If your parents provide financial support as you complete high school or college, you may feel it's unnecessary to get a job. Right now, you can focus on your studies, plus you have the rest of your life to work. This might be true, but there are benefits of working even when you don't need the money.
Until you have to budget and pay bills, you may not fully understand what it's like to manage your personal finances. Some people don't get their first job or pay bills until after graduating college. It might come as no surprise that these people typically have a difficult time. Working as a teenager or young adult can make it slightly easier to juggle expenses once you're on your own after school.
Even if you graduate with a degree in a particular field, an employer might be leery to hire you if you don't have prior work experience. He may feel you don't have experience dealing with people in the workplace, and you may have a difficult adjustment period than someone who's been working since the age of 17 or 18. Of course, this isn't always the case. But it doesn't hurt to gain work experience early on.
If you work at an early age, you might be eligible for a credit card at an early age. This doesn't imply getting into debt or maxing out your account. But if you get a credit card, you can build credit sooner. Once you graduate college and get a job, it might be easier to buy a home or car. And since young adults under 21 can't get a credit card with a parent's signature, this is an opportunity to learn credit management under your parents' guidance. With your folks monitoring your spending, you're less likely to get in over your head and accumulate massive debt.
Private and federal student loans are available to help you attend college and get a degree, but you could end up paying for your college education over 30 years. If you work while in school, you can contribute to some of your expenses and borrow less money.
Many financial experts recommend everyone have at least a 3 to 8-month cash reserve. But as you probably know, it's hard to save money when you're paying a mortgage, an auto loan, daycare and other monthly expenses. If you work while in school, there's an opportunity to save money before living on your own.
If you're only required to go to school and focus on your studies, there's a chance you won't learn balance. On the other hand, if you learn how to juggle work and school, it might be easier to juggle life once you graduate. In the real world, we can't only focus on one thing at a time. Many people have a job, children, spouses and other obligations. Working as a student teaches time management. Besides, mastering the art of multitasking is an asset in the working world.
If your parents are paying your bills, they pretty much control how much you spend. It doesn't hurt to get a part-time job a few hours a week. This can give you extra spending cash so you don't have to rely on your parents for every single dime.
Understandably, working and juggling school can be difficult, but with a good schedule and routine, it's doable. What are other reasons to work even if you don't need the money?