I’m a junior and was offered a nanny job by a neighbor, it’s 4 days a week after school from 3:30-5:30 (I finish school at 2:05). I’m in 3 APs, APES, APUSH, AP comp and am doing the rest of my classes at honors level. I have high ambitions for college, Georgetown, Georgia tech, Yale, etc.
I don’t have a Gpa yet as I just moved from another country also… also taking PSAT and SATS this year.
Do I have time?!
Yes. I think the job you were offered is pretty manageable and doable with your APs. I would get a job but I’m currently taking 4 Aps (APUSH, AP BIo, AP Lang, AP Physics 1)
My juniors never had predictable after school time, there were always things to do. Sports, labs, AP study, IB study, volunteering, clubs, that would have not allowed them to do such a job. They have a casual job that has few hours here and there in school time and that is just fine IMO. If you don’t need the money, decline. Make sure you have some ECs and study for your PSAT, ACT/SAT. Often my kids were not home before 5.30 from school. They often had before school commitments too.
Hi, how many AP classes did your kids do just so I can get an idea?
Mine were all IB/AP as juniors, so for sure they had a rigorous schedule. ECs were a fall team sport over by end of Sept, other DD has an out of school sport, one does mock trial and deca, the other does science olympiad. Volunteering in school just casually (not much time) and out of school once a month for a few hours. Not overly crazy. They did ACT prep as juniors to get it out of the way by summer. Labs and AP prep took up after school time regularly.
Junior year is the toughest year of high school. Everything is unexpected in Junior year. If I were you, I wouldn’t take the job because it wouldn’t impact you a whole lot unless you need the money.
I managed to have a job my junior year with 2 APs (APUSH, which is pretty work and time intensive, and AP Lit, which isn’t) and time intensive ECs (some clubs with leadership positions, marching band until October, and musical after that until March almost everyday after school) until the very end of December, where everything became too much for me stress wise and I had to quit my job.
Do you have any study halls or free periods in your schedule? If you do, make sure to do as much of your homework then as possible. If not, then it might be a little tricky, seeing as you will probably be very exhausted after work (kids are a lot haha) and you might not want to face a potential mountain of homework.
What ECs are you planning on doing? In my opinion, if you’re in a couple clubs that meet during or directly after school, you should be able to juggle them with a job. However, if you’re interested in doing sports or other high-intensity activities (like a school musical), those usually meet during the times you would have work. So, depending on your EC interests, you might have to choose one or the other.
Also, do you need the money from this job? Yes, every teenager likes having money, but are you going to need to save up for your own car or to pay partially/fully for college and other college-related expenses, or are your parents willing to pay for it themselves and not have you worry about it? Part of the reason I suffered through my job until December was because I’m going to have to pay for college by myself, buy my own car, etc. and I wanted to be able to make enough money to help me towards that.
Everyone has time for an 8 hr/week job if it is a priority for them. It’s not about whether or not you have time for it, but rather, whether or not you will make time for it. So the real question is, why do you want the job?
I’m I’m thinking of doing model UN, key club, national honor society and MAYBE debate but probably not as it’s similar to UN and I probs won’t have the time. My parents can’t pay for college or my car so that’s why I want the job:/
How long is your commute to/from school. Do you have extra curricular activities that are afterschool that will allow you to be home in time to babysit. Is one of the days a Friday? Do you prefer doing homework after school or after dinner? Will you have time for group projects? If your on the go all day to 5:30 will you want your night to be dinner and homework
Those ECs will take up after school time. If you are a nanny you cannot be flexible at all as your charges will be a huge responsibility. IMO you would be better off having a sunday job all in one go than the daily obligation if the money is imperative. If the job is just babysitting (vs a nanny), how flexible is the mother?
Both parents work until 5:30 so they aren’t really flexible:( I’m trying to do a heap of PSAT and SAT prep this summer as well as prep book chapter reviews for APS to get ahead
I am also an upcoming junior. I am taking 6 AP classes and have a tutoring job at a local center. Granted, I only work 2 days a week for 3 hours, but I feel like if you really want to take this job (you have a very good reason to btw), you should go for it! Everybody will have their “thing” that takes up time, whether that be band or a sport. This will just be that “thing”. If you see you can’t handle it later on, tell your employer. It’s better to see and then change your mind rather than making a decision without having the experience firsthand. Good luck!