students take part time jobs
Students with Part-Time Jobs
Whether it be to gain communication skills, to build an early resume or simply to make extra money for personal indulgences, the number of students acquiring part-time jobs is steadily increasing. Students need to work to save for college or to supplement family income. Sophomore Ione Ogawa, Junior Kelly Van Boxtel and Senior Cassidy Bennett are three of many students at Peninsula who have part-time jobs.
Van Boxtel has been working at the Promenade Ice Chalet since July 2016 and plans to work there until the end of senior year. Although she does not have a set amount of hours, this past season has been extremely busy at the Ice Chalet and she has had to work six to eight hour shifts. Van Boxtel claims that it is the perfect job for her because she can do what she loves, ice skating, while helping out kids.
“I started working because I wanted to make my own income,” Van Boxtel said. “I can now pay for my own personal items and [also] save up for college.”
Ogawa started working at Kumon as a tutor in August 2016. She takes four hour shifts on Tuesdays and Thursdays and plans to work there until she leaves for college in two years. Although she feels like she is helping others at her job, she dislikes how, at times, her job overlaps with other extracurricular activities. Due to the many dance classes she takes outside of school, Ogawa initially found it challenging to maintain a good grade whilst having a job. She admits to staying up very late past midnight on many occasions.
“Balancing school and work was hard at the beginning of the school year because I was still adjusting to a new schedule,” Ogawa said. “But as sophomore year progressed, I learned to balance my time out and created a schedule that worked for me.”
Taking on a part-time job while still in high school can help develop skills necessary for the future. According to Ogawa, there are many benefits to having a part-time job such as learning how to deal with responsibility, managing time and getting a peek at the working world. She believes that if students are handling their job well while receiving additional responsibilities, their self-esteem also grows.
Despite these benefits, according to the Social Science Research, students who work more than 15 to 20 hours per week often experience decreased success in school. They may come to school tired, have little time to see their teachers after school for special help and avoid extracurricular activities. Bennett disagrees with Youth Development Study psychologists’ concerns that employment may cut short or even deny youth an essential “adolescent moratorium”, a stage of life free from adult-like pursuits, stressors, and responsibilities.
“I believe that having a job and learning how to handle the responsibilities of a job is an essential part of adolescence,” Bennett said. “I have learned to work with other people and have achieved interpersonal skills.”
Bennett initially started working at Panera Bread in Torrance to pay for her Coachella ticket. She works 15 to 20 hours per week and hopes to keep doing so until she leaves for college.
“It actually has been harder to keep my grades up because of the amount of time I spend at work,” Bennett said. “But it just forces me to manage my time better to balance my job, school and friends.”
