By: Gracelyn Williams 

For many students around the world, it’s normal for them to be used to stressors in their day to day lives. Taylor Tui is a junior who balances work with school. “I balance 30 hours weekly at my job and another 8 hours of school work each day,” Tui said. “Sometimes it can get difficult keeping up with my school work while also giving most of my energy to my job.” Some schools have difficult curriculums. Other classes that have a number of different requirements students need to graduate. 

Many students are busy with their jobs, saving up money for things they need and want. For students who drive, they are expected to take 12 online classes, take permit tests, get driving lessons, pay for insurance, somehow buy a car and then finally take the test to get their license between class credits, working, assignments, tutoring, and clubs.

There are students who are hyperfocused on getting more hours at their jobs because they are getting tangible benefits from it. School work can be a lot of work to keep up with with not a lot of initial benefits, giving the illusion that keeping a job is more important than school work. 

There are many teens who are like Tui juggling between the school and work and attempting to keep up. Teens in 11th grade are expected to figure out who they are and what they want to do for the rest of their lives between researching different colleges, costs, and career fields that they need or want to get into.

PubMed Central explained teens who have jobs seem to decline in their everyday school life. But the advantage to that is it makes teens want to work instead of focusing on their education, because they get paid for the hours they put into work, making them want to work harder and longer at their jobs. 

The work that they put into their job leaves kids tired, low energy, and have a lower performance record when it comes to assignments, tests, quizzes and exams. The truth is it is way too difficult to have the best of both worlds. To most kids today it seems like it’s either one or the other.