High school is a time when many students start to become eligible for employment. With a variety of businesses hiring, students have a wide selection of jobs to choose from, but not all meet the needs of every student, exceptionally during the school year. With classes in session, sport seasons beginning and clubs starting back up, the type of job one chooses may be more influenced by school than income.

This is the situation senior Madeline Degenhart and other seasonal workers we interviewed found themselves in.

“I like to be busy and doing stuff after school, but I feel like having a job where I worked everyday I feel that would be too much with school and extracurriculars.” Degenhart said.

While these responsibilities incline some to take on summer jobs, junior Dylan Bulla tells how his seasonal job can move around his schedule. 

“Mainly because my schedule is already overly packed with other stuff during the week it’s just a little easier to manage because I can pick my days that I need to go in.” Bulla said.

Although the weekly agenda is a priority, senior Rylin Sherron gives other aspects of what she looks for in a job.

“I look into the normal stuff like scheduling, pay, if I would be even interested in working in that place, but I also look at what I will actually be doing at that place. For example, right now I work attractions, so I work all the rides, and I love doing that because I like being outside and I like being around kids.” Sherron said.

Senior Tyler Springsteen shares this appeal in the different work environment that can be found in seasonal work.

“Back then, whenever we were looking at jobs, I was hesitant because I didn’t like being in big groups of people. But, whenever Harvest Time came around I was like ‘oh, this is so much fun.’” Springsteen said.

For Springsteen, his experience at Harvest Time has not only been enjoyable, but also a learning experience.

“Harvest Time allows me to learn how to run machines like carnival rides. It allows me to learn how those work so if I want to become a mechanic I can say not work as a car mechanic but work on a machine mechanic. And then working with kids I can be like a teacher if I wanted to find work with all the kids if I find that’s fun.” Springsteen said.

Despite school consuming much of the day, some find fulfilling work in a more regular part time job which changes what students look for in prospective employers. Given a focus on the long term, senior Savannah Fields describes the importance of good management in the workplace.

“[I look for] places that I’ve heard good things about cause no one wants to work in a place with bad management. I try for my jobs to be long term. I do think it’s important a lot of times, especially if it’s a family business, that the owners are more involved with the employees because that does change a lot about how work is.” Fields said.

Junior Emily Jen finds that all coworkers can have an effect on job appreciation.

“By good environment I mostly mean good coworkers and a healthy boss/employee relationship. And it would impact my choices in finding future jobs because I think the people you work with are what makes the job fun and makes you want to stay.” Jen said in an email.

For Fields, she has found that job experience can play a major role in the pay rate one gets.

“At first, it wasn’t a concern at all because I just wanted experience in something. I think around job number three or four I started to consider places that were paying a little bit more, especially because a lot of places pay a lot higher than some others. I’ve had jobs where I was getting paid double what I was the first time I started working.“

Unlike the seasonal workers, Jen has had trouble balancing her work and academic life.

“Time is a huge problem. My managers often get frustrated trying to schedule me because I have so many extra sports and clubs I’m in.” Jen said in an email.

Jen is considering taking a seasonal job later on noting this conflict.

“I haven’t moved to seasonal yet but I might in college so I can work in the summer and not during the school year so I can focus on my degree.” Jen said in an email.