After a long day at school and flag football practice, senior Marin Mendell leaves the busy school parking lot and immediately heads to work. Her lack of availability during school hours forces her to work longer hours, leaving her to complete all schoolwork late at night after her shifts.
“I’m very lucky to have understanding managers about my schedule; however, I almost always work closing shifts. Once I leave school, I go straight to work and don’t get home until around 10-10:30. Having to cram whatever homework I didn’t complete can be exhausting when you have to wake up early for school the next day,” Mendell said.
Teen jobs usually involve local retail, fast food or cashiering at grocery stores, but most days a week after school, senior Guadalupe Maggio begins the hour-long drive to Kissimmee. After a successful internship with Congressman Darren Soto from the ninth congressional district of Florida, Maggio was hired to work on his campaign for re-election this November. For the last few months, she has knocked on countless doors to talk to voters about Soto’s campaign goal.
While Maggio’s job is uncommon, having a job is not, with 20.3% of students aged 16 to 19 being employed while enrolled in school.
“Since I had the experience from the internship, I got hired to work with the campaign for the election season. It has been really useful to see how local government and campaigns actually work, since I want to pursue political science in college and as a career,” Maggio said.
Before working on the Soto campaign, Maggio’s first job was as a hostess at Hinode Sushi. Although Maggio has a busy schedule as the president of Spanish Honor Society and defensive captain of the girls flag football team, both of her employers are flexible and work around her extracurriculars.
Mendell had always known she would have to juggle the busyness of extracurriculars and schoolwork with a job since before high school.
“Both of my parents had jobs from a very young age and it was always instilled into me as something necessary. I’ve learned a lot about working and how to manage my money. I pay for my own gas and anything that needs fixing with my truck, and any place I go or things I do I pay for as well,” Mendell said.
Mendell currently works at Grain & Berry, a local acai bowl chain, but has previously worked in retail stores and various other restaurants as well.
“I only recently started at [Grain & Berry] at the beginning of August. On the day-to-day, I take customer orders, prepare their food, whether it be an acai bowl or a smoothie, do dishes, restock fruit and keep the store clean,” Mendell said.
It can be difficult for students to find a job, as there are limited openings in the Oviedo area, but getting hired is only half the battle. Most students struggle with adjusting to their new schedule and finding time to do their assignments. According to the College Board, “students who work more than 15 to 20 hours per week often experience decreased school success.” To deal with a higher workload from new work commitments and higher-level classes, many students who have jobs take fifth and sixth periods off campus.
Senior Lauren Carroll, who works at Cava, typically works around 15-20 hours a week, getting paid $16.50 an hour, which is significantly higher than Florida’s $13 minimum wage.
“Once I get home [from school], I typically have about two hours before I leave for work, which is really useful for me to get my work done. Most often, I work from four to eleven and come home to go to bed,” senior Lauren Carroll said.
However, working can take a toll as students forget to complete classwork in the midst of working. In these cases, being proactive and creating a calendar or agenda to plan around a busy schedule can be beneficial.
“I haven’t really had much trouble balancing both homework and work since I started planning accordingly to do everything before my shift. I have no issues. Since I’m in band, the first semester is busy because we have rehearsals and games on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Once marching season is over next semester, I think it will be even easier to manage,” senior, who works at Chick-Fil-A, Alexander Tsompanidis said.
While balancing a job and school can be difficult, the experience is rewarding and teaches young adults valuable life skills.
“[A job] has definitely taught me how to responsibly use my time and made me more independent. Having a job can be really manageable, to me it’s just important to prioritize your time wisely to make sure you can handle the work,” Maggio said.
