High school students struggle to find part-time jobs

By Victoria Winchester, Paloma Valley student journalist

With the school year at Paloma Valley High School in full swing, several students are seeking opportunities to work and make money. However, they find themselves faced with various challenges in their pursuit of experiencing the real world of working for the first time.

After applying to 10 different businesses, Sierra Stark, a junior, has had no luck yet. What’s more, almost every establishment she has applied to has failed to get back to her with a response or message of interest. This highlights a common situation many teens face in our community today.

According to Cal Matters, only “15 percent of high school-aged young people worked full-time” in the entire state. This has been a huge frustration for many students like Sierra. This causes her to wonder how much more proactive she can be when it comes to looking for employment.

Providing more insights on what exactly businesses are looking for in employees are the Dannenberg family, owners of the local sandwich shop, Submarina. They say there is a stigma of teenagers being lazy and entitled. They know that this is not true for all students and those who are trying to get hired should be confident, present themselves as eager to work, and be open with availability. While they are not seeking young teens because they use a slicer and California law requires individuals to be 18 to use it, this shows many companies have regulations that make it hard for minors to get jobs.

Sarah Tamez, another junior at Paloma Valley, says that her first job was at Stater Brothers as a courtesy clerk. She wanted a job in the hopes of gaining real-life work experience, beginning to save money for her future, and supporting her family. From this job, Sarah gained experience and knowledge about working with people, as well as obtained a sense of responsibility. Sarah also faced many challenges such as working with co-workers in a group setting, where she learned that everyone must work together to keep the store running smoothly.

Another difficulty she encountered was the school not allowing her to have a skip period as a junior, a privilege only given to seniors, That prevented her from being able to work more hours. Her advice for other students seeking a job is to go out and try. She says that there is no harm in teens applying themselves and discovering new interests that may lead to what they want to do in the future.

Overall, it is clear that many students are willing to put in the time and effort that it takes to work. They would like to gain real-life experience and of course make money to help them be more independent. While some students are not up to the challenge of working, many would love a chance to prove their ability to accomplish great things in the workplace and ask that local businesses give them a fair opportunity instead of posing more problems.