Summer means no school, and for some SHHS students, it’s a great time to focus on working. 

Whether it be working the snack bar or managing a team, the jobs students work during the summer can help them earn money, even if they aren’t sure what they want to do after they leave school.

“I’m just going to be a food runner/table busser for the Broad Table Tavern in Swarthmore,” senior Caleb Young said. 

Young initially had to work on Fridays and the weekends, but he was able to get that changed so that he could have more time.

“So far, I like it, actually,” he said. “Makes me feel productive.”

However, Young said his summer job has nothing to do with his plan for his future career.

Conversely, junior Jillian Thomas is preparing for a month-long summer job that is strongly connected with what she wants as her career: being a geneticist. 

“I applied and got into an internship at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, it’s right near the University of Pennsylvania,” Thomas said. “So I’m going to be working on the P-53 tumor suppressor gene this summer, so hopefully working to create more drugs to help suppress genes that cause cancer.”

Thomas is not the only one looking for a job related to her interests. Freshman Hari Ghatpande applied for a database management job for a startup app.

“I want to do coding or something related to it as my job, so I think it’d [database management job] be very useful,” Ghatpande said.

Summer jobs are also an excuse to spend time with friends. Senior Erich Boerth is working in the office at the Swarthmore Swim Club. 

“The staff is pretty much all high schoolers. I know most of the people there and I’m friendly with almost everyone there,” Boerth said. “So it’s a really chill environment.”

Application processes can be intimidating, and finding a job can also be difficult. Junior Olivia Bradford used Indeed.com to find and apply for her jobs. 

“Either you could submit a resume or you could fill out a resume on the app,” Bradford said. “And then, it usually gives you a survey to answer, but it’s pretty simple. It’s a good way to get a job, to fill it out.”

There are a multitude of reasons why one might want a job over the summer. Maybe it’s for money, experience, or just a place to meet with friends. Whatever the motivation, getting a summer job can fill the newly formed six-hour gap in a student’s day.