Students with jobs is a controversial topic for most people. Studies from the National Library of Medicine show that an increase in working hours can show an increase of absences, dropping of grades and drug use. On a more positive note, summer jobs and after school jobs show a decrease in acts of violence by 43%.
Most students I interviewed said they did things outside of their job. Faith Smith (Senior) said “I do WAHSET basically year round for [the] school year and then I also do 4H and all that stuff in the summer. So it all becomes a lot and it’s hard to make time for other things.” Another student interviewed, Nathan McDaniels, said that he was supposed to go on a camping trip but his job conflicted so he wasn’t able to go. McDaniels works in an orchard part time in the summer. He said he liked his job because it was pretty easy and he got to work with friends. He got the job to save up to get a truck. Most students interviewed said they had a good balance between school life and work.
Kamren Meloy, a sophomore student who works at Wok About Grill in Leavenworth, says he works about 10 hours a week total in the span of two or three days. “[I like spending my money on] My guitars, my vast collection of guitars, on my cars also. I like to work on my cars.” He also said that hanging out with friends is where a lot of his money goes. Additionally he said now that he has money he spends a lot of his time buying guitars.
Faith Smith, a senior who worked at the pool this summer, said she worked about 12-20 hours a week. “I just kind of always go back there [Cashmere pool] every summer ‘cause the people and the environment there’s just cool.”
Olivia Smith, sophomore student who works at Hot Rod Cafe, says she likes having a job because it teaches her to be more independent and responsible. Olivia usually works about 14 hours a week. She puts her paycheck into a savings account and tries to only spend her tips. A lot of Olivia’s family works at the hot rod so she says she has fun working because “I get to hang out with my family.”
Faith had some really good advice on jobs for teenagers: “probably just finding the jobs that you enjoy, and I don’t feel tired and fatigued after working a long shift, and something that you, like, like going back to, because when you don’t love your job, you don’t really like to do it, and you’re just there for the money …”