Right now, more than a third of high school students hold part-time jobs; and four out of five are employed at some time while attending high school. Reviews of the research show only minor impact of jobs on grades, but grades are not the only measure of achievement.
Achievement vs. Grade Point Average
When college admissions officers look at a high school transcript, they look for more than GPA. They want applicants willing to challenge themselves with advanced courses and higher credit loads. They look for involvement in both the school and the community. Serving meals at a soup kitchen counts far more than serving meals at a fast food restaurant.
Writing in the Winter 2007 issue of the Journal of Human Resources ("High School Employment and Youths' Academic Achievement"), Donna S. Rothstein observed no significant difference in GPA for working and non-working students, but "a negative and significant effect of hours of work" on the number of academic credits completed . In other words, the more hours high school students devote to work, the less they accomplish academically.
It makes sense: a teen who devotes eighteen or twenty hours a week to shelving groceries at the super market will be hard pressed to find time for homework in higher level math courses, or to write research papers for advanced science, literature, or history classes.
Academic Engagement, Effort, and Motivation
"Students who work longer hours are likely to display less engagement, less motivation, and less effort to learn," according to researchers Kusum Singh, Sandra Dika, and Mido Chang in the Journal of Educational Research ("Effects of Part-Time Work on School Achievement During High School").
Such results do not prove a cause-and-effect relationship -- students with little interest in school might be more likely to seek out-of-school rewards in employment. On the other hand, the authors point out that "part-time work during the school year is almost unique to the United States," and wonder if that may be a factor in "the relatively low achievement of U.S. secondary school students, compared with students in other industrialized countries."
Clearly, teens who work after school also are less likely to participate in extra-curricular activities – clubs, sports, and community service projects – which not only impress college admissions personnel, but help build positive attitudes towards school. The more hours teens work, the more likely they are to be absent from school; and high school teachers can unerringly point to the students in their classes who work the longest hours.
Teen Employment and Parent Responsibility
Many parents believe part-time jobs increase a teen's sense of responsibility and ease the transition to the adult workplace. Some experts agree. Still, following a few basic rules will reduce the risks:
- Limit the hours teens work – full-time students should not work more than ten to fifteen hours per week. Those who work more than eighteen hours show greater negative impact.
- Try to keep most work hours confined to weekends – on weekdays, be sure teens have adequate time outside of school and work for both homework and sleep.
- Insist on savings – Teen wages usually are spent on cars, clothing, and entertainment. Get your teens in the habit of saving part of their income, whether for college or for unexpected expenses. There is nothing wrong with asking a working teen to contribute to the family budget.
Finally, make sure that your teen has time for the social interactions which are such an important part of the teen years. Nobody needs a cool car or the latest fashions if there is no time left to spend with friends.
