Woohoo, it’s your 16th birthday! Congratulations! You are now eligible to get your permit and get a job! Getting a job in high school definitely has it pros, but there can also be some pretty major cons. Some pros are:

1. Working in high school can can offer a wider perspective on life and mixing with different people can open up the world around them. Junior Maggie Dillman said, “I’m more of a shy and quiet kind of girl. The people I work with really helped me get out of my shell around the different people that come into our store!”
2. In the same way, jobs can be a great way to help boost your self-esteem. You get a sense of accomplishment and empowerment.
3. Teens who make their own money have more appreciation for its value and realize the need for it to be earned. In addition, they can learn how to budget and be responsible with the purchases that they make.
4. With a job, many issues and problems can arise, and you will need to deal with them in a responsible way. Jobs can be used to learn many life skills that are crucial in the world.
5. Jobs can give teens work experience, which looks great on resumes!

Some cons are:

1. Teens are already under a tremendous amount of pressure, and added stress from working can definitely take its toll on them.
2. Although only working a few hours a week may seem like it would have little effect on teens and the work that they do in school, research will show that if teens work 20 or more hours a week they are more likely to not show up for school and their grades are substantially lower.
3. The combination of school work and a job also does not give them much time to do anything to relieve their stress.