According to Walden University, only 30% of high school students have jobs. There are a number of reasons for this, just as there are a number of pros and cons for high school students getting a job. While some of the reasons that students have or don’t have jobs are individual reasons, there are some common factors found in both groups of students.
Some of the pros, according to both Walden University and Scot Scoop, are that there are many skills that a high school student can learn from having a job. They can learn time management, the value of money, budgeting, and it can even help build confidence! Having a job can help students become more independent from their parents by preparing them for things like buying their own food and electronics as well as paying for their own gas. Not only that, but according to The Corps Network, high school students who have jobs commit fewer violent crimes than high school students who don’t. Interestingly enough, the effect continued even after they no longer had the job.
While there are certainly pros to high school students having jobs, there are also cons. According to Middle Earth, studies have found that high school students who have jobs have higher stress levels than students without; however, stress isn’t the only thing that changes when teenagers get jobs. Studies have found that students working a job during the school years can also have an effect on their social life and their extracurricular activities because they don’t have the same availability. Students also won’t have the same amount of time to study for tests and complete homework, which is why, according to Evolve, studies have shown that students who work more than 20 hours a week have a lower GPA than students who work less than 10 hours weekly.
Moreover, whether a student has a job depends on each student’s individual needs and priorities, along with their accessibility to transportation and their at-home responsibilities. Many students rely on scholarships to be able to attend their college debt free, so those students may prioritize their studies over getting a job. Other students may get a job because they plan to enter the workforce immediately after high school, if not sooner. Many students have personal criteria that they must meet in order to meet their expectations, and they will vary depending on the student.
With all this in mind, when high school students are considering taking on a job on top of their studies, they should use their personal goals and values as a guide. By carefully weighing the pros and cons, each student can hopefully make an educated decision that will benefit their situation and their future.
