According to the 2013 US Census, one in every four high schoolers aged 16 and older work part time. In a poll conducted out of 145 students during A, C and D lunch, 61 percent responded that they had not worked in the past nor worked currently, which 39 percent responded that they either used to have or currently hold a job. Out of those students that responded yes, 10 worked in retail or sales, 13 worked in the foodservice industry and 40 worked in other jobs such as babysitting and tutoring.
“Having a job not only helps you become a better person overall, like having to be nice while dealing with pesky customers, but it also helps you learn to watch your spending and only buy things you really need,” said junior Ian McDonald, who has worked at Jersey Mike’s Subs nearby the Dunn Loring Metro station for the past three months. This is his second job, his first was working at Robeks Smoothies. McDonald typically works 14 hours a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Senior Emily Hoang works as a hostess for a restaurant in the Mosaic District called Sisters Thai. She typically works on weekends, her hours totalling around 14. Her job is to take reservation calls, seat walk-in customers, and strategize where to seat large groups, as Sisters Thai is limited on space. Although Hoang started work in August, since school started she found that balancing all of her school work and extracurriculars became a little bit more difficult.
“It was especially frustrating trying to balance SATs and work—meaning I got home around 11 before the night of the SAT. I also had to go to work right after I took the SAT,” Hoang said. “Because I work night shifts on Fridays and Saturdays, I can only do homework on Saturday mornings and on Sundays.”
In addition to academic responsibilities, some students have extracurriculars like sports, clubs, volunteering, or chores to do that take up more of their free time, including working.
“It is kind of hard to balance school life and work life because there are also sports that I participate in and that just creates a busy schedule for me,” junior Thando Muchemeny said, who works at the clothes store Marshalls on Leesburg Pike.
Senior Caroline Mubiru has worked at L.L. Bean for around six months. Her responsibilities include restocking items and working on the floor of the store. Mubiru found that although it was difficult at first to balance her work life and school life, it become easier once she took advantage of as much down time as she could.
“With the stress of work and school I found it hard to do my homework and study for tests the way I did during junior year,” Mubiru said. “After a while I just mentally decided to push through it and it all became easier. I studied during my breaks and also used my free time during school to finish my homework.”
Sophomore Neel Simpson, however, who just recently applied and received a position making and prepping salads at Sweetgreen, also located in the Mosaic District, prefers to work on weeknights and plans his school work according to his schedule.
“I usually work night shifts on school days, which gives me some time to get home and finish homework, Simpson said. “I know my schedule for when big projects or papers are due in class, and try to balance my work schedule to not interfere with that. I ask to not be scheduled to