Travel to your local grocery store and I"m sure you"ll find several smiling faces. Many of these are high school and college students earning money for high tuition costs, insurance premiums, or gasoline. What might come as a surprise is the social and economic background of these people. In short, the neediest are not the majority of the workforce. Often many student jobs require long hours or are too stressful for young adults. As a result, students working long hours suffer by having shorter attention spans, lower energy levels, and the inability to do their best work while in class. Rested and happy students perform well in classes and give employers better results. Also these first jobs can play a major role in a student's future work ethic. Therefore, high school and college students must only work part-time jobs fifteen hours or less per week. .
Jobs for students are beneficial if priorities are made and adhered to. A job adds to a student's responsibilities, and according to parents it teaches a student many important lessons about life. For example, the responsibility of handling money, paying their way, and organizing time effectively. The value of a dollar is often more appreciated once a student has to start paying their own way. Parents should focus on their children becoming well rounded individuals that successfully carryout tasks to their completion. This realization could be instrumental in their developing into a well rounded adult in today's society. A student accustomed to working and handling multiple tasks while in high school or college will lead a more successful career in the future. Parents should allow young adults to learn from their mistakes. Prof. Stephen Heyneman of Vanderbilt University states that student jobs make Americans more productive. He also states teenagers with work experience may adapt more easily to new jobs and changing work environments later in life (Rothstein).
