MONEY! That is usually the first thing students think of when the word “job” comes into the conversation. But what if I told you having a job as a student has so many more benefits than just the financial gain?
Relevance – Working is often complained about by a lot of students, but ultimately they understand that it is important to be employed at an early age.
Establish Credibility – I have kept a job throughout high school up until now and researched extensively on the positives and negatives that having a job provides for high schoolers.
Thesis Statement – I believe that every high school student above the age of 16 should have a part time job that consists of about 10-20 hours a week.
Preview Main Points – I will talk about how having a job as a high schooler positively affects students socially, mentally, and of course, financially.
Transition: There are a surprising number of benefits of working a part-time job as a student.
Body
Main point 1: A job can positively affect students socially.
Need/Problem: Teenagers, high schoolers more specifically, are very immature. They have no real social skills that will be applicable to the real world.
Satisfaction/Solution: By having a job, students are able to learn crucial social skills that will catapult them above the rest of their classmates and prepare them for their desired career.
Positive & Negative Visualization: According to a Washington Post article by Jeffrey Selingo in 2015, jobs are “where they [students] learn the importance of showing up on time, keeping to a schedule, completing a list of tasks, and being accountable to a manager”. These social skills are considered the building blocks of starting your career so learning them early on in high school will benefit students in the long run. Having a job as a teenager prepares students for real world scenarios. We’ve all heard the classic joke that employers want graduates with experience even though you just started in the field and you need the job for experience. There is truth in that saying because employers want to hire those with experience talking with customers, working on a team, and working under a manager. According to collegeboard.com in their article “Students and Part-Time Work” a job offers more than just money, stating “In addition to offering a paycheck, some independence and satisfaction, a part-time job can provide both training and experience.” Getting that experience with a job in high school will better prepare students for their first job in their chosen career. A first job doesn’t need to be substantial to your career, it can be a cashier or working in fast food. Working nearly any type of job will boost social skills. Without these social skills students are less likely to get their desired job in the future. Responsibility and time management are also very important skills for students to learn. Working a job will teach students how to manage time and perform tasks efficiently. Not being able to work efficiently is a major red flag to many employers, and without previous work experience after graduation college they will often turn down an applicant.
Transition: Along with gaining responsibility, students gain more self appreciation and confidence.
Main point 2: Jobs can positively affect high school students mentally.
Need/Problem: Adolescence takes a toll on teenagers, they are always wanting to be considered an adult.
Satisfaction/Solution: A first job, will boost student’s self confidence in themselves and give them a sense of purpose. By being independent from their parents financially, even fractionally, it increases teenager’s outlook.
Positive & Negative Visualization: You may ask, why did I specify students 16 and older? According to Caitrin Blake, a professor at the University of Colorado, 14 and 15 year olds are limited to work at non-school hours, 3 hours on a school day, 18 hours in a school week, 9 hours on a non-school day. Many jobs also don’t hire teenagers under 16. You may also be asking why I limited the hours to 10-20 a week. According to a study by Herbert Marsh and Sabina Kleitman posted on ascd.org shows that students who worked longer hours experienced a decline in their academic performance and engaged in negative behaviors. Everything in moderation, that’s the saying right? This applies to working as well. Students shouldn’t work when they know they can’t allot time or if they know it will affect their grades. The longer hours could mentally drain teenagers because they are trying to balancing school and work. The positives, however, greatly outweigh the negatives. The sense of independence especially for a teenager is exciting. It motivates students to do more for themselves and allows them to make their own money. Take me as an example, I found that the responsibility and independence that was given to me made me realize that I had a purpose. The fact that I was making my own money and was not reliant on my parents anymore freed me and allowed me to mature.
Transition: Of course, talking about having a job, the word “money” is thrown around quite often.
Main point 3: Having a job in high school will allow you to save up money, teach you budgeting skills and help prepare you for the outside world.
Need/Problem: Teenagers are very reliant on other people, especially their parents, for money.
Satisfaction/Solution: By getting a job students are able to pay for their own necessities and allows them to learn about saving money for the future.
Positive & Negative Visualization: With the financial help that a job gives, students would be able to pay for their own items. According to Walden University in their article “Should Students Hold Jobs While in High School?” found on waldenu.edu jobs can teach students the value of money and the importance of budgeting. This allows them to consciously weigh the pros and cons to any financial decision to decide whether or not their “necessity” is an actual need. This ties in with learning responsibility as well. Responsibility and maturity are two traits that are extremely important to have when going into college. With college looming over the heads of a lot of high school students, the security that earning and saving money relieves some stress from paying expensive college tuition. Teenagers in low income families often question whether they are able to afford to go to college. I was in that same position two years ago. I knew my parents wouldn’t be able to pay for college so I took the incentive and got a job. On the other side of the coin, not having a job means students lose the opportunity to learn responsibility and financial skill and otherwise stunts them going into their future. Learning these skills in college rather than high school has more consequences because students can’t fully rely on their parents anymore so when they mess up it often results in riskier consequences.
Transition: As you can see jobs have a lot more benefits other than the financial gain for high school students.
Conclusion
Restate Thesis and central idea: Hopefully, now you agree that it is very important for high school students above the age of 16 to have a part time job between 10-20 hours a week.
Review main points: Today I talked to you about how having a job as a high schooler can positively affect you years to come socially, mentally, and financially.
Call to Action: It can be daunting to find a job, but there are dozens of job hunter sites all you have to do is Google “jobs near me” and press enter. You can even go to specific job hunter sites. Some examples of these sites are indeed.com, ziprecruiter.com, and monster.com. These sites allow for personalization such as how many hours you can work, the type of industry or company, the hourly wage, and so many other categories. A lot of the time students can even go to their school website and find local jobs available.
Clincher: Hopefully now “MONEY” isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when the word “job” is mentioned.