For many high school students at St. Dominic, balancing a job on top of school work and extracurricular activities can be challenging, but can certainly be achievable. There are such a wide variety of different types of jobs for students. Here are some thoughts and opinions on what it is like to have a job in high school.
An extremely popular job among teens is working in a food setting. Either in a fast food or casual dining setting, this job attracts many teens.
“It’s definitely challenging at times as I work at Chick-fil-A and do theater. The way I look at it is that I get most of my work that is assigned that day done and out of the way so I don’t have to worry about it,” Senior Evan Wunnenberg said.
Another job that attracts many teens is working in retail stores, including clothing and make up stores. With this type of job, you can earn multiple skills like time management and customer service. Teens can also learn how to deal with money, which is a valuable skill to learn for the future.
“It can be difficult to do homework when I work on school days. I work from four to eight on school nights, and after work I usually pick up dinner, go home, shower, then do homework. By that time it’s ten o’clock and I don’t want to be up until midnight working,” Junior Maddie Hunsel said.
A lot of private grade schools around the area have after care jobs for kids, who have to stay a little longer than extra after school. This is a great job if you want experience working with kids like being a teacher.
“I work with kids at ICD aftercare. My favorite part is playing soccer with the kids every day. I only work from three to five because it works well with my hockey and homework schedule,” Senior Elise Kehoe said.
One junior named Emma Thornton works as a party host at Playtime Party Center in Wentzville. This is a more unique job for a highschool student like Emma. She gets to learn lots of different skills including management and also taking care of kids.
“I work at Playtime Party Center, where I am a party host and I work with kids of all ages. I manage parties and run games. With balancing schoolwork on top of work, sports, and theater, I only work weekends, but I love my job and it gives me great work experience,” Thornton said.
While having a job in high school can be tough and overwhelming at times, it teaches you so many life skills that will help profoundly in the future. It’s especially important to get a job to save up money for college!
