Part-time jobs remain a viable way for high school students to earn extra money while also providing an opportunity for students to dive into the world of financial independence.

By balancing a job and school work, students learn how to better manage their time and increase their responsibility. While these skills are beneficial to possess, attending school and working simultaneously may prove too stressful for some students.

“I stopped working at my part time job because I have the double bundle this year, and there’s no way I could balance both,” junior Holden Haley said.

While some jobs remain accommodating towards high school student’s schedules, others are not as flexible.

“I stopped doing my part time job at Zaxby’s because they started giving me more hours, and it didn’t work with school,” junior Michael Pardo said.

Although some students experience heightened stress levels due to their jobs, other enjoy theirs.

“I like having extra money, so I like my part time job. I think they’re good because having something to do after school helps me build time management skills,” senior Kirstyn Dunbar said.

Part time jobs can also aid college applications. Colleges everywhere take note of extra-curricular activities.

“I think part time jobs are beneficial for colleges. If you can keep up your part time job and your GPA that is good for colleges to see,” senior Chris Elsey said.

However, not everyone agrees with this opinion, including AP Macroeconomics teacher, Dr. Roach: “I think the benefits of a part time job are learning time management skills, but the tradeoff is that you give up time to study and with college costs increasing, I don’t know if that trade off is worth it,” Dr. Roach said.

Part time jobs come with many pros and cons. While they can accomplish a solid way for students to learn financial and time-management skills, they may also lead to increased stress and distract students from their schoolwork.

“Education is work, and it does demand a lot of your attention, but that doesn’t really mean that everyone has the luxury of only having one job. If students have a part time job during the school year, I think it’s important to try and be careful about how they plan their obligations and to stay as organized as possible,” Ms. Galloway, AP World teacher, said.