For most students, summer break is a time where they can relish staying out late at night, hanging out with friends and even going on vacation without having to stress about homework, upcoming tests, etc. However, some students, such as Bobby Burnett (12), Henry Chipley (9) and Andrew Benton (11) chose to take on some extra responsibility this past summer and work summertime jobs for various purposes.

Whether working for recreation or as a necessity, these students have decided to take on the responsibility of a summer job. Most students want to beat the rush of people applying for jobs during the summer and ensure their spot for profit. 

“I actually applied to my job before summer started,” Burnett said. “I wanted to get ahead of the game.” 

For teenagers, there are many different influencing factors to obtaining a job: watching their friends work, parents pressuring them or even just wanting to have their own money. Chipley became a counselor at MudCamp for part of this summer for recreation purposes.

“I had been there as a camper and wanted to experience the same things while getting paid to do it,” Chipley said. “It’s really for the experience.” 

On the other hand, Benton chose to work at Firehouse Subs this summer not for fun, but to have autonomy over what he can and can not buy. By not relying on his parents for money, he gained a higher sense of independence.

“Money, purely money, is why [I got a job],” Benton said. “My mom kind of cares what I spend it on, but there’s nothing she can really do since it’s mine and I like that.”

Some may think these students sacrificed their summertime fun by obtaining these jobs; however, many of these jobs’ managers were lenient and accommodated to fit the student employees’ needs and wants.

“Honestly, I was still able to have some fun,” Burnett  said. “My job is really flexible.”

Since these students took on such a big responsibility during the summer, their time management skills were tested and improved. Having an understanding of the importance of time management allowed students to still enjoy their summers.

“Working a job took away time from my schoolwork,” Benton said. “But, I was able to get better at time management, so I was able to get [my schoolwork] done.

Although a summer job took away some freedom for students, most of them enjoyed their jobs enough that they would go back and apply to their jobs all over again for all the benefits.

“If I was given the chance to [not apply] to my job, I wouldn’t take it,” Burnett said. “It was too good of an experience to give up.”