Teenagers Should Not Work Part Time Early

Teenagers are easy to find jobs in fast food restaurants because fast food restaurants like hiring teenagers, they know that teenagers are easier to control, and they can accept any wage, even the minimum pay, so more teenagers get a part time job in fast food restaurants. They like working in fast food restaurants, the reason is not they like working, it is that they enjoy making money to pay for everything they want by themselves. Because they are easier to get jobs without a lot skills, they don’t think that they need to be educated any more, the result is more teenagers try to get away from schools. Also because of they can find jobs easily, they become to quit their job frequently, and they keeping changing their jobs.

In Schlosser’s article “Behind the Counter” which is in page 79, he states that “As more and more kids work to get their own wheels, fewer participate in after-school sports and activities. They stay at their jobs late into the night, neglect their homework, and come to school exhausted.” Even though some teenager work to help their families, most of them are working for their own lives. Also they spend more time on their jobs, so they can’t focus on their education after long time working because they are “exhausted”. Those teenagers are too young to handle two things well at the same time because it is over their ability, so they have to drop one of them, either their jobs or their education. Most teenagers choose to get out of schools and continue to work because their jobs don’t require them to be skilled.

“Those teens who do work while attending high school often put in long hours; a third or more work at least 20 hours per week. All that work helps pay for gas, trendy shoes and lots of CDs. But can kids do justice to their education while working so much? On one hand, working part time can teach kids valuable general skills -- how to show up on time, follow orders and smile at customers. It can also foster specific skills and employment contacts that lead eventually to full-time jobs. But if work distracts students from their studies, it can undercut the value of their education, potentially costing them more in the long run.” Most students who work part time over time cannot pay more attention on their studies, and the worst result is that they get out of schools over early. “The most sophisticated attempt to sort out these tricky causal issues is being led by Joseph Hotz, and economist at the University of Chicago. His tentative conclusion: The value of education is so great in today’s job market that working during school can hurt students’ future economic prospects by getting in the way of their studies” Recently, these teenagers may enjoy earning money, but they never think about their life in the future. They can be easier to get jobs when they are young, but what about twenty or thirty years later. They will lose job easily within their lower education. On the other hand, teenagers only face low wages within few skills and little experience. Therefore, teenagers should not work part time early because it will lose a lot of things whatever now and then.

Jonathan Marshall, “Value of Teens Working Debated Part-time jobs yield paycheck but maybe no lasting skills.” The San Francisco Chronicle, MONDAY, MAY 19, 1997, FINAL EDITION.