High school is the time everyone craves their own independence, and getting a job is one baby step toward gaining it. Students also work in order to help out their families. However, it can become a struggle to balance both.
Some students find making money now more important than passing their classes.

“I work around 20 to 25 hours a week,” Junior Deacon Burghardt said. “I’ve been working [at Papa Johns] for about two months and I struggle sometimes if I have a lot of school work.”

Senior Maddie Bryant is a part of the Emerald Dazzlers, Powerlifting, Interact, and Student Council. She is completing her senior credits during her junior year, Bryant will graduate with the class of 2023 at the end of this semester.

“I honestly just take work hours whenever I don’t have school work,” Bryant said. “I took easier classes so I wouldn’t have a large workload.”

Students who struggle with balancing work and school tend to take later work hours and deal with school late at night.

“I try to get as much done on my days off,” Senior Mario Villalobos said. “But for hectic weeks, I just have to stay up late.”

Many of these students participate in extracurricular activities such as Student Council, baseball, dazzlers, cheer, interact, track, etc. They all have found ways to juggle these activities in a way that works for them.

“Balancing work and school can be hard at times,” Villalobos said. “Like, I only have Thursdays off.”

But sometimes, working isn’t always just for a source of income but sometimes for miscellaneous activities. Senior Caleb Alcalahas been at Walmart for two years and MR Braz & Associates for six months.

“I work because I had to buy my own vehicle along with gas,” Malcolm said. “But it’s also nice to be able to buy whatever I want.”

Time management is a key factor in balancing work and school. Senior Trinity Powers has been working at Sonic for two months and had previously worked at Little Caesars’ for seven months. She has also taken her fair share of advanced and AP courses.

“Usually, when I notice or can feel that the school work is getting more taxing, I’ll just ask or schedule for less work hours,” Trinity said. “I’m a quick worker though, I’m efficient and I make sure that I’m not on my phone or doing something that is distracting me from getting my work done.”

Lastly, teachers can be the biggest help in assisting students with achieving both their academic and work tasks. It can never hurt to ask a teacher if you are struggling.

“I’m flexible and if a student asked for help, I would probably talk to them and ask them what kind of support I can give them in terms of work-life balance,” English teacher Sarah Milosh said. “I’ve also had students ask for work in advance due to work that night and I’m more than happy to give that to them.”