With summer break already on a roll, seven hours per day have opened up for Arrowhead students now that school is over. Some students have used this extra time to start new summer jobs or pick up more hours at their current ones.

For high school students, these jobs typically include serving at a local restaurant, working at a fast food franchise, babysitting, or tending the checkout line at a grocery store.

Rising senior Jeanie Hills has been working at the Oconomowoc Lake Club as a busser since her sophomore year.

She says, “I definitely increased the amount of hours after school was over, especially since during the school year I also have track and cross country.”

Former Arrowhead student Logan Winser has been working at Water Street Brewery for two years. Over the summer, he increases his hours from 20-30 hours a week to 50 hours a week since he has the time.

Working over the summer has its benefits. It gives students a way to earn their own money that they can spend in any way they want. Their paychecks may go to funding activities for them to do with friends, purchasing new clothes, or paying their way through college.

Winser has been saving his money for further education at UW Green Bay.

Winser says, “I have to get an apartment for college, and I want to live on my own.”

Hills says she enjoys the experiences and life lessons she has learned through working.

She says, “In life overall it teaches time management skills, responsibility, and respectfulness. Having a job that you’ve worked at for a while is very helpful, especially if you keep that job through college and visit during holiday breaks or summer. It gives you a lot of helpful skills and also learned physical skills.”

Like most things in life, earning money comes at a cost. And for some high school students, this cost pertains to their social life.

According to Winser, having a job pretty much takes over a teen’s life. He claims he has no social life because his long work hours often keep him from being able to hang out with friends.

Hills says, “I think working has definitely left my summer busier but in a good way. Instead of taking all those extra hours sitting around being unproductive, you’re learning new things and making money.”

Knowing the cost of having less free time, students still get jobs during the summer because for many workers, the benefits are greater than the costs.

Winser says, “Since I’m moving into an apartment, I need a year of reserve of money for security. I just want to not have to stress out about money when I’m in college studying and learning.”

Hills says, “I for sure think having a job or getting a job is worth it. The positives without a doubt outweigh the negatives. And it will in the short and long run positively affect you and your life.”