Teenagers working: clocking out of school and in to work

Extra spending money, leadership opportunities and developing new skills.

With the end of the school year and the start of summer, high schoolers are looking for summer jobs to fill their time and wallets. And the students have different reasons motivating them into the workforce.

Charlette Vincent, 16, is one of many teenagers who will be filling out applications in hopes of securing a summer job.

Vincent is hoping to work as an intern camp counselor at the ABQ BioPark in June as her first job.

“I have a lot of free time and I just got my provisional license, so now I can get a job,” Vincent said.

She said it was important to her and a lot of other teens to get a job for a sense of freedom many have never felt before.

Vincent said getting a job will give her more opportunities to enjoy her summer because she’ll have spending money. One of her biggest reasons for getting a job was to afford going out with friends without having to constantly ask her parents for money.

“I’m excited to have freedom and independence during the summer. Sometimes I want to do certain things, and my parents understandably don’t want to pay for it. I can’t wait for that financial freedom,” Vincent said.

She also said having a job will be a chance to have a leadership position and learn new skills.

Vincent had looked at classic teen jobs at Dion’s, Baskin Robbins or other fast-food joints. When Vincent’s mom let her know the BioPark was hiring, she was ecstatic.

“I love the BioPark so it’s perfect. I’ll be working with kids and shadowing adult counselors,” she said.

Striking a balance

While she is excited to work, Vincent stressed how important balance is, especially as a teenager.

“Jobs are a good way to teach financial responsibility and independence. I think it’s really important for teenagers to have a job, but I don’t think it should be full-time,” she said.

Some teenagers who already have jobs are looking to increase their hours.

Rihanna Aurora, 17, works at a clothing store, Garage. She worked during the school year, but she said she plans to work more now that summer has arrived.

“I like fashion and clothing, so it seemed like a nice store to work at,” Aurora said. “The store was new so it was exciting.”

Aurora said she was thankful to get her job at Garage. She said she found herself competing against other teenagers for positions.

“I enjoy being around like-minded people and girls my age. Most of the people that work there are in high school, so that makes it fun,” she said.

Aurora said it was important for her to find a flexible employer.

“I work two or three days a week,” she said. “The store is really accommodating and they were really nice when I called out to study for finals.”

Aurora said her part-time work is preparing her for the world ahead.

“Jobs are a baseline experience for all the things you’ll do and need in life,” she said. “You need to have prior work experience for future jobs and they help you get skills you’ll need in the future.”

Managers getting ready

With the expected summer boom of teenagers looking for jobs, managers are preparing to go through resumes and train new employees.

Deena Crawley, the chief of staff for Dion’s, said the company values being a first job for many young students.

“We feel it’s valuable to have responsibilities and work in a team setting,” she said. “We want to set people up in the future for success and learn important skills. We put a lot of investment into things like leadership skills.”

Dion’s employs over 2,000 people and, according to Crawley, 42% are under the age of 18.

“We have very strong relationships with schools and programs like DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) to promote job opportunities,” Crawley said.

Crawley also said Dion’s shifts are intended to work for high school students.

“Our night shift starts at 4, which is after school. The weekend shifts also work well, and can be in the mornings or afternoon,” she said.

Crawley said Dion’s has employees fill out exit questionnaires when they leave the company to get feedback on their experience.

In one, a former employee wrote “Dion’s helped me be more vocal and speak up. Answering phones and working at the register helped me to be less shy and helped with my communication skills. Being a trainer also helped me be more vocal and develop my leadership skills.”

Crawley said some pizza makers have become Sandia National Laboratories employees.

“Sandia has said former Dion’s employees have made great employees there. There’s a sort of pipeline program we have,” Crawley said.

Amaya Alvillar and Gigi Gonzalez are two 17-year-old students who started working at Dion’s almost two years ago and quickly became friends.

“One of my best friends worked at Dion’s and said it was a fun job. I was just sitting at home after COVID and had a lot of time on my hands and I wanted to get some social skills and talk to people again,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez and Alvillar have both advanced at Dion’s and now hold more responsibilities and have higher titles.

Gonzalez is a trainer, helping new hires gain the skills she once had to learn. Alvillar is an assistant manager and has trained new employees.

Both young women said they enjoy taking on added responsibilities.

“When I first started, I didn’t see myself in a leadership role. I enjoy the responsibilities,” Alvillar said. “We get pushed to be our best. It’s rewarding to see change and growth.”

‘Heavily employ the pools’

Emily Moore, a spokeswoman for the city of Albuquerque’s Parks and Recreation Department, said students “heavily employ the pools.”

City pools pushed back opening day because Albuquerque Public Schools were in session until May 31. A large percentage of city lifeguards are high school students.

Julia Romero started in 2014 at 15 years old working as a lifeguard for the Valley Pool . She was involved in the swim team, swim lessons and water polo team. Romero said a job as a lifeguard was a “no-brainer.”

Romero stayed in the position and became head life guard. Ten years later, Romero is a swim lesson coordinator.

“It was a great first job to have as a teen,” she said. “You gain a lot of professional experience while being around other teens your age. It was a nice way to spend my summer.”.

Romero also said her bosses at the pools allowed her to prioritize studying.

“It was nice to work where everyone was a high schooler. The job prioritized academic success and understood the expectations of students,” she said. “I wouldn’t have gone for the job I have now if it wasn’t for the encouragement of my management.”

Romero said working for the city pools was a great way to gain professional experience .

“I was taught to find a job to learn from and pour myself into. This job will teach you responsibility,” Romero said. “You are in charge of saving people’s lives, and you can learn a lot from that.”

John Traub, general manager of the Isotopes, said the ball club is always accepting new applications.

People have to be at least 16 years old to work there.

“We employ a lot of people in all areas like food, retail, bat boys and ticket sales,” he said. “Many people working those jobs are entering the work force for the first time.”

Traub also said there are a variety of ways to get involved, and the season starting does not dictate job hiring ending.

“Our season starts in March and goes to September, so we might have openings,” Traub said. “If we don’t we will always hold on to an application and look at it again if we have openings.”