Hi there. In this education post I would like to highlight how a student part time job can hurt grades. The motivation behind this post is from my work in educational services. There is a grade 12 student that does have a part time job from what I have heard and I suspect that his math skill is not that great. I think the math skill is not great as he forgets concepts from the previous grades and the algebra skill could be improved.
A Part Time Job Takes Up A Chunk Of The Student Schedule
I can understand the reasoning of taking a part time job. Making money while you are young helps with buying cool stuff, video games, tech toys, clothes, fitness and entertainment expenses. In today's North American job market, there is a large emphasis on experience. (I do not wish to get into great detail on this labour market topic.) The thing with a student taking up a part time job is that is does take a bit of time from the student schedule. There is less available time for homework, relaxation, eating and maybe even sleep.
Exhaustion From Work, Not Much Energy For Homework/Studying
A part time job can be physically demanding as well as mentally demanding. If the student is working in the retail sector or in any service sector occupation there can be some demanding, rude or even violent customers to deal with. Some jobs can be slow paced while some jobs can be busy and fast paced. By the time a student is done with their job they can be exhausted physically and mentally. The student may not have enough energy or even time to do any homework or studying.
Good & Effective Time Management Needed
There are some students that can do well in school and maintain a part time job or hobby. These students tend to have very good time management in their own student schedule and personal life schedule. Focusing in class is extremely important as it is time efficient to make sure concepts are learned as much as possible in the classroom. The more that is understood in the classroom can reduce the amount of homework time.
I am not sure about other high schools around the world but in my province high school students are allowed to take a spare period in their schedule. In a semester a student is allowed to have one or two spare periods of no classes. The maximum spare periods amount is two for grade 12s. This is because universities take your best 6 marks for university applications from grade 12s. I can make a separate post on this. A grade 12 student could have a spare period for studying, resting or for a part-time job.
Closing Thoughts
There is nothing really wrong with a part time job as a student. Making money for lifestyle expenses, paying regular bills is important. It is important to be mindful of the time investment in the schedule when there is a job involved. A student has to be careful not to overextend and take on too much. Balancing a part-time job with full time studies is possible but it does require a good amount of time management, efficient and effective learning strategies and focus.
