Teenagers decide to get jobs for various reasons. Some students need to have a job while others simply want to have a job.

The ironic part of this, however, is that those who need jobs often are unable to find them. Earning money to support oneself or an entire family is becoming more difficult with today’s economy. It is not uncommon to find high school aged kids working to help support their families.

Conversely, many of these students find it difficult to make time for work because, given their families’ financial situations, they have to work harder than most to maintain quality grades and focus on extracurriculars in order to receive a college scholarship or some sort of financial aid in the future.

“It seems unfair that certain people should be stuck in such conflicting situations like needing to have a job but not having the time for one, especially since it is not their fault they ended up in the situation,” said junior Isabel Zwass.

Another commonly found issue with having a job is that once students are old enough to have a job, usually during their junior or senior year, they have much more school work and much less time to focus on other things such working.

Underclassmen are often found to have more time on their hands to participate in sports and relax. Freshmen and sophomores seem so have more time that they could be filling with activities such as having a job, however, the majority of them are not of legal age to do so.

“There are so many things that get in the way of having a job. That is why I was so hesitant to get one at first,” said junior Neeshae Wain.

Wain said that she got offered a job at Aldo over the summer before her junior year. She said that she was not in desperate need of a job but it was nice to have one as a way to make money for herself.

“It’s nice working at Aldo because my hours are so flexible. Although if I worked somewhere where that was not the case, I would probably need to manage my time much better with all the school work junior year contains,” said Wain.

While having a job and needing a job are two different situations, they are similar in the sense that both require time management and compromise.