do such as sports or some other activity. Also, doing homework becomes twice as difficult or maybe even three times as hard. But, as long as you can handle your time wisely you will be able to handle a job while in high school. Just remember that every path in life is a different one so if you can’t make one work, try another path.”
