Is Working Good for Students?

As you get into higher grades, many of your friends will start working, get their own money and buy things you’d never be able to afford with your pocket money. Do you feel jealous? Did you start to have an urge to work as soon as you can? You already wrote the list of things you are going to buy after you start working? Yes, working while in school is very popular and it’s what many students do.

About 80% of my friends are working as part-time in various places. However, some people seem to think that working while in high school is not beneficial for the students. Do YOU agree? It’s not a simple, one-answer question. There are pros and cons of working while studying and here are some examples:

Pros:

• Money!! – its all yours!
• Freedom- no more dependence on your parents to go to movies or buy that cool jacket you saw at the mall.
• Pride: Now you can show them you can do something other than chatting with your friends.
• Gain a money-managing skill: well, maybe not always… but at least now you know you will get broke if you use it all on fantastic wardrobes.
• Learn that “money” doesn’t come easily: yeah, your parents didn’t just dig that money in your backyard.
• Experience the “Real Working Life” firsthand: You can experience working with co-workers and get the taste of being watched….By supervisors.
• Can get scholarship: many of the chain stores offer scholarships for their employees.

Cons:

• Distraction: if you work 16 hours/week, that’s 16 hours minus your study time, or at least, it should be.
• Dangerous: you might not fully understand the responsibility of the jobs or the protection for the employees.
• Accident/injuries: working at the construction site or other highly hazardous place could be dangerous if you are not fully trained or went to the proper orientation.
• Habit developing: you might start to develop bad habits such as overspending.

It’s hard to say in one sentence whether working while in school is bad or good. However, as you can see, working certainly had many benefits that will help you in life. I’ve seen videos of teen injuries while working and it disturbed and surprised me.

However, working while being cautious and trying not to distract it from studying would be very effective, because you get to experience the Real World, which you will be living in few years, while still in school. It’s the decision you have to make and it can be your road to disaster or the ultimate success.