Students are known for having some of the busiest schedules anyone could have, with the constant homework and extracurricular activities, some have it can start to add up. Even though this may sound like a lot compared to someone’s average schedule, this still doesn’t come close to someone who is working a job on top of all of this.
Student jobs require many things, including lots of time, a good work ethic, and an open mindset. Having a job while being a student comes with its benefits as well as its tough challenges. Some of the benefits of having a job are that it provides better financial independence, such as being able to buy what you want without having to ask your parents for money. Another benefit is that it develops better time management skills that most teenagers will not have yet. The average teenager will only need to do school work and maybe think about some of their after-school activities that they have, but having a job on top of all of this can help with different life skills that will help them when they are an adult, such as being able to meet hard deadlines and having to have a tight, structured routine. A student with a pretty tight schedule is named Bastian Hart. Bastian is a senior who has been working at the fast food restaurant “Canes” for over a year, and has been working there for extra money and savings for college. Bastion represents how having a job can be a great way of having financial freedom and building up a good work ethic and balanced schedule.
“The biggest benefit of my job so far has definitely been being able to have disposable income and having money which I can spend on anything I deem necessary,” Hart said. “To stay balanced, I just make sure that if I have a day where I am working 8 hours, that I have all my work done and nothing else planned, as well as getting plenty of sleep for the next day.”
Though there are many benefits to having a job while being a student, it comes with some challenges that students have to face. One of the negatives that can come with having a job as a full-time student is having lower academic peformances because of spending a lot of time working instead of studying. Also, a big negative is having extreme time constraints. Having a job means having to spend a lot of time working there, meaning you have less time to do other extracurricular activities and things such as hanging out with friends or going to the gym. Lastly, a big negative factor in why a lot of students may not get a job is the added stress. Time spent at work can lower the amount of sleep you get and can also lower the amount of time you have for your after-school work and studying, which can highly affect your mental health and stress levels. This can only increase the more things you have to do, and this is very prevalent for Junior Kinley Crane. Crane has been working the past couple of months with a job and an extra side hustle. She works part-time at Starbucks, as well as gives drumset lessons to students who are trying to get better at drumming, as she is the drummer for Jazz Ensemble. Though she has found doing both these things at the same time challenging, she has been keeping an open mind and really pushing through the challenges.
“I think whether you work during the school year definitely should be based on how stressed you get,” Crane said. “I can get really stressed working both these jobs, but making sure I keep track of work and stay in the right headspace has helped me a lot.”
While having a job can be stressful and tough at times while being a student, it can be very rewarding for you and future you may be glad you had a job and got that experience.
