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Sunday, March 26, 2000

Youths juggle school, work

By VALERIE WHITNEY
NEWS-JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

DAYTONA BEACH — For her 16th birthday last year, Deltona resident Katrina Spears received a car.

Her parents gave it to her with the understanding she would pay for its upkeep and car insurance.

To meet those expenses, the Deltona High School junior followed the example of thousands of other area students - she started an after-school job.

Labor-hungry employers are hiring student workers in greater numbers than ever before. About 4 million U.S. high school students work one or more jobs while going to school, federal labor offcials estimate.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 57 percent of the nation's 14-year-olds have some work experience. For 15-year-olds, the figure rises to 64 percent.

Some experts say that teens today are starting jobs at a younger age because the pool of older workers has been depleted. Unemployment in most areas has shriveled to a 30-year-low of 3 percent or less.

Teens who work view part-time jobs as a way to earn money for extras like cars, clothes and entertainment.

Florida's child labor law allows youngsters aged 14 and 15 to work up to 15 hours a week when school is in session and 40 hours a week during the summer and holiday periods. Students aged 16 and 17 can work up to 30 hours a week when school is in session. There is no restriction on older teens on how long they can work during school vacations and holidays.

In Florida, the state Department of Labor reports that 342,000 youths in the 16-19 age range - about 46 percent of the total - are holding down a job.

Minors are not allowed to work in certain occupations deemed hazardous, such as construction, electrical work, roofing, mining, and operating heavy machinery or vehicles.

Consequently, most of the jobs open to students are in retailing or fast-food restaurants.

Kim Miller, a spokeswoman for Miami-based Burger King Corp., estimated that the majority of the employees in its company-owned stores are in the 16-21 bracket.

"Fast-food employment traditionally has served as entry-level for a lot of young people," Miller said. "They offer more opportunities than other jobs."

Some argue that teens would be better off spending more time on studies than flipping burgers. Among them is University of California psychology professort Ellen Greenberger.

Teenagers who work long hours in routine jobs are more cynical about the value of hard work and more tolerant of improprieties on the job than peers who don't work, said Greenberger, author of "When Teenagers Work."

Then there is the issue of safety.

Teenagers in restaurants are more likely than adults to sustain serious burns, while less likely to incur disabling strains, according to the Bureau of Labor. Fast food restaurants reportedly accounted for about 63 percent of the adolescent injuries occurring in eating and drinking establishments and 26 percent of the total number of occupational injuries to teens.

Yet others say teens who work gain valuable experience and a better perspective on what to expect as an adult.

"People may make fun of flipping hamburgers but it shows (students) what the world is really like," said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Florida Center for Retailing Education and Research.

"By having to adhere to work schedules and job assignments, students learn what it means to be a productive member of something," he said.

"Nobody may have ever depended on them before," he said.

Because of the labor shortage, he said, the service industry is hurting for employees. While some students are conscientious about working, others are not.

Retailers are fairly desperate to hire people, Gordon said, taking on applicants they would have rejected in past years.

"That is the reason why you go into fast-food restaurants and you can't believe how bad the service is," he said.

He predicted retailers will get some relief in a few years when the demographic mix changes and a larger group of teenagers starts entering the work force.

Mom sees benefits

Christine Spears thinks her daughter Katrina benefits by having an after-chool job.

"I think it's a good idea as long as everything is kept in perspective," she said.

Earning a paycheck has helped Katrina become more knowledgeable about finances, her mother said.

"She's made some mistakes financially. Thank goodness, she did it while she was here" at home, she said.

Saving for college

Father Lopez High School senior Paul Citro works as a cashier at the Wal-Mart Superstore in Port Orange on Saturdays during the school year. Citro already had a car, courtesy of his parents. He applied for the job at Wal-Mart last May to help pay for college.

His two older brothers had after-school jobs and it was only natural for him to follow their example.

"I like the feeling of paying my way," Citro said. Working has taught him a lot about dealing with the public and how to budget his time, he added.

Working after school is more common among affluent white males, than among females and minorities, according to John Doyle, of the Employment Policies Institute in Washington, D.C. He could not provide an explanation for why that pattern occurs.

"In general, the higher the family income, the greater is the probability that a teen will work while in school," he said. Furthermore, students living with both parents are more likely to work than students from single-parent homes.

Doyle said research also shows that in-school employment tends to have positive effects on future employment and earnings. Seven to 10 years after leaving school, those individuals with high-school work experience report average earnings that are higher than their peers who did not work while in school, he said.

Caroline Onwuemeli, of Ormond Beach, works about 15 a week at the Old Navy clothing retailer at International Speedway Square in Daytona Beach.

"Working at Old Navy has taught me a lot about the real world," she said, such as being able to deal with the public and the importance of having a good attitude.

Last summer, she taught dance to students at Campbell Middle School and also worked as a tutor for a summer youth program at Bethune-Cookman College. Neither position paid much money, she said. If she needed more, she could always turn to her parents.

"I got tired of begging my mom for money," Onwuemeli said. Her Old Navy job, she said, is her first "real job" and gives her a sense of independence.

In December, she purchased her first car without any help from her parents. "I got it all on my own," she said with pride.

Besides paying for her car's upkeep, she also is saving money to help pay for college. She has already been accepted for admission to Florida State University where she plans to major in criminal justice.

Fitting it all in

Are students who work while studying trying to do too much?

"Teens will be the first to say that they can handle it all," said Linda Armour, district guidance specialist for Volusia County Public Schools.

However, parents, need to take into consideration the number of hours that their children are working, she said. She noted that area high schools start classes at 7:20 a.m. Students who work late hours sometimes are late for school, fall asleep in class or skip school altogether.

"Certainly, self-directed teens can handle it," she said.

However, in some cases, a teen's need or desire to have extra cash can get out of hand. They and their grades will suffer, she warned.

Studies by the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine concluded that students who work more than 20 hours a week are less likely to get enough sleep and are more likely to take drugs and form other bad habits.

Spears, who works as a receptionist at the Mariner Health Center in Orange City, considers herself fortunate: her employer allows her to do her homework during quiet periods at work. She received four As and one C on her last report card.

"Most of my friends work in retail," said the Deltona teen, who spent several months working at a Sears store in Sanford last summer before switching jobs. She now works from 4 to 7 p.m. weekday and from 9 to 4 p.m. Saturdays at the health center.

"It can get tiring but then I think of the money and what I'm using it for," she said. Besides paying for car maintenance, she is saving funds for college where she plans to major in photojournalism.

Besides her job, Ouwuemeli also is captain of the Lady Bucs dance squad at Mainland, another obligation that cuts into her free time. Having the two outside activities has taught her to set priorities and to allocate her time, she said.

"I don't go to sleep at night until I finish my homework," she said. Her social life suffers a little, she conceded, but she has no complaints. Many of her close friends also work but they manage to socialize on their off nights.

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