Nearly 30% of all high school students have a minimum wage, after-school job. Jobs can be held for many reasons: supporting their family, having to pay for gas and food, or saving for bigger expenses. Missouri minimum wage is $9.48; common minimum wage jobs include retail, such as Macy’s, and the food industry, such as McDonald’s. Students spend 40 hours in school a week plus an average of 16.5 hours working each week. This amount of time working can be hard to manage, and students have to have good time management skills in order to make everything fit into their schedule.

Senior Alannah Zuber has not one, but two jobs at the moment. Zuber has the challenge of working, balancing school, and her personal needs such as hanging out with friends.

Zuber, who works at Old Navy and Sachmos spends four to five nights a week working her two jobs for 5-8 hours depending on the day. At Sachmos, she is a hostess, and at Old Navy, she is a sales associate.

“I was working at Old Navy for about a year and wanted a raise, but they wouldn’t give it to me. I ended up looking for another job and then they offered me the raise so I kept my job at Old Navy and took the new job at Sachmos as well. The management at Old Navy is really good and it’s a good environment so I decided to stay,” Zuber said.

One aspect to look for when getting a job is management. Without good employers, students may find it hard to take needed breaks. Sometimes school or personal life prohibits students from working, and it is vital that work doesn’t consume their whole life.

“Both of my managers are really comfortable and reasonable when working with me and if I need a night off I can say I need it,” Zuber said.

Benefits from having a job are far greater than just pay benefits. Longtime friends are made, and valuable life skills are learned. Students who work not only learn how to manage their time well, they also learn how to communicate well with others. In the workplace, one has to deal with communication between management, other staff, and customers. It is important to be able to translate those communication skills into everyday life.

“I met a lot of friends at Old Navy and we hang out outside of work. It’s a good experience, you get to meet friends and learn a lot of valuable skills. I have learned time management, people skills, and working with people which alone is a big deal. And it’s important to have those experiences for future bigger jobs,” Zuber said.

Time management is the most important aspect of juggling school, social life, and work. Zuber had to learn how to balance her time well between sports, academics, work, and friends. At first, she found it difficult to balance her time, but as she became more experienced she learned how to.

“I used to play volleyball so in my free time I hang out with friends. Most of them have jobs so late at night we will hang out and it’s not too bad. Freshman year I didn’t know what I was doing and it was really messy. I feel like having a job got me prepared for that stuff and now I know how to manage my time and I don’t procrastinate as much because I know I have to get things done,” Zuber said.

Aside from making money, Zuber has found that working while in high school will prepare her for her future occupation. All the aspects of getting comfortable in the workplace now will be beneficial when it comes time for her job later in life. The skills she is learning now in her job will last well throughout her lifetime.

“I want to go into business, and since I have been at Old Navy for so long, I will help count money, help the managers close down the store, and put reeds in for the amount of money we made that day. It definitely does help since I want to go into business, but also in social skills. I am very comfortable with talking to adults and most kids are not,” Zuber said.

Having a job in high school can be stressful. It may seem hard to balance rigorous responsibilities- but with a well-managed schedule, one can make jobs, friends, sports, mental health, and school all fit. Zuber finds that working two jobs has not only given her valuable life skills, but it has also given her a look into having greater responsibility. She thinks that it’s beneficial for students to hold a job. And there are so many out there that if you don’t like one job there are many more to apply to, working is definitely worth the effort.

“Just try it out, if you don’t like it you can always quit. If the management is not good don’t stay, you don’t need them at fifteen years old,” Zuber said. “I feel like everyone should just try it out for a couple of months.”