“One strategy involves pursuit of higher education
through a combination of schooling and steady,
moderate employment. Having learned to balance
school and work during high school, many youth are
able to follow a path that continues this effective time
management while in college. A pattern of steady
work across the high school and college years has an
even bigger impact on adolescents in weaker academic
positions those with fewer academic resources
to draw on in their pursuit of a Bachelor’s
degree”(Johnson, Crosnoe, Elder p.175).

I don’t know why this never occurred to me before; developing the ability to balance work and school would bring advantages later on in life, especially in college. The fact that this article even mentioned it underscores it’s importance which runs contrary to my experience in High School.

Most of the high-achievers in my high school didn’t actually work during their time in school and they almost all went on to have successful college careers. Until this article, I never associated working while still a High School student with anything other that necessity. I thought that kids who worked in High School did it because they had to, to support their families or for similar reasons. There didn’t seem to be any benefit to that academically; it was obvious to me that working would take time away from the time that could be spent on academic pursuits.

As it turns out, working while in high school build skills that help students succeed later on in life. Learning to manage time in that specific way, though it doesn’t seem to have any immediate benefits, is in investment in building a skillset that will reap benefits in later life.