Friday Face-Off: Is Having A Job Too Much For A Student?
Published: April 9, 2021
High school students often find themselves with an inner conflict fueled by parents on whether or not to get a job. Working while being a student brings both pros and cons, today we will be discussing both for each side of the debate.
Students Should Have A Job
Being able to juggle multiple responsibilities at a time is an important part of being a productive member of society. Taking on these responsibilities now is beneficial for teens, because in their adult lives, they might be put in a position where they need to balance multiple tasks. Learning to deal with this now will better prepare them to efficiently handle being overcome with work.
Having a job in high school is good for preparing students to be self-sufficient. Instead of relying on parents to provide money, teens begin to spend their own money that they earned through their own hard work. It is an opportunity to learn about managing money, and may cause them to start thinking about how they can spend their money wisely because they worked for it rather than just had it handed to them.
Although the skills learned at these minimum wage jobs may not be useful in whatever career the student chooses to pursue, it will teach them to work with others, which is something that is needed for almost every job. It is also possible to make lasting friendships wherever they choose to work.
“I get money,” senior Haidyn Stewart said. “I’m able to start saving for college, even though I’m only working one day a week.”
Students Should Not Have A Job
Homework, sports and hobbies already dominate most students’ lives. Why should they have to get a job on top of that? Out of all high school students, studies show that 75% are stressed, adding the responsibilities of a job on top of that will only increase that number. Students should not have to worry about the stress of getting a job and still fit in homework and a social life.
Most jobs that a high school student will get do not teach the skills necessary for career advancement. These jobs are almost always tedious and lead students to develop negative views surrounding work. Although working will most definitely give you money for a social life, when will you have time to actually do the socializing? If students are spending their time when they are not working socializing, then they will not have much time for school work or sports.
While getting a job during summer or doing small personal jobs on the weekends can be good to get money and not stress you out, getting a part-time job during the school year most likely will.
“The pressure of school is already hard enough and adding a job to that is really difficult,” sophomore Morgan Chairs said.