As high school students get older, they find jobs outside of school and at home to make money but at a cost: after considering activities and school work, students may not have much time left.

“I think that it’s totally up to what their schedule looks like outside of school,” Kai Wilkins (9) said. “[Having a job] may benefit them because they could feel free to spend their own money but at the same time, it takes away a lot of their time outside of school.”

Wilkins works 4:30 to 7 p.m. at his grandma’s bakery on weekdays. For Wilkins, he arrives home, eats dinner and does homework, leaving him 2-3 hours to spend with family.

According to Outscholar,  “The average high school student has 8 hours and 16.5 minutes of daily free time. This equates to 41 hours and 22.5 minutes of free time for the standard five-day school week. However, individual free time varies by the student’s academic track, number of classes, and commute length,” but because these facts are for students without a job, a job will shorten your free time by many hours.

“I go to do what I need to do, and then I come home and do my homework if I have to,” Wilkins said.

Sometimes the schedule of life outside of work can get busy and filled, which can also affect students’ emotions. Nick Pennington (9) works two hours every Wednesday, almost right after school, so it leaves him time to do homework and be with his family.

“I like to do it most of the time but sometimes feel stressed out about how busy I am,” Pennington said. “But not procrastinating helps balance work and school.”

According to Outscholar, between commuting to school and back, attending High School, studying outside of class, and sleeping takes up about 15 hours and 45 minutes. That means you only get about 8 hours and 15 minutes of free time out of the 24 hours of a day.

“I enjoy working at my job, I just don’t enjoy the little amount of time I have outside of it,” Wilkins said.

For Nate Ferra (10), working as a golf caddy allows him to choose what days he wants to work. But because golf games take a few hours, Ferra only has a little bit of time in the afternoon to have free time with his family.

“You have to manage your time and work hard.  You can’t slack off because you could get fired or in trouble,” Ferra said. “Be motivated to work and do school work and have dedication. Focus on grades and manage your time with school work, but also be good at your job.”