By Justin Hsieh
The high school job is an iconic characteristic of the American teenager. Despite a recent nationwide decline in teenage workforce participation, for many FVHS students, work remains a cornerstone of daily life. To see what that work looks like, we asked students eight questions about their jobs. Here’s what they said.
1. Describe/explain your job.
The largest category of participants in our survey was food and hospitality workers, constituting eight of 14 interviewed students. Of these, seven students worked as “team members” in restaurants or cafeterias, and one student worked as a wedding caterer. The size of this demographic corresponds to national youth labor trends, which count a quarter of workers ages 16-24 as working in the leisure and hospitality industry (a category that includes food services).
A common theme among these students’ descriptions of their jobs was the diversity of tasks and responsibilities included within individual food service jobs, from food preparation to cashiering and cleaning.
“[As] a server at Poke Island, I’m the one making your bowls, ringing you up, and making sure that your dining experience with us is great,” senior Vy Truong said. “I also wash dishes, clean the restaurant, make sure everything is in stock, and prepare ingredients.”
The second largest category of respondents, encompassing three students, was those who worked in some form of retail job. Again, the demographic pattern of our sample reflected patterns in national data, which place the retail trade industry second in the composition of the youth workforce at 17%. In this category of our respondents, one student restocked a grocery store, another student was a sales associate at a chocolate shop, and a third student bought and resold high-end clothing.
“As a reseller, I buy limited clothes and shoes and sell them for a higher price,” junior Peter Pham said. “Since it is so limited, many people cannot buy it for the retail price which is where I come in. I buy the item at a low retail price and mark it up to the buyer which is where I make my money.”
The remaining respondents included two youth sports coaches, one worker on a farm, and one actress.
“I work with youth runners and develop their technique and fitness in order to compete in distance running events,” said senior Uy Tran, a coach of the Equalizers Track Club. “Each practice I lead them through a running workout, strength training, and stretching.”
2. How and when did you end up working at your current job?
The most common way that students discovered and ended up at their current job was from connections through friends or family. Eight students mentioned friends, siblings or parents in their explanation of how they found out about or got the job.
“I was introduced to the job during my freshman year by one of my friends who was already working there, and he suggested that I work in the cafeteria to make some money and because they needed some more workers,” said junior Dezi Hernandez, who works in the FVHS cafeteria. “So I talked to the manager which is Carmen, and she set me up to get a workers permit from the school district so I could work there at my age.”
For other students, their current job was one of several they applied to in search of work.
“I ended up working at Blaze [Pizza] through using an app called Indeed,” junior Mihaela Cotociu said. “Basically, it allows you to search for jobs under the criteria you select, and lets you attach your resume directly. I started working at Blaze a little over a month ago, and got the job through an open interview process. The only difficulty I faced was never having experience, so I really had to be confident in my abilities and make a good impression.”
Of the students who specified the time of year when they began working, half said they applied and/or started their job in the summer. Youth labor statistics show this trend reflected nationally, with the number of employed youth in 2019 increasing from 2.1 million in April to 21.2 million in July.
“I applied during the summer because I was looking for a job to earn my own money,” said senior Sarah Nguyen, a sales associate at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. “I had to turn in a paper application and go through an interview process. I was then hired and did an online course to get my food handler’s permit.”
3. How often do you work?
The most common response to this question was one to two times a week (six students), followed by three students who said they work three to four times a week. One student employed in the FVHS cafeteria works five times a week, while one student who works as an actress works three to four times a year. Two students said they only work during certain months of the year, and many of the previous respondents also indicated that their work frequency changes seasonally.
“During the summer I worked five hours or more almost every day, but now I only work weekends,” said junior Nelson Boyack, who works at Del Taco. “I’m really lucky to be able to have a lot of control over my schedule. Now that cross country season is over, I’ll probably start working during the week again.”
Boyack’s response was similar to many other students, who said they only worked weekends or had a degree of control over their work frequency. Boyack’s shift length was around the middle of the pack, between three students who work four-hour shifts, two students who work eight-hour shifts and one student who works half-hour shifts in the school cafeteria.
4. Why did you decide to work at your current job?
The most common responses to this question were money, convenient location, and work experience, respectively.
“I decided to work there because I’m really into music and wanted to buy a guitar, which isn’t very cheap so I needed to start saving money,” said senior Ian Ferris, a line cook at Rubio’s. “I was also remodeling my bedroom at the time and had to put a bunch of money into that and I have college coming up, which I need to save for.”
The two coaches both said connection to the sport and wanting to help younger athletes motivated them to take up the work.
“I decided to work there because I am a swimmer so it comes naturally to help teach the little kids,” said junior Sarah Jang, a Green Valley swim coach. “I also thought it was a cool first job as a high schooler.”
5. What are the benefits of your job, or things you like about it?
The two most common responses to this question were free or discounted food and interactions with customers and/or coworkers, especially fellow FVHS students.
“I get free drinks and 40% off bowls,” Truong said. “I love my coworkers since they’re around my age, easy to get along with, and two of them go to FVHS as well.”
Others cited flexibility as an element of their work they appreciated.
“The benefits I would say, besides having discounts on donuts, is their flexibility because on days I don’t want to work I will not work,” said junior Salwa Sarpas, who works at Duck Donuts. “They go around the days I am not available and won’t assign me to shifts I’m not available for.”
6. What are the disadvantages of your job, or things you don’t like about it?
The most common response to this question was a loss of time to spend with friends, and more of a challenge balancing school and sports.
“The disadvantages of having a job, especially during high school, is that it leaves me with little time to socialize at times,” Cotociu said. “Any free time I have is dedicated towards school work, so it takes a huge effort to maintain my grades (with AP classes) and good relationships with friends.”
For others, the same customer interactions that make their job fulfilling can sometimes be mentally or emotionally draining.
“People are often in a rush when they come to Del Taco, so there are a lot of impatient people,” Boyack said. “If you want to work in fast food you have to be ready for complaints and people yelling at you. It’s also very easy to make mistakes so you have to learn to be efficient, resilient, and constantly positive.”
Some students even said their work was physically demanding.
“My biggest complaint is that the kitchen is really greasy and does a lot of bad for my skin, so I have to spend extra on skin care stuff,” Ferris said. “Also, I’m standing the whole time so it gets rather painful on my back and feet, especially coupled with all the running I do for track.”
7. What advice would you give to other job-seeking students?
Students had more to say in response to this question than to any other question we asked them.
The most common answer was to be persistent in applying, which many students said was the most difficult part of the job, and to be ready to not get hired on the first attempt.
“For seeking any work in general, just don’t give up,” Ferris said. “At first it was really demoralizing because I applied all over the place and couldn’t get accepted anywhere, but after a long time and a lot of applications I finally got what I was looking for.”
Many students stressed confident interviews as a critical part of this application process.
“The key with getting a job is when being interviewed view it more as a conversation,” Sarpas said. “You shouldn’t be really nervous, you have to stay calm and comfortable and confident because… that’s what the employer wants. One thing to know is that after an interview always… email them a ‘thank you’ email because you’re more likely to get the job.”
The second most common response to this question was to know the importance of time management and take it into consideration when deciding to apply for a job.
“To other students looking for jobs, I would deeply consider your time management and being realistic with all of your classes and extracurriculars because having a job takes a lot of commitment and time,” Jang said.
Multiple students also mentioned the importance of choosing an enjoyable job, emphasized the benefits a job can provide if students are capable of managing their time, and called connections a key asset in application.
“Find something you’d like to do; if food or customer service is not your forte I would not recommend getting a job in that area,” Truong said. “You should also know how to balance your time and schedule very well since there can be a lot of last minute changes. I also think it’s great to build experience once you’re done with school and are going to seek a professional full-time job. Experience is everything and looks very good on a resume.”
8. What have you learned from having a job?
Many students responded that working helped them better manage and appreciate money.
“What I’ve learned about having a job in high school is that it is a great way to experience hard work and the value of money,” Cotociu said. “We often take for granted how much things cost, and when you receive your first paycheck or make your first ‘big purchase,’ you’ll find yourself more thankful and proud of the work you’ve put in to achieve your goal.”
Others said that working improved their skills in communication, time management or self-discipline.
“I’ve definitely learned a lot from this job, especially responsibility and time management along with being flexible,” Jang said. “Also, having a job is just really fun and learning about actual life is crazy but a totally cool experience.”
