As someone who works and attends school, I hear a lot of different opinions on how it is to work and study considering that a lot of the students at Miami High are involved in extracurricular activities and sports. 

    Many students admit working is not always easy. Junior Kelvin Miranda, who works at Gilbert’s Bakery at the airport, said, “Working for me can sometimes be stressful, but in other occasions it’s a form of distraction.”  

    Senior Andrea Alonso, who works in a hotel near the airport, added, “Working can be stressful at times, especially as a student.”  

    On the other hand, some students see the responsibility of working differently. Darla Paniagua, who works at Old Navy, mentioned, “It’s nice. I love my coworkers and my managers and where I work.”   

Motives to get a job 

     It is not easy to find a job for high school students, especially if you’re under 16. You may think to yourself why do these kids get a job? Why do they add more responsibility on to their plate? Most students answered the questions with similar responses. Senior Amel Viera, who also works at Gilberts Bakery, said, “At the beginning it was to have money and to do something with my spare time.  I was coming out of covid, so I felt like I had all this time doing nothing productive.” He went on to say, “Now I work to help my mom with bills and rent and other economic necessities.”   

    Junior Kelvin Miranda stated, “I got a job to help my mom out with bills and save up money for myself for future use.” Saving up money can be a big motivation especially if students want to get a car or even move out.
  

Advice for those who want to dip their feet in the pond 

     When balancing things like school and work, students could use some words of advice from people who are already learning these new skills. Senior Darla Paniagua recommends, to set a schedule that works for them, that doesn’t intervene with school or family time.   

    Senior Jaiden Montoya, who works at Publix, said, “Get a job that can give you a flexible schedule.  Money isn’t everything. Education is over your job at any moment.”  

Downsides of working  

    When students first think about getting a job, they don’t directly think about the downsides but about how much money they can save up or where they can work. Sometimes working can intervene with your studies. Amel Viera stated, “There was a time where my grades were bad, and I just kept working and didn’t put my education first, and I learned to balance my work and studies by doing my work during a free period and/or during lunch.”    

   No time to yourself or for your friends as well as family is something a lot of students with jobs put on the line.   Senior Darla Paniagua added, “I never have time to hang out with my friends. It’s super hard to find a day we are all off or just any plans in general.”    

How do they do it? Extracurricular Activities too? 

     Many of these students have a different perspective as to how they handle all their stress or how they juggle having 2 huge responsibilities in general. Kelvin Miranda mentioned he was in the football team for Miami High, making him a working student-athlete. Jaiden Montoya is also on the soccer team for Miami High as well as an officer in MHS club Honoria. Senior Mia Olivero, who works at DSW Shoe Store and is an officer for both the Photography Club and GSA, mentioned, “I’m also in other clubs, but managing them is going good. “ 

Do school and work bump heads?  

   Some students might feel that working could interfere with their academics. Others think otherwise and feel they can take on the responsibilities. Carlos Castro, who works in construction, hasn’t had a situation in which work has intervened with school whilst Mia has. She mentioned, “It has intervened with my studies because sometimes I work after school and I’m also an officer for photography and GSA so I would have to stay after school to do what I need to, then go and work a late shift.”  Events like this really intrude on students’ academics and success.  

    Despite the intrusions, Darla said, “I’ve developed better time management than last year so I improved on that, prioritizing my work as well.”