There are over three thousand students at North Penn High School. Many of these students have lives outside of the classroom. Clubs, sports, and other extracurriculars are always talked about and given recognition, but a certain activity is overlooked: a job. An enormous chunk of students have a school job and you may not even know it. 

When students do have jobs, many of them have to tackle the stress of schoolwork, clubs, and just life overall all at the same time. It can be stressful but manageable. But for students who don’t have a job, so many questions must be answered. Is it better for them? Do they have more time to do homework? 

There are many reasons why a student may have a job. 

Unfortunately, some students may have jobs because their quality of life needs to improve. They may need to work to provide for their family, pay for a car, pay for college, etc. This is a sad reality for many students because they must now deal with the stress of balancing a job, homework, and maybe even extracurricular activities. On top of that many teachers and staff may not know that a student has to tackle a job, so as a result, they will give a relentless amount of work to do while being completely oblivious to the fact that a student might be struggling. 

In contrast to that, some students come from privileged backgrounds and simply just have jobs for other reasons. There are a variety of possible reasons as to why a student who doesn’t need a job has one. It varies from their parents forcing them to get a job or they may just want some extra money. Some may argue that this could be beneficial. After all, it can be a real-life experience for students especially if they don’t necessarily need a job because it gives them a taste of what the real world is like. 

Senior, Diana Carroll was able to provide a better understanding of what it is like to have a job in high school. Carrol has participated in extracurricular activities at school, but she believes that a job can be just as beneficial for someone who enjoys a learning experience. 

“I think for me it’s still worth it. I wouldn’t quit a job because it’s for the money and experience. No matter what job it is, it’s still something you can put on your resume,” Carrol said.

Even though a job is a great opportunity for some, it is a necessity for others. 

“It depends on your situation because working is for the money,” Carrol explained.

What about the students who don’t have jobs? How do they succeed? 

When students don’t have jobs they have more time to get schoolwork done, join clubs, participate in sports, etc. They also have opportunities to create learning experiences for themselves. They can find other ways to be successful rather than having a job. But it must be considered whether or not this is fair for people who are not able to participate in these activities 

Senior Gianna Moser doesn’t have a job and can participate in clubs. Although she can take advantage of these opportunities, she is still able to recognize that some students do not have the same privileges as she does. 

“I’m definitely in a fortunate position to not have to have a job. I can just have my basic necessities,” Moser said.