Having a job in high school is very common. Making money and learning new skills, there are a variety of jobs out there in the world today, yet as a high schooler a job may be hard to balance with school.
Some of your classic most common high school jobs are Fairway, Caribou Coffee, Chipotle, McDonalds and Target. These jobs are known as food service or store workers.
How Can a School Navigator Benefit Students?
Mr. Brian Coleman, a school navigator shares that, “Most students think that they only can get jobs like your Hy-Vee, grocery store, restaurants, your retail, Target, Kohl’s, and Walmart, and students think those are the jobs that they can only have but that’s not true.”
That is where the OHS school counseling office and school navigators are there to help find a job someone can be passionate about and love.
To be able to work with one of the school navigators is quite simple. All you have to do is email them and set up an appointment. Coleman states, “One of the benefits students get from actually working with us is that they get to explore the areas they have interest in that they might not have thought of being a high school student.”
Any job that someone obtains during high school can provide valuable benefits and help them develop a variety of practical skills. Working during high school can also expose a person to environments or roles that are related to careers they may be interested in pursuing later. As a result, these early work experiences can play a role in shaping a person’s future opportunities and may influence their long-term career development.
Why Do High School Students Want a Job?
People may think “Why would a high school student want a job?” Missy Koch, another school navigator shares, “Money is the driver, but I think once they start having those work experiences they find that they also might want a career like this or on the opposite side they don’t like it and decide this is not the path I want to pursue after High School.”
Junior Sonny Cavazos, who works at Walmart shares, “For me I need to work because I pay off my insurance, my phone bill, I pay for my food to eat every little thing. I help with light bills at home. So I can’t afford not to work. If I could, I wish I couldn’t work.”
Money is a big motivator and reason for a job; for some people it is money to go shopping and have fun with their friends, for others they actually need it for food and to help support their family.
OHS Opportunities
OHS has a free on-site nursing program, giving students the chance to earn their Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). Many people take this class and are able to get a high paying job. Junior Olivia Kubicek states, “I am doing some babysitting right now, I’ve applied to be a CNA at a couple places I haven’t heard back from them yet.” She hopes to get a job at one of the nursing care centers in town soon.
Owatonna High School is also able to offer a youth skills training program (YST). Koch explains, “We have a lot of students in our factory settings too with our youth skills training program” YST is a partnership between schools, employers, and the community where it focuses on hand-on training/jobs in manufacturing, healthcare, and IT.
Skills a Job can Teach Someone
Anunda Buttera is a junior that has been working at the Old Town Bagel Shop for a year and works in Faribault teaching kids how to swim. She mentions, “I get out of my comfort zone, obviously, because I work with people I don’t know, but we’re really a close knit group.”
Communication is a big key skill a job can teach someone like being able to have fun conversations with their co-workers and build relationships. Otherwise, being able to have different conversations with your boss can teach you many skills you will need in your future after high school.
“Something that you have to learn, a skill you have to develop is to advocate for yourself and have a conversation with like a boss.” Said Coleman. Koch also states, “This is a great time to have those work experiences while you’re in high school so you can experience work prior to entering the real Workforce.”
These different skills are very valuable, but there can still be a down side. As a high schooler building your resume can be challenging, especially with having to balance work and school.
Balancing School and a Job
Depending on the job you get, the number of hours you work, when you work, and the amount of effort it might require, the job may be difficult. With a challenging college class or if you’re in a bunch of clubs, in high school we have to learn how and what to balance and control.
Cavazos shares, “At Benedictine I struggled to do schoolwork because I would work 40 hours a week while still in school.” He worked at Benedictine for two years before quitting and switching to Walmart for a better fit for his life. He has been working at Walmart for 3 months now.
At Walmart, he says, “Half the week I work, half the week I don’t because of that I have a lot of free time to catch up on work, finish projects, essay whatever is due.”
Lakyrie Jones a junior at OHS who works as a lifeguard at River Springs Water Park in the summer, she explains, “I like just having it summertime because then it’s not hard to balance my school schedule and sports, but they do have opportunities that you can work every once in a while at west hills.”
Koch also states, “If you’re overbooking yourself, if you can’t manage your school task right, or your workload that you put on yourself, I don’t know if adding a job is necessary.”
Through OHS staff navigators you are able to get help with finding a job. If someone would want one, the other side is that a job can be hard to balance with school yet fun in the sense that you can meet many new people and learn new skills.
