Is Working During High School the Right Thing for Students?

Working while in high school can become tiring, time consuming and completely distracting. It interferes with school related activities and assignments that should be top priority. Although some parents think that working while going to high school may teach young adults how to prepare for being handling their own finances, it can actually be detrimental to your health and education.

During high school there are already friends and grades to worry about; students don't need a million other things distracting them from their homework and health. During high school children are finding themselves, transitioning into adulthood, and forming relationships. They are also growing and developing physically and the added pressure of a tighter schedule with more to take care of and less rest is completely unnecessary. It is easy to become tired and in the meantime even develop a decreased immune system. While working full time on top of other daily responsibilities one can become careless or driven in a career aspect rather than focusing on education. I personally have friends who have worked late hours, for example until 10pm or 12am and then having to go home and still have to wake up and attend school before 8am the next morning. Some possibly even commute a small distance like myself commuting 30 minutes to school in the morning, 60 minutes to work in the evening and then 30 minutes home at night. Added stress causes fatigue or confusion and affects diet and exercise routines as well. This has even given reason to some to just quit attending school altogether. Having only a GED instead of a diploma or none at all can put up roadblocks for a person later.

To illustrate my point further, having your own money could allow for more financial freedom that teenagers also do not need. Financial freedom, consequently can lead to spending money on items other than saving for college or future instead of blowing money on whatever they can think of. I know that I wish that my parents would have enforced saving and budgeting. These being the main reasons parents usually say that it's a positive thing for a high school student to work, in my personal experience it was not enforced well enough to teach about responsibility or finances.Some parents would argue that working while in high school shows someone how to transition into adulthood or how to handle some sort of finance system. They would also argue that it enables them to have to purchase their children less on a regular basis. Vehicle maintenance, school clothes, and food from time to time; these things are most likely viewed as convenience and are benefiting both parties. Working while in high school can cause more harm than good and if is necessary to help with supporting the entire family or to pay for educational extras it should be used as a learning tool and only done part time.