High School Students: Balancing Work and School

All around the world high school students work jobs to pay for expenses, save up, or to just have something to do with their time. 

It is very common for students nowadays to have jobs. Plenty of students get a job right around the time they get a car, which can be from the age of 16 to early 18. Students all across the country have to maneuver their schedule around school, extracurricular activities and, jobs. Hailey Hulette (12) said that sometimes this can be an inconvenience. Hulette shared, “My work always asks for a schedule a month ahead of time which is super helpful, but it also can be aggravating when my extracurricular activities change things super last minute!” 

While some students struggle with scheduling for work, other students create their own schedule and hours. Paige Robinson (12) owns a small business. Robinson explained, “It’s not super challenging balancing your own business with other activities. Sometimes I don’t have anything to do and some nights I have like 20 shirts to make,” She added, “I just have to plan out my days ahead of time to ensure I get everything done.”

Students at Fair Grove work a large variety of jobs. Some students prefer to stay local, working at restaurants in Fair Grove or local gas stations. Other students stay even closer and work as janitors or concession stand workers at Fair Grove schools. There is also a large group of students who prefer to travel outside of Fair Grove for their job. 

In Springfield there are many more job opportunities. When it comes to food service you can work at restaurants, fast food chains, small restaurants with a favorable environment, locations that specialize in desserts or drinks and many more. With retail there are also several options including the Battlefield Mall, 2nd hand stores, off-price department stores, and others. 

There are also a lot of jobs which can help you transition into what you want to do later on in life. Miracle Tracy (12) is a patient care technician at a hospital and plans on working in the medical field after graduating. She takes care of patients throughout the day and assists them with their needs. She also works with patients coming off of ambulances. Tracy does a lot of work that is incredibly important. Her day ranges from assisting nurses in stabilizing patients, to taking care of patients who went into cardiac arrest, to aiding patients that have just come from car wrecks. 

Hulette also does important medical work at a nursing home preparing for her future job. Hulette stated, “I absolutely love my job and I love helping others. I also aspire to be a nurse in the future so I love talking to nurses.”

Whether students stay local, travel farther for their job, do simple retail tasks, or save lives at a hospital, they take on a large variety of jobs throughout the country.