High school can often feel like a full-time job. With class, homework, and extracurriculars, taking on additional commitments may seem daunting.

However, students who work additional jobs on top of their other obligations maintain that the positive effects far outweigh the cons. Jobs and internships offer students real-world experience that they are then able to apply to other aspects of their life, including school.

Junior Sydney Weisman works at Cafeteria Boston, a restaurant on Newbury Street. She had always wanted a job for her junior year.

“I always felt bad asking my parents for money, and they were also hesitant to give it to me because I wasn’t working towards anything,” Weisman said. “So now I have my own job, and I’m making my own money; it’s a nice feeling.”

Weisman emphasized the lasting skills she has learned, such as gaining confidence and learning to work with difficult people.

“Difficult people come into your life, and you have to just keep your cool because you also have other people to satisfy.” Weisman said.

Additional support systems exist at the high school, such as Career Counselor Kate Cordner. She helps students with tasks such as resume writing, cover letter writing, interview skills and ultimately finding a job or internship.

Since this is a relatively new position at the school, Cordner is still learning about everything her job entails.

“The role is still developing, and there’s more that I add to my job every day,” Cordner said. “It’s a lot of career development for the student, but it’s also developing the role of the Career Counselor at the school.”

Cordner’s overall mission is to inspire students to seek out and find a career path that they’re passionate about. She said that her favorite question to ask students is “what is your dream job?”

Junior Ryan Liang has a job at Trader Joe’s in Brookline. Similar to Weisman, monetary concerns motivated him to find a job. He got his job from social worker Paul Epstein, who knew the manager. Liang said that Epstein was a great resource for finding a job as a student.

Liang not only enjoys the financial aspect of the job, but the communal part as well.

“It’s social; as in, it’s like a family, and everyone’s super nice, and you can talk to them about anything. You can’t ever get bored ,” he said.

After arriving late to work once, he was heavily disciplined by his manager. He has been able to apply this lesson to other parts of his life.

“Punctuality is an important skill I’ve learned,” Liang said. “It’s a real-world job; it’s not like school or something that you’re doing with your friends. You have to get there on time.”

Cordner said that she deliberately does not make a generalization about students working since every student is different. However, she does believe there are many amazing benefits that come of having a job or internship as a student.

“You also learn about what you don’t like, and that’s just as valuable as learning about what you do like,” Cordner said. “I can go on and on about how many skills you gain. I applaud students who are getting jobs and internships and even volunteer opportunities. I think that having a job is awesome, and you learn so much.”