We’ve all either been through, are going through or have gone through our first job. Teenage jobs come in all variations. Everything from yard work to fast food and babysitting on a regular basis can be considered a first job.
Many apply at their favorite food place not knowing the circumstances of the actual job. In thought, it seems fun to work with food and be able to put a smile on a customer’s face. In actuality, it’s a lot more work that it seems. There’s cleaning and cooking and, of course, serving. Now, I’m lucky enough to work at Subway where I don’t personally have to bring food to people. I simply just make it as they order and give it to them over the counter. Not every teenager is lucky enough to have my privileges. Some have to serve food all day and work late nights just to help pay for college. Especially when you’re a closer, you will work long nights. I’m a closer normally so I work from 5 p.m. to at least 11:30 p.m. That does not mean I get to leave at 11:30. There is cleaning the bathrooms, washing dishes, mopping and prepping more food for the openers.
On top of getting home at no earlier than midnight, I also have to get up early for school. Quite a few teenagers have this same problem. We work, then get maybe five hours of sleep. And our parents wonder why our grades drop! This introduces my first question: Do you think teenagers should have jobs in high school? A lot of parents agree that if teenagers have jobs in high school, their grades drop. In some cases, no grades change. In others, grades plummet into a pool of failure. Nobody wants that. Some people can handle a job and school, along with all the homework. Some people can’t. Some parents feel that if their child cannot keep up their grades, then they shouldn’t have a job. They feel as if it’s a distraction from their child’s studies.
“As long as she keeps her grades passing and she stays out of trouble, i’m fine with her having a job,” said Aaron Choate, my dad. I’ve gathered that many parents feel the same as my father. Teenagers like money. That’s why we get jobs. Some will try to tell you that we get jobs to practice work ethic and moral reasons but, honestly, if we didn’t get paid, we probably would not do as good of a job. So, when if comes to getting a job in high school, be prepared.