All statistics referred to in this story were collected from a portion of the Miami Palmetto Senior High student body.
Every school day at 2:20 p.m., the ring of the bell releases high school students. At Miami Palmetto Senior High, students often rush to their after-school sports or clubs, or the parking lot, presumably to head home. However, 33.9% of these students are on the way to their second biggest commitment following school: their jobs. For MPSH students, having a job allows them to relish the freedom of becoming more independent, and having their own funds to spend.
65.9% of these working students do not have any other means of income, incentivizing them to get a job. Students can learn many professional skills, whether they have an informal job such as babysitting, tutoring, washing cars or cutting lawns, or a more formal job like working at a clothing store.
For senior Paula Ortiz, working became an incentive when she concluded that her mom should not have to pay for everything she wanted. Having worked informal jobs before, such as babysitting, Ortiz discovered that she prefers to have a job with a set schedule. So, she decided to quit playing soccer and begin coaching the sport for Miami Krew Soccer. Ortiz has learned how to manage different relationships with other children while still spreading her love for the sport.
“I coach five to eight-year-olds on Mondays and Wednesdays for an hour, and then I coach 17-year-old students from 6-8 [p.m.], and it’s a bit awkward sometimes because some of them do go here for school,” Ortiz said. “So I am friends with some of them, but I still have to keep it professional when we’re on the field, but then when we’re at school, I’ll say ‘hi’ to them, we can grab lunch, and that’s perfectly fine.”
For most employed MPSH teenagers, this is only the beginning of their future careers. Out of the employed student population, 41% of them have worked for less than a year, and 34.8% are only 14 years old. Additionally, many of these students began working solely to get out of the house when school is on break.
“At first I chose [to work at The Melting Pot] because I was going into summer, so it at first was going to be like a summer job, and I was going to do that. Then, I kept it because I didn’t think school was going to have a big effect on [the job],” junior Rocco Cattaneo said. “I think it’s up to the student. You just have to figure it out as you go and just organize your schedule so you can fit your schoolwork into it.”
Although some students can manage their jobs with their schoolwork and other extracurriculars, others may not be able to. Every student’s situation is different; some may decide not to find an after-school job and focus on other obligations. Nonetheless, students who decide to get jobs often feel that they are better equipped for the future.
“I think [getting a job is] good for students because you have a steady flow of income; you don’t have to depend on your parents so much because they’re already providing you with so much. Then, I just think it gives you a lot of good experience before you go to college because you’re going to meet all different types of people and also it introduces you to older people that maybe know a little bit more than you do, and they can give you advice on how to handle your future and send you off to college,” senior and LifeTime membership concierge Natalie Rodriguez said.
Whether it is through a formal or an informal job, these Panthers are getting a head start at exposing themselves to their professional world, and enjoying the benefits in between.
