A recent story by The Washington Times stated that the number of high schoolers with jobs is at a 20-year low. Only 16 percent of high schoolers have jobs, which is half of the 32 percent in 1990.
There are plenty of reasons why the amount of high schoolers with jobs is shrinking, and part of it is the fact that some kids just aren’t willing to go looking for them. After applying to one place and not getting a call back, high schoolers are way too ready to give up and just wait until after school is over. It isn’t as easy as filling out a form and starting to work for the first company you go to.
The perks to having a job while in school include money, and it is a great thing for kids to learn to have their own money, but it also goes beyond that. When you work while in school, you will often end up with a job dealing with the public, and with that, you will learn lessons that high schoolers will then be able to draw on their whole entire life.
Senior Jake Mansfield (who works for White Deer Golf Course in Vernon Hills) agreeing, saying, “The pros to having a job are you get to make money and meet a lot of people which is good for the future. Plus working where I work, you have to have social skills so working with other people and customers you develop good social skills and learn a lot of new things.”
Kids who don’t want to work because they “have their whole life to work” are missing the point of a job in high school. At Jewel-Osco (where I have been working for about two years), kids are only working about 12 hours a week for two to three days a week, so it isn’t like they are wasting their high school hours away at work.
“I like working with school, because it helps you prioritize school work and regular work because you know if you have work one day you have a small window to get any homework or studying done, so it really helps you stay on top of it all,” Mansfield said.
The jobs are there to be had, kids just need to seize that opportunity. Just because friends don’t want to work, or they are okay just asking mom and dad for money, doesn’t mean it has to be the same for everyone. It is good for learning responsibility and life lessons at an early age, and something that will be carried with you for life.
