With high school comes many responsibilities for teenagers. While studying and getting good grades will always be a top priority for students, acquiring a job can benefit teens in a great abundance. Not only do students earn money, but it can also bring in many life lessons.

Having a job in high school is a great experience itself and prepares students for the real world in college and afterward. Trying out multiple jobs offers different opportunities and helps teens find the career field they want to be in later. The best way to decide what to do is with real-life experience and testing out different careers.

Independence is something that students need to gain in their high school years. Having a job puts the responsibility on themselves without the guidance and help of a parent. Earning money and taking on a job brings lots of independence and self-confidence as well. Responsibility will only increase as life goes on and maintaining a job prepares and gets students ready for that. This will also help teenagers who have busy lives learn to balance out multiple activities and tasks at the same time. Multitasking and time management will be a big thing to handle later on, so learning how to maintain earlier will benefit in the long run.

Even just having a part-time job can better prepare teenagers for the future. The job they take on does not have to be super difficult or complex, anything as simple as babysitting will bring a different type of experience they didn’t have before. 

Not only will having a job bring experience but it will also bring in money. Teenagers can earn spare money and save up for important things later on. Learning how to manage money is something we learn in school, but putting it into a real-life situation is way more beneficial. Working hard for money also helps self-confidence and puts consideration into how to spend money wisely.

According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, working hours for 14 and 15-year-olds are limited to three hours in a school day, and 18 hours in a week. Students who are 16 to 17 can work unlimited hours in non-hazardous jobs and students 18 and older have unlimited hours and do not have any limits on the type of job they take up. Students still have plenty of time to take part in extracurricular activities, sports and keep up good grades. 

Having the experience now will also help to obtain a job later on. Employers prefer employees who have previous experience. So having these jobs now will only better the chances of getting hired and make things easier. Maintaining a strong resume earlier will also look really good for colleges and future careers later.

Students that are more troublesome sometimes need something to keep them occupied. According to Walden University, having jobs has been shown to decrease incidents of violence in youth by 43%. This can help them to obtain new interests as well as make new friends and acquaintances. Some teenagers need distractions from their stressful lives at high school and home, so having another activity to do is relieving.

Another skill teenagers can work on is communication. Sometimes students aren’t very good with interacting and socializing, and having a job helps better communication with other co-workers and adults. 

Personally, I have experienced one job so far and even that has brought me a lot of independence and responsibility. It’s brought me a new outlook on things and a better understanding of the real world. I’ve also met a lot of new friends and learned a few more skills I didn’t have before.

Although some may think that being employed during high school years is unnecessary and takes away childhoods too early, it actually benefits in the long run and helps teenagers learn different qualities and skills earlier. The importance of these jobs is very rewarding and it’s never a bad idea to get a head start on bigger things for the future.