Today it is not uncommon for high school students to take on part-time jobs. The reasons can vary from helping to support their families to simply wishing to have some extra spending money. The students of Bellevue West are no exception, with several of the students taking on part-time jobs.
With part-time jobs students must often find different ways to manage their time so that they can manage their schoolwork and job. One such student is senior Max Rebsom, who has worked at Culver’s for a little over a year now.
Rebsom said that his job leaves him with little free time, and that he’s had to make compromises with how he spends it.
“I’ve had to cut back on sports and time I can spend hanging out with friends or family,” Rebsom said. “I’ve really just had to cut down to doing two things, and that’s school and work.”
Rebsom said that being in both school and working has caused him to prioritize the time he spends studying.
“[The hardest part is] managing my time wisely, especially if I’ve got homework for a test or just a big assignment that I need to work on,” Rebsom said. “It’s hard to find time when I’ve got work every day.”
According to Rebsom, he’s had to resort to finding creative ways to stay both on the clock, and on top of his homework.
“So I’m bringing my iPad to work actually, during any time I’ve got I can at least look at my notes so it’s easier to do homework later,” Rebsom said.
Senior Liam Linder is another Bellevue West student currently working a part-time job. Linder is currently working at the Vietnamese sandwich shop Bánh Mì.
According to Linder, the mentality of one’s employer can also help students manage their schoolwork and workload.
“My job is also really good about knowing that I’m a student as well,” Linder said. “So they will not make me work that much during the school week. But I work a lot on the weekends, I get time to study for tests the night before. I’m able to do homework the night before as well.”
Linder also said that his work schedule has made it difficult to make plans with others.
“My work gives its schedules out on Sundays, and then it’s for that week up until it’s Saturday,” Linder said. “With my old job, it was about two weeks in advance, you’d have a two week long schedule once they would put it out there. It was very difficult to schedule outside things, especially when the schedule is inconsistent. I wasn’t really picky on the times or the days that I worked. Which made it really difficult to plan things with friends because I wouldn’t know until that Sunday what I was doing on Wednesday or on Friday.”
Linder receives work release so that he can have time between school and his job to work on homework. According to Linder one of the most important aspects of managing time with work release is accountability.
“It’s so easy for me to go home at one o’clock and then want to do nothing for three hours until my shift starts,” Linder said. “Then I get home from my shift and I don’t want to do any more work either because I just got off a four hour shift.”
Lastly, Linder gave some advice for any other students that may be struggling to both work a job and maintain their academics.
“I find that it’s really helpful to have a planner for school mostly, but it just keeps everything super organized for me and I’m able to just know exactly what I need to get done when I need to get it done,” Linder said.
