“It is very stressful. I barely get any sleep but I work to pay my own bills.” Englewood High School Junior Brittany Dean works at Sonic. She puts in more than 20 hours at her job. She is one of dozens of students at EHS who are balancing work and school.
In 2013, the U.S. Census found 3 million high school students are holding a part-time job. That’s about 1 in 4 students.
A group of researchers at the University of Michigan and Penn State University took a closer look at who is working, how many hours they put in, and the effects of working and going to school. It found white students are more likely to have part-time jobs, but minorities are more likely to work longer hours. The study found some issues with academic success in those who work more than 15 hours a week. Behavioral issues came up as well. It found students who work are more associated with problems like poor attendance, low grades, smoking, drinking and drug use. Researchers also pointed out that work doesn’t necessarily cause those problems, but there is an association between work and those issues.
Tawnee Guy(11) works at McDonalds. She says she can’t do it all, “It’s really hard, I have to keep up with my homework but I really can’t sometimes. I also have no time to sleep.”
Writers for Big Future, a website that helps students transition from high school to college says if you can learn to balance a job and school, it can lead to several benefits and prepare you to be more successful in college, “A job can also benefit you by teaching you about commitment, time management, responsibility, and handling money.”
Still, some students like Kaitlyn Maestas(12) say, they haven’t quite figured it all out, but they are getting there, “It sucks! I have little to no time and I am already tired getting up at six a.m. and not sleeping ’till 12pm.”