Welcome to the benefits of teenage jobs!
Having a job as a teenager in high school may seem like a lot to handle. Trying to balance your school work, sports, clubs, social life, and working may seem impossible. However, money is also very important. Your parents may or may not be putting the pressure on you to start buying your own clothes and school supplies, but you just don’t see how you possibly can. The secret to balancing everything starts with budgeting. Not budgeting your money (although that is very important), but budgeting your time.
Time Budgeting
This pie chart shows a rough estimate of how you should budget your time in a weekday (assuming you wake up at 6:00 AM and go to sleep at 10:00 PM.) You may be lucky enough to have a study hall at the end of the school day and can get your homework done then (or a majority of it.) This is perfect because then you can dedicate those three hours to working more at your job or having spare time as it is very important to not wear yourself out! You need to find a balance between working and enjoying life.
Learn more about time budgeting!
Balancing School and Work
As I stated, it will seem very tough to balance work and school. If you’re like me, you’ll often find yourself dreading the drive to your job after a long day of school and practice. I can attribute a lot of that to the fact that I hated my job. Moreover, I didn’t like my boss, I didn’t get along with a majority of my coworkers, and hated the work itself. I found every reason I could to not go to work. However, I powered through and followed some of the tips I outlined in this post.
Eventually, I came out of high school financially stable with a better job and did well enough in school to have a refund from all of my scholarships and grants. I did have to sacrifice some of my social life for work, but that could’ve been different if the circumstances were different. As long as you stick to your schedule, and are smart with your money, you WILL come out ahead of your peers. What kind of jobs could you get that would work around your rigorous schedule?
7 Tips to Balancing School and Work
What Job Should You Get?
Teens should look into food service industry jobs such as Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Subway, Sonic, etc. They often hire high school-aged teens to work and are willing to work around their schedule. The laws may vary in your state, but some individuals as young as 15 can start working at McDonald’s and Sonic! Other jobs that hire high school teens are stores such as Walmart, Target, Sears, etc. (Once you reach age 18 you can work summers jobs such as construction/landscaping… never hurts to ask around your local area for companies that are hiring for the summer!) This may seem tough at first, but if you keep at it for a couple of weeks, you’ll find a groove where you can enjoy your teenage years while still earning money and gaining a strong work ethic.
Don’t want to get a regular job? Check out 8 Businesses That Make Money While You Sleep!
Talk To Your Boss
Make sure to talk with your boss or manager and explain to them that you may need extra time for your studies or sports. See if they will work around your schedule. Also, make sure you request important dates off way ahead of time as a courtesy to your boss and your coworkers. Finally, make sure to discuss the exact amount of hours per week that you can work. You have a better chance of starting off on the right foot with your boss if you have this conversation. This will also ensure that your work schedule and your school schedule do not interfere with each other.
Benefits of Teenage Jobs
- Social Skills: Having a job will increase your social skills. Whether it’s interacting with your boss or with your customers, you’ll see your social interactions begin to feel more natural and easy as your confidence begins to rise.
- Money Management: With your new source of income you’ll be able to learn some new money management skills. I’d recommend you check out our 10 Budgeting Tips for Teens!
- Time Budgeting: As I mentioned earlier, you’ll have to budget your time with your new job. Although this may not be fun, it will certainly help you learn how to budget your time during the more busy times of your life.
- Networking: When you get a job you have the amazing ability to be able to network with hundreds of people. Networking is all about communicating with others who may be future employers, employees, colleagues, or customers. Building your relationships with these people can help you in the long run.
- Problem Solving: No matter what job you get, you’re going to face problems. Learning problem-solving techniques that you can take with you for the rest of your life will be very beneficial.
- Experience: With your new job you are going to gain super valuable experience. You’re going to gain experience interacting with your boss, your co-workers, and your customers. You’ll learn new skills in your field that you can carry with you for the rest of your life.
- Resume Booster: Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of getting a job as a teen is having a massive resume booster. When you go to apply to other jobs in the future or to your future college you can put your job experience on your resume and odds are, you’ll have a huge increase at getting accepted.
Read about more benefits of teenage jobs! Also, check out the book, “What Color Is Your Parachute? For Teens, Third Edition: Discover Yourself, Design Your Future, and Plan for Your Dream Job.”
The Takeaway
The most important thing to remember is that a job does not only allow you to make money but gives you the satisfaction of knowing that you’re one step closer to adulthood. This can kick start your way to becoming a self-made millionaire.
Read our guide on how to Save for College in 4 Years!
