Is Having a Part-Time Job During the School Year Doable? A Parent’s Perspective
Last October, I found my 11th-grader leaning against our kitchen fridge, crumpled coffee shop job application in one hand, work permit form in the other, while my leftover pasta beeped unattended in the microwave. The soccer tournament magnet he’d gotten last spring was slipping down the fridge door, and his scuffed white sneakers were propped on the bottom rack where he’d kicked them off after walking the dog. “Mom,” he said, “I just need your signature. I already talked to the manager. I only work 12 hours a week.”
I was skeptical. I worked 20 hours a week bagging groceries when I was his age, pulled a D in pre-calc and missed half my homecoming dance because I had to close. I asked about AP Bio, about upcoming midterms, about how he’d get homework done on time. He shrugged and said he spent at least two hours a night scrolling TikTok after he finished homework anyway. If he worked, he’d just cut that out.
I caved, signed the form, mostly because I was tired of hearing him complain about having no spending money and no way to save for the beat-up used pickup he wants. The first month was messier than he expected, but better than I expected. He set an extra 15-minute alarm on shift mornings to finish lab reports he’d put off. He traded shifts with a coworker once when he forgot school got out early for parent-teacher conferences, figured the whole thing out without asking me to call the manager.
Then the bad week hit. Mid-November, his bio test was on a Thursday, his coworker called out sick an hour before his shift, and he had to stay until closing. He got home at 9:45, only had 20 minutes to cram, and walked away with a C minus. He came in the door, dropped his backpack on the floor, and said he was quitting. I didn’t say I told you so. I just pulled out mugs, made hot cocoa, and sat with him at the table while he complained about flaky coworkers and stupid cell respiration. After 20 minutes, he stopped ranting and said, “Wait, what if I just cut one extra hour a week? The manager said I can drop back to 12 from 13, I just picked up that extra shift to save faster.” That’s what he did.
Six months later, I get asked by other parents all the time if having a job during the school year is actually doable. The answer I give now is it depends, but it’s way more doable than I thought if you set a few non-negotiable ground rules before you sign anything. First, cap hours at under 15 a week. My son works 12, and that’s the sweet spot for a high schooler with a full class load. Any more than that, and even the most organized kid starts letting things slide. I have a friend whose son works 20 hours a week at a local clothing store, and he’s had to retake two classes this semester. Second, don’t let them take shifts that cut into core homework or sleep time. No closing shifts on school nights, no opening shifts before first period. My son’s only weekday shift is 3 to 6 p.m., which ends right after school, before dinner, so he still has three hours to do homework before bed. If his shift ended at 9, that would be a hard no from me. Third, write down a clear exit plan before they start. My son and I agreed that if he drops more than one letter grade in any class for two straight grading periods, he steps back, no shame, no arguments. We don’t call it quitting, we call it adjusting the plan. That takes the pressure off both of you when there’s a bad week like that C minus.
What surprises me most is how much better he got at time management almost overnight. He used to drag his feet on homework, wait until 8 p.m. to start even if he got home at 3. Now he does half his work during his free period and lunch, because he knows he won’t have time on shift days. He saved up $800 for a new skateboard in three months, didn’t ask me for a cent, and he checks his shift calendar every Sunday to map out his homework for the week. That’s a skill I couldn’t have taught him sitting at the kitchen table talking about responsibility.
But it’s not all perfect. Some nights he’s too tired to sit down with us for family dinner after a shift. He missed my niece’s birthday dinner last month because he couldn’t get anyone to cover his shift, and he was upset about it for days. Next year he’s a senior, with three AP classes and college apps to write, and we already know he’ll have to cut his hours back to 8 a week. We don’t know if that will be enough, or if he’ll have to step away from the job altogether.
Right now, though, it works. It’s messy, it requires a quick check-in every Sunday to see how the next week is shaping up, and it’s not the right fit for every kid. My neighbor’s daughter struggles with homework and time management even without a job, so they decided to wait until summer to try it. That makes perfect sense. For my son, it’s doable, not because he’s some extraordinary kid who can juggle everything, but because we built in room to mess up and adjust. It’ll probably change again next year, and that’s okay too.
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