Having a job during the academic year is quite common for Warsaw students. Statistica.com states that 17.6 percent of teenagers from ages 16 to 19 in 2020 were employed during the academic school year. Out of 50 people surveyed in the high school, 52 percent of students have a job during the academic school year, while 48 percent don’t. Balancing work and school is part of our everyday lives and this has both positive and negative repercussions for WHS students.
Some may debate that having a job during the school year is beneficial, while others believe it is too hard on the student. One of the benefits that students may find from working is that they have money for their own things, such as car insurance, gas money, food, and activities. Having a job can limit them having to ask their parents for money. A job teaches teens responsibilities like time management and accountability, along with social skills and other things that fall into that category.
While there are many benefits, there are a few cons when it comes to balancing work and school. Having a job gives you less time to study, less time to put in work for sports, and less time for extracurricular activities, but it is not impossible. Time management is a key thing when trying to balance school, sports, clubs, and work.
In the end, the benefits outweigh the cons. Students need work experience because not everything worth learning is learned in the classroom.
Having a job during your high school years can bring you many life skills that you may need in the future. Organization, time management, responsibilities, and social skills all fall under these skills. While jobs can bring those skills to you, there are also other ways that you may earn them, such as playing sports and being a part of clubs. While this is true, everyone should experience holding down a real job before graduating high school.