Students should seek school, part-time job balance
February 15, 2017
Students in the Young Democrats club believe in informing people not only about democratic candidates, but republican candidates as well. To inform students, they make posters, and hang them around the school.
While spending 12 to 15 hours a week making pizzas for minimum wage does not scream thrilling, junior Spencer Maas works to help him pay for gas and save for college. Although the number of high schoolers working part-time has recently dropped, jobs remain important for many students. Having a job during high school can take away from academic and social life, but can be worthwhile with the right scheduling.
There are certainly downsides to taking on an extra responsibility, but jobs help students prepare for the future, both skill-wise and financially. Working during high school teaches students valuable skills about time management and independence that translate into the classroom. Students can also gain advantages for later work life through their high school careers. However, students with numerous time commitments should be wary of piling on the hours and try to balance work with their responsibilities.
Jeylan Mortimer, a professor of Sociology at the University of Minnesota, argues that when it comes to high schools jobs, the pros outweigh the cons. In a study of 1,000 students covered in her book, Mortimer found that working students have many advantages over students who don’t work, especially post-high school. Increased confidence, time-management skills and even decreased tensions in home life were found to be results of student jobs. These positive changes in student behavior no doubt came into play in the classroom as research found increased academic success.
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Outside of positive character development jobs also give students increased incomes. This can be an important first step in building a financial understanding. Allowing students to manage their own earned money in high school better prepares them for an independent future.
“I work in retail, so it teaches me to deal with people that I don’t necessarily like,” sophomore Maryn Johnson explained. Learning to interact with people that you’d rather not deal with is an important skill, especially since most careers involve interacting with coworkers, clients, or customers. It certainly doesn’t hurt to learn this skill early, so high school jobs can make students better employees in the future.
However, positive effects are only one side of the coin. The Institute for Social Research found a correlation with problematic behaviors for students who work more than fifteen hours weekly. Beyond just grades dropping, higher use of alcohol, illicit drugs and cigarettes proved to be correlated with higher working hours.
“On nights that I work until 9:45 p.m. I usually don’t get any homework done, but otherwise it hasn’t been an issue.
— Maryn Johnson
Johnson, who works 20 hours a week often finds that sometimes it can be hard to finish everything. “On nights that I work until 9:45 p.m. I usually don’t get any homework done,” she said “but otherwise it hasn’t been an issue.” It’s not easy to find time when twenty hours is dedicated to a job, and Johnson added that if she wasn’t injured and was currently playing sports, she simply couldn’t work. Despite the difficulties, Johnson sees her job as “worth it” for the income.
Jerald Bachman, the study’s lead author, suggests that high schoolers that have jobs limit their hours. Working for less than 15 hours a week is less associated with negative behaviors, while Mortimer’s studies find that working for shorter hours is better than not working at all. This would give students the time they need in order to stay on top of their other commitments. While less time working may mean less cash, preserving balance with one’s academic, athletic, and social life is critical.
Maas explained that for him, his grades were not affected as a result of his job. According to Maas, “The reality is that it’s not a whole lot more work, it’s just that you need to work enough hours and have a flexible enough schedule.” Presumably, Maas has achieved a balance between his work and school life. This balance looks different for everyone, reliant on a number of variables. The number of hours one works reflects the specific situations of one’s life.
The ideal situation is that students base their job schedules on their other responsibilities. Students who have more time commitments should limit their hours to avoid stress. Those who spend less time on schoolwork or athletics may have a schedule that allows for a greater number of hours. Maintaining a healthy balance is essential to limit negative behaviors while reaping the benefits of a job.
The drive for more money can become insatiable, but for busy students facing increased expectations in academics and activities, time is a finite resource. When adding to one’s responsibilities, balance should be the determining factor for the time committed to a part time job.