According to the U.S. Department of Labor, approximately 50 percent of American teenagers have held informal jobs, such as babysitting or yard work, by the age of 12. By age 15, nearly two-thirds of American teens have been employed at some point. By the time teens graduate from high school, 80 percent will have held a part-time job at some time during the school year.
Working from adolescence can teach teenagers how to manage real world situations while also giving them experiences that can make transitions to adulthood less challenging.
“I’ve had experience working at Wendy’s for about nine months throughout my junior and senior years,” said senior Niki Tokunaga. “It was the classic fast-food ‘first job’ type of work.”
Junior Zoe Shimizu said, “I’ve had two part-time jobs. One was for Pigtails and Crewcuts, where I helped with birthday parties and special occasions. My second job was a receptionist/assistant in a law firm.”
Working at part-time jobs teaches teens how to fill out job applications, attend interviews, work responsibly, deal with co-workers, manage their money and time, while also fulfilling assigned duties.
“At Wendy’s, I had to learn pretty much all positions in the restaurant. First, I learned how to work the register, then cook the french fries and chicken nuggets, bag the food for drive-thru, take the actual orders in the drive-thru and finally grill the burgers,” said Tokunaga.
Shimizu too had many assignments to learn. “When I was working at Pigtails and Crewcuts, some of the things I had to do was little girls’ make up, nails, and hair, get them dressed in princess costumes, and play games with them. At the law firm, I answered phone calls and dealt with organizing files while welcoming clients into the office and making sure they had everything they needed before their meeting.”
On the job skills are acquired by working, but there is also a personal gain of appreciation and the understanding of hard work.
“There are many valuable things that I have learned from working at Wendy’s, including efficiency and urgency. Because it is a fast-food restaurant, workers need to know how to get many tasks done in the least amount of time,” said Tokunaga. “I also learned patience and politeness when dealing with customers because it is my duty to treat them with respect and kindness even though they may not always be pleasant. One of the last things I learned was resilience because when you are placed in a new position in a very fast-paced environment, it is obvious that there will be trial and error, but in the end it will make you a better worker.”
“When I entered the law firm, I opened up a savings account under my name and placed all my checks there, and after a while I had a lot of money I never thought I could have,” said Shimizu. “Every time I went out with my friends, my mom would always tell me ‘you have money now, I don’t need to give you any.’ So after that, I started to use my own money to pay for everything, which made me understand the importance of saving money and such.”
Although there are many benefits that come with having a part-time job, there is also a downside. A part-time job is often only one of the many things that teens have to manage in their schedule. Having a job means less time to dedicate to other school activities, such as sports, extracurriculars and homework.
“Working was a lot of fun at times but also very stressful,” said Shimizu. “I had to have a lot of patience with all the screaming and demanding children because I wanted to make sure that they had a good time.”
At times, teens try to juggle too many different activities while also handling a job, resulting in stress, fatigue and lack of sleep. Studies have shown that students who work more than 13 to 20 hours a week have lower grades and grade point averages than students who do not. Nevertheless, part-time jobs provide teens with an endless range of opportunities to learn and grow.
“Having a job was a great experience and I really enjoyed it,” said Shimizu. “Making money, of course, was the best part, but for the first time I started to feel like an adult and that I could be self-sufficient. It really helps to get you ready for the road ahead.”
