Discuss the effects of part-time work during high school.

The number of U.S. high school students employed during the school year rises with age, from 40 percent of tenth graders to nearly 50 percent of twelfth graders—rates that exceed youth employment in other developed nations. Most are middle-SES youths in pursuit of spending money rather than vocational exploration and training. Low-SES teenagers who need to contribute to family income or to support themselves find it harder to get jobs. But when African-American and Hispanic teenagers from economically disadvantaged homes are employed, they generally put in more work hours. Adolescents typically hold jobs that involve low-level, repetitive tasks and provide little contact with adult supervisors. A heavy commitment to such jobs is harmful. The more hours students work, the poorer their school attendance, the lower their grades, the less likely they are to participate in extracurricular activities, and the more likely they are to drop out. Students who spend many hours at such jobs also report more drug and alcohol use and delinquent acts. In contrast, steady, moderate hours of employment predict higher grades and greater likelihood of attending and completing college, especially among students who began high school with weak academic records. For these youths, perhaps paid work promotes effective time management, sense of responsibility, and self-confidence. Work–study programs or other jobs that combine academic and vocational learning opportunities are also linked to favorable outcomes—positive school and work attitudes, improved academic performance, and reduced delinquency. Yet high-quality vocational preparation for non-college-bound U.S. adolescents is scarce; just 6 percent of twelfth graders report participating in work–study programs. Unlike some European nations, the United States has no widespread training system to prepare youths for skilled business and industrial occupations and manual trades. Although U.S. federal and state governments support some job-training programs, most are too brief to make a difference and serve too few young people in need of assistance.