Imagine you’re walking in the Oakbrook Center and it hits you: that you want that camo hoodie that’s been blowing up and it’s on sale.. As soon as you notice the sale. You go into your bag but only find a moldy nasty smelly sandwich… Wouldn’t it be nice if you got a job and were able to buy whatever you wanted.
Remember to consider the factors of staying up late and time management with a part time job. There are students who balance their jobs and education at West Leyden High School on an everyday basis which is causing them to be stressed with their sleeping schedule and figuring out how to have better time management. Students turn 16 years old and choose to find a part time job such as fast food places, restaurants, stores, or even delta sonic. Students want to work to be able to buy themselves things but they still need to remember about their school work which can mess with their job schedule.
According to the College Board “Like many high school students, you may want to work part time. A great thing about this experience is that it will earn you money and challenge you. It can highlight and enhance strengths you didn’t know you had. On the other hand, it can call attention to things about yourself you have the opportunity to work on and improve. Whether you work because you need to or want to, follow the advice below to ensure you succeed at working while in high school.” ( Balancing High School and Part-Time Work”).
Some students think working at a part time job can be overwhelming. According to Junior Guadalupe Iniguez, Nail tech at West Leyden High School, “Sometimes people bring like, two or three people and they want me to do all their nails like after school, you know, and it takes me long, and I’m probably finishing really late, around 12 that night, if I do three people and then i tend to stay up doing homework.” Senior at West Leyden High School Ingrid Espinosa says, “It’s been stressing more of how it affects the school aspect, as I am still currently doing college applications, so it’s really hard balancing all three things right now. So it’s just been the stress of having to finish my assignments on time, or at least trying to get extensions from teachers.”
As stated in the American River Current, “Self-care is also important. Things like practicing better hygiene, eating healthier foods and having a set sleep schedule are important to staying healthy. People who have to balance work and school may not be able to focus on taking care of themselves as much because they are occupied focusing on school and work.” (“Balancing Work, School and a Personal Life Is Stressful”). Another student agrees that working and balancing school is overwhelming. “Cuz I’ve had to deal with multiple customers wanting stuff, and I had to go get it for them, and I found that really stressful. I’ve noticed sometimes I don’t get my work done on time, but I still get to it. “ says Omar Perez
Some students think working isn’t stressful. Student athlete Christian Diego says “ I don’t see myself working because I believe that, homework and athletics right now, without a job is as hard as it is. And I think adding a job to that would just increase me. I think I would go over my mental capacity and would start to see a decrease in my grades and start to see signs of stress and anxiety based on having to work and maintain that with school and athletics.” Sophomore Dariel Mata says “ As a high school student, to be honest, at the start, I thought it would be hard to balance both, since I’d have less time to do my homework. But with time, I realized that it’s really not that much of a challenge. It’s not stressful, since I have no challenges to overcome, but really it’s nothing much.”
It’s not a clear answer whether teenagers want to have a job or not, but based on New York Time “Many students said they agreed. They shared the jobs they have had and the invaluable skills they have learned from them. But others said work isn’t for everyone — kids today are already under too much pressure, they argued, and their time is better spent studying, doing the extracurricular activities they enjoy, and being with friends and family.” (“What Students Are Saying about Having a Part-Time Job While in School”). “Honestly, there is no challenging part. I mean, if you have your mindset to a certain thing that you’re going to get it done regardless.” Says Senior Javier Castejon. For now, students are trying to figure out how to balance their personal life with school and work. There are some who already know what they want when it comes to work but some need to figure it all out.
