At 8 A.M. in the morning on Saturday most high schoolers are still sleeping. For Senior Claire Pankros, however, it’s the start of her shift at Publix.
According to the Bureau of Labor, Pankros falls into the 55% of people ages 16-24 who have jobs during the school year. Working can put demands on a student’s time, making it a challenge to manage time well while balancing work and school. Junior Jack Niles works at Winn-Dixie and said how having a job has affected his schedule.
“Because [having a job] is just a lot, it’s something you have to think about all the time because it’s a big time commitment,” Niles said.
Schoolwork and academic commitments are very hard to manage while also working a job. While time management skills are heightened by working, they are not completely perfect. These skills are very hard and take years of work to get close to perfect. Niles has commented on the fact that as the school year went on for him it got easier to get all his work done.
“[Schoolwork] was a lot tougher at the beginning of the year because I had a lot more work, but now I am used to it,” Niles said. “I get all my actual schoolwork done before I go to work.”
A lot of high school students who work do not experience direct effects on their academic performance. Some do say that it affects some of the time that they use to study, but over time it has gotten easier.
“A lot of the time I’d use to study does get taken up by Publix, but you can still get your homework done,” Pankros said. “It’s just that extra time.”
Beyond the benefit of learning time management, working can also provide teen employees with perks like tuition reimbursement. Grocery chain Publix provides tuition reimbursement to student workers who work for more than 10 hours a week for 6 months at a rate of 4,000 dollars annually towards tuition.
“It’s [Tuition Reimbursement] definitely a big thing among a lot of my friends, who work at Publix,” Pankros said. “And that’s part of the reason why they do work there.”
Many things can go into what jobs high scholars pick. Some of these factors include passion and the benefits the job offers.
This is true for sophomore Elizabeth Ranson, who after suffering many injuries and no longer being able to participate in gymnastics, decided to instead pursue her passion in a different way as a coach at Broadway Gymnastics Center.
“It got me a chance to connect with kids and just learn how to manage my time…it definitely helped with my productivity because it just helped me to get my stuff done quicker and to look forward to coaching,” Ranson said.
Money management skills are very important to learn from a job. High schoolers who make their own money are much less likely to go out and spend their own money carelessly as they prioritize it more.
“Once it’s your money, you really don’t want to spend any of it and it’s hard to go out and do things you want with your friends when you’re worried about spending money,” Niles said.
Although having a job does infringe upon a high schooler’s free time, many still find time for themselves.
“I have less time to watch TV or just chill at my house,” Niles said. “But, it’s not that big of an issue [to me].”
