by David Aaron White

Created on: April 07, 2009

Teenagers like to work outside of school because it allows them to make money that can later be spent on dates, nights out with friends, video games, gas for the car, baseball cards, and anything else that a teenager might want. Additionally, teenagers gain real world experience by working outside of school, for it teaches them the importance of saving the money they earn and spending it wisely. That being said, there are some downsides to a part time job, mainly the first half of the title: time. In fact, the time commitment to a part time job is the only potential problem teenagers can run into, so we need to find a way to work around that.

You'll hear it time and time again: time management is the most important part of a teenager's life. See, it doesn't always matter how smart you are, how much you enjoy school, or even who your friends are; what matters is how much time you spend studying, how much effort you put unto school, and how much time you spend out with friends when you're supposed to be doing work. If you decide to take a part time job after school, then you'll need to manage your time responsibly; knowing how to balance everything in life, including your job, will allow you to become a responsible person who will get into a good college someday.

Now, the first thing you need to consider: When do you go to your job, and when do you get home? Let's say you work from four in the afternoon until eight, after getting out of school at three. That gives you an hour after school to work on your studies and homework, and then you need to cram in your work in between whenever you get home, eat dinner, and go to sleep. Some nights, you might not get to bed until eleven o'clock, depending on your workload, but even that isn't that bad. Consider the fact that you may have study hall during the school day; use it to your advantage. Make sure you get your work done when you can, and don't waste time during the school day.

Weekends are the next things to consider. Your job may require you to come in on Fridays nights, Saturdays, and possibly Sundays. Isn't there something else that you'd like to do on Friday nights? Socialize! If you have a part time job that requires you to go to work during the time that you'd like to spend hanging out with friends, then you have to make some choices. Prioritize; if you want to keep your job, then you need to take a hit in your social life. So what if you can't be with your friends every single weekend? You'll likely see them during the week, possibly in school, and you don't always need to see them. If you need the money, then your friends will understand that you need to make some sacrifices.

In fact, you might want to ask yourself if you even need the job you're working at. Would the job look good on a college application? Flipping burgers doesn't exactly "wow" the board of admissions at Columbia, but working for a newspaper might. Do you need the money? If you go to a private school, you probably don't...or maybe you do need the money because your parents spent all of theirs on your education and want you to foot your own bill. If you need the money, then you should keep the job; don't sacrifice that, because when you're an adult, you can't just decide to stop working because you want a social life. Prioritize, and you can keep your job without hurting your academic career.

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