Student jobs provide high schoolers with the opportunity to learn responsibility and time management, but if their job becomes overwhelming, a student can experience an academic decrease. High school jobs expose young students to the work field. It provides them with a way of discovering skills and showing them what kind of jobs they may want to have in the future. Student jobs teach responsibility. Students are responsible for what they do at work, knowing their weekly schedule, and calling out when sick, among many other things. When asked about the benefits of students having  jobs, Mrs. Grimshaw said, “Some kids have better social skills, they interact well, and learn maturity.” They also begin to budget their spendings. Parents aren’t paying for everything, so earning income really makes a high schooler think of what is most important. Students begin to learn time management because they balance work, school, and extracurricular activities. Responsibility and time management are very crucial skills each student should know, but many do not learn until college.  

While these jobs have many benefits to students, studies show that high schoolers who work more than fifteen to twenty hours a week show a decrease in their academics. Students who struggle to manage their time begin to struggle academically because academics aren’t the focus anymore. When discussing the academic pressures, Zoe Swartley, a student, said “Some kids are working from right after school lets out until as late as 10 pm. They have no time to themselves, much less any time for homework, and it is really exhausting.” Many high school students feel a sense of pressure. They are afraid of failure. To students who struggle with time management, their academics aren’t a priority anymore. Academics should be the priority to students, but with the expected workload of students, many students begin to perform poorly in school.

For many high schoolers, there is always a sense of stress or pressure to do well, so time management is crucial in balancing a healthy lifestyle. High schools need to take account of all the student jobs. Many teachers give students a lot of work. For any student who works or those who don’t, the pressure of failing is always on a student’s mind. While student jobs teach life lessons of responsibility and time management, there is pressure in high school. Many students struggle academically because they cannot find time to balance their work. If high schools took account and helped students balance work and outside activities, the stress of failing would decrease, and students can once again put their whole focus into academics.