The Job-School Juggling Act

Illustration+by+Louie+Velasquez

volcomfanvelasqu

Illustration by Louie Velasquez

BY STEPHANIE SOTO

There are many juniors and seniors who have jobs and try to balance school with extracurricular activities all at the same time. At times, students can get distracted with their jobs- especially during finals and tests- but if the students are responsible enough, they can manage their time between work and school. There are students that need to work due to personal issues outside of school so they probably manage their time easily. Students just need to budget their time in order to balance all of the tasks that they have to do in a day. I think that students don’t get distracted from having to go to school and have a job. In fact, I think it teaches them to be responsible but also have time management and many other skills that can further help them in the future. The skills that they can gain can help them with college in the future or even get another job. The skills they can gain from working include communication and being interpersonal with people.

Photo by Louie Velasquez

The students are basically responsible for what they want to accomplish in school and if they could manage having a job as well. There are students that I have known myself that are taking AP classes and are in clubs, leadership, and able to maintain a job as well. The days for those type of students can get long and hard but most of them always seem to accomplish it which is great because it teaches them good things. I think that there are many pros from having a job and trying to maintain school, but there are some students that tend to focus on their job because they think that’s more important. I also think that although jobs may distract school for some people, with jobs they do learn many skills which can be more helpful in the long run. Also, there are students that may have a job and it’s more important to them because of home issues or because they have to help support themselves or their family.

I also think that it shouldn’t distract students because it’s their decision to get a job and knowing if they can handle a job. The students themselves know how much they could handle and if they can tolerate all the tireless and long days that they will have. I also think that they have the ability to build their resume and experience early on in their life which makes it easier in the future for future jobs. They are also able to gain the work ethic of having a job and being at school, which is a good quality to have. They may gain lots of stress and can be distracted a bit but I think that as long as they are trying their best to time manage their academics and working then I think it’s a good thing to work. I truly think that it really comes down to how responsible and willing the student is to have a job and not let them distract them from their academics. Overall, I think having a job is a good thing because it could teach you a lot and learn many skills that you could use in your everyday life. It also shouldn’t be distracting people from academics as long as they don’t let it be one.