By Ben Mackinnon
“I need to find a job” is something heard frequently around the halls of most high schools. Students trying to earn funds to supply their ever-changing wish list or trying to get a leg up on the cost of a higher education is the story of most young people's experience in the part-time job world. Many students in grade 11 and 12 currently have a job or are searching for one, but does that come with a cost? As it turns out, it just might for some.
Students already have enough on their plate. They have to manage their time very wisely if they are to succeed and their futures are lying entirely on them in the moment, especially for seniors, this is their last chance to make an impact before their grades are set and they apply to university. They have to focus on school for the majority of their time, but with a job taking a large chunk of that time, you have less time to work on projects for school and this may have an effect on your grades, which students are frantically trying to keep high in order to get accepted into the university of their choice. Abbey Appleby, a student at CPA who works 8-16 hours a week, said, “I never have enough time to finish my homework at night, especially when I work a lot that week” and that it “without a doubt” has had a negative effect on her grades overall. She also said that she had experienced more stress as result of her job as she no longer has time to focus on herself. Nathan McGinty, another student who works an average of 16 hours a week as well, when asked if he had balance for work and school, said, “ No, I have one day off a week, and I generally spend it hanging out with my girlfriend.” And, he also said that it’s “more stressful trying to balance all my time.” So it seems as though there is a price to pay for having a job, whether that be through negative effects on your grades, increase in stress, or difficulty finding balance in other aspects of your life. As mentioned before, students like these need to focus on school and their marks and with work taking away from all of that it may lead some less productive or overwhelmed students gasping for air at times, sacrificing friends, relationships, their mental health or more because of the time crunch, which is just as important in maintaining a healthy lifestyle as anything else would be. This may not be the case for everybody, but it seems understandable that having a job during these busy years would result in more stress or some increase in struggle in the balancing act that senior year already is. The penalty for a paycheck may be more trouble than it’s worth; many teens are hard workers and it shows, but how hard can you push before you give out?
