From the moment that an individual becomes a freshman, there is a noticeable level of pressure put on high schoolers to succeed: but not just to succeed, but to achieve some level of perfection, one that is most likely impossible. And they are forced to compete among their peers for the admiration of college admission counselors.

Why is it, then, that there is an additional expectation for teenagers to have financial responsibility, and be expected to hold part-time jobs? These jobs interfere with their social life, their academics, and add extra stress to what, for many, is an already stressful situation. Although there are some advantages to having a job in high school such as obtaining money to meet the expected financial responsibilities imposed on them from society, such as paying for gas for their car or starting to pay bills as they start to form a more independent lifestyle from their parents.

But the cons dramatically outweigh the pros. In attempting to train teenagers for balancing responsibilities by forcing them into having a job and expect them to excel in athletics and academics instead stresses a student too much in most cases and can lead to a stark decrease in productivity in school, house life and relationships. Instead of effectively preparing a student for college, having a job instead decreases the student’s chances of getting into college in the first place.

Therefore, negating any potential positive effects because, in some cases, it’s all for naught anyway. Teenagers shouldn’t be expected, by any means, to hold a job, even part-time; the stress can cause both mental and physical health issues that can affect nearly every part of their lives and their ability to function. There’s no justifiable reason why students should feel the need to fulfill the financial expectation that their parents should be doing for them: perhaps it’s a glaring and obvious sign of how a capitalist economy and biased academic system has failed the very people it’s claiming to help, and an ominous foreshadowing of what happens to those who are underprivileged and must work multiple jobs while still going through high school.

When you are under 18 and have to put work before school just to make sure that there’s enough food on your family’s table, there’s a larger issue that needs to be addressed, and right now, it’s being swept under the rug. No one, especially not teenagers, should feel that pressure when they’re already juggling more than one responsibility, one that should take up most of their focus and effort. Something must be done about this.