After eight long, grueling hours sitting in class, many NVD students are adding jobs into their already packed schedules. From tutoring kids to working at a bike shop and even making lattes, students take on jobs for a multitude of reasons. While some enjoy the independence and experience, others aren’t so sure if the energy and time commitment is worth it.
For some students, getting a job is about gaining independence rather than a necessity. One of these students is junior Michaella Ryu, who works after school at her old elementary school: Luther Lee Emerson school.
“It is my choice to have a job because I want to be able to fund my shopping and my food purchases without spending a lot of my parents’ money,” Ryu said. “Additionally, it helps me understand the worth of money and how hard it is to work for it.”
Other students agree, viewing work as a chance to learn and grow rather than an obligation. Junior Jonathon Rosenblum, who works as a coach at a pickleball club, is able to find a good balance between work and fun.
“It’s fun being around a sport I like, and I get to meet different people and stay active,” Rosenblum said. “I like making my own money and gaining experience, even though I don’t absolutely need to work.”
However, not every student has the same experience. Junior Matthew Keegan, who used to work at Trek Bicycle Shop until last year, doesn’t think that the benefits outweighed the disadvantages. He views a job as something that can limit normal teenage experiences.
“[A job is] not worth my precious hours that I have as a teenager … It’s not worth it to make minimum wage at a job you don’t like when you could be studying and learning new skills that can generate you more money in the future … I’m only a kid once,” Keegan said.
Despite different views on the benefits of an afterschool job, most students agree juggling school and social life with work can be hard. Between homework and testing, along with making time for friends and family, students can feel like they don’t have enough time.
“It does sometimes stress me out when I get busy,” junior Hannah Kim, who works at a matcha store, said. “It interferes with school work and my social life because it drastically decreases my free time.”
Ryu agrees, expressing her stress levels during especially busy periods of school.
“The reason why it stresses me out is because it is time consuming when I need to study for exams… I find myself worried about the small amount of time I have to do my homework after work,” she said.
Still, many students believe that it is important to get an afterschool job as the skills and experience from it make the stress worthwhile. Students often develop important life skills for their future careers.
“I’ve learned a lot of skills, like communication, responsibility, time management, and how to work with different types of people,” Rosenblum said.
Ryu feels similarly.
“I have learned how to work with children through my job,” Ryu said. “With this, I learned much resilience and how to communicate [with] and understand children.”
Overall, each student needs to figure out their own priorities before deciding if they want to get an after school job. And if a student does decide to take on the added responsibility, it should all come with a manageable schedule.
“[A job] helps you become more independent, teaches real-world skills, and gives you your own money, but you just need to balance it with school,” Rosenblum said.
