Should Students Have Jobs?

Skye Isenblatter, Reporter

  When students get into high school, there are many things that students must have money for. Examples include buying t-shirts for clubs, getting into sports games, paying for lunch, etc. Outside of school, students have to pay for gas, insurance, food, and more. Generally, once students reach the age of 15, parents stop willingly giving them money. They begin making them earn it. Consequently, students begin applying for jobs so that they can be independent and spend their own money as they wish. However, when students have a job, they lose free time, especially if they play sports or take part in many clubs. There are many downfalls to having a job.

  Students who have a job may suffer academically. Somedays, students must go from being at school for seven hours to working the next six hours until they can finally go home around 9-10 p.m. Around that time, many students are so tired that they either forget about homework or purposefully choose not to do it in order to sleep. Grades begin to go down simply because they don’t have the time to put in the effort to keep their grades up.

  Having a job in high school also creates negative views about working. Because the jobs that students typically have in high school are at fast food places, clothing stores, and other small places, students don’t learn the things needed for a successful career. The responsibilities students have in at work while in high school are very different than the responsibilities they would have for their career later in life. The jobs are long and tedious; they begin to hate having to go to work each week. After having a job for a long time in high school, a student won’t look forward to beginning their career because they will want to put off working as long as they can.

  Having a job in high school also limits free time. Because of the responsibility of having to work every week, students aren’t able to participate in activities like going to sports events, hanging out with friends, and many more things high school students do to entertain themselves. That adds to their negativity towards work. Students begin hating work when they realize that all their friends are out enjoying themselves while they are stuck at work. Students are restricted from living the high school life that every teen dreams of.

  Sleeping less than eight hours is a problem for many teens. According to sleepfoundation.org, only 15% teenagers in a study said they sleep at least eight hours every night. Sleep helps students grow, manage stress, and function properly. When a student gets home late from having to work and must wake up as early as 5:30 a.m. to get ready for school, the student isn’t getting enough sleep, which can cause fatigue or illness. While a student must balance school, work, and athletics, there is no way to have enough time to sleep every night, especially with late hours, meals, and homework. Working each week also causes a student to have to work harder to balance their life. Many students are involved in sports and clubs which have mandatory events that a student must attend. However, many employers don’t want their employees calling off all the time. Some students may be stressed and not know what to do, but they can’t neglect their job because they need the money.

  Senior Ariel Spore is a student at Griffith High School who works two jobs. She works at Varsity Sports, a sports store in downtown Griffith, and Jak’s Warehouse, a entertainment center in Schererville.

  “It was difficult sometimes to balance. I think the worst thing was one shift ending at 6 and then having to be at the other job at 6, but at least my supervisors were helpful and lenient to make it easier for me,” said Spore.

  However, not all supervisors will be lenient with their employees. A large amount of employers want workers who can be there whenever they need them or when they are scheduled. With many applicants, they prefer to choose people with a lot of flexibility rather than students who are busy with school, sports, and clubs. However, with good time management skills, anyone can find a way to balance work, school, sports, and normal teenage activities.