Being a mother of four children, the oldest being fifteen years old. I find myself thinking a lot about my children's future and what it holds for them. I think especially of my fifteen-year-old son, who is at the age where he can enter the world of work. He is eager to find a job so he can save for a vehicle and to help pay for his clothes. Even though I was already working and loving working at the age of fifteen. I started to wonder if working in high school was the right thing for teenagers? Does working benefit teenagers or cause them to fail academically? In an article titled Teenage Employment and College Readiness by Kaylin M. Green and Jeremy Staff, Green writes: “Many teen jobs are not dead-end jobs, but instead provide opportunities for skill development, advancement, interaction, and mentorship with adults. The article goes on to say, “In addition to providing young people with important job-specific professional skills, these jobs can also foster the development of soft skills such as dependability, dependability, and punctuality.” (27) I completely agree with the intent of the article. In my opinion, in order for teenagers to properly transition into the “real” world of adulthood, they should engage in some type of job while still in high school. The work provides many lessons that teenagers will need to learn to be successful in their adult lives. Some of these lessons involve money management, positive work ethic, time management, and responsibility. These traits will not only help them prepare to become adults, but will also help them understand the dynamics of how businesses work and what is expected of them by their leaders. While part-time work has its benefits for students, some and ...... middle of paper ...... Works Cited Carr, Rhoda V., James D. Wright, and Charles J. Brody. “Effects of High School Work Experience a Decade Later: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey.” Sociology of Education 1 (1996): 66. JSTOR Arts & Sciences I. Web. May 1, 2014. Greene, Kaylin M., and Jeremy Staff. “Adolescent Employment and Career Preparation.” New Directions for Youth Development 2012.134 (2012): 23-31. Academic research completed. Network. May 2, 2014. Morisi, Teresa L. “The early 2000s: a period of declining summer employment rates for teenagers: with many teenagers focusing on academics, fewer work during the summer; in recent years, Teens have also faced a job market weakened by recessions, a decrease in the number of federally funded summer jobs, and competition from other groups for entry-level job opportunities 2010: 23. Academic OneFile. May 4 2014.