A job will be far more rewarding for you than the HSC could ever be. Lots of people can hit the books and get a really high ATAR - It is even more special to balance that academic success with developing employable skills. And no, high ATAR does not mean employable You'll be far more likely to get a job while studying at uni/on leaving school, whatever the case may be for you - Because you can show that you've developed communication skills, can work under pressure, can delegate... Etc!
Plus, work experience makes you far more eligible for scholarships. The amount of people I see score 99+ but then not get a scholarship (say, Coop) because they've never had a part time job, is astounding. Again, lots of academics out there. Not many good workers - Universities and sponsors like those people
Plus, mad dosh.
Plus, new social circles beyond your school, getting outside the bubble is a good thing!
Seriously, there are absolutely no downsides here. Take time off during busy exam periods if you need it (they sound really accomodating of you so awesome to hear), keep a timetable to make sure you stay organised. Most of all, enjoy it - it will be really good for you throughout the year I am sure
Yeah, I suppose that's true, thankyou so much for the input. I had a job in the restaurant industry for 3 years before switching to this new one, so the job situation isn't new to me in the slightest—more so the fact that this new job has exponentially higher demand than my previous. The food it sells has kind of become a trend around the Northern Beaches so there are endless queues there every second of the day, and while I have worked a lot in a busy environment, I haven't been in a job where it is FULL ON PACKED BUSY 24/7 you know. Anyway, I hope it works out hahaha
I found having a job quite good during the HSC year. Although it stressed me out at times because it reduced the amount of hours I could study the weekend before trials, it actually ended up doing my mental state a favour, as the break from study relaxed me and I went into the trial exam the next day a lot more relaxed and confident. Also you get to keep making a little money to invest in the healthy and not so healthy HSC habits you may aquire hehe.
Worst comes to worst in terms of juggling school and work you can always reduce your shifts to 2 or 1 a week, and depending on the flexibility of the place, maybe even take whole weeks off, but you'd have to talk to your manager about that. Currently I've taken the whole last week of school until after formal off and my only shifts have been taking other people's because they were desperate and I figured it was ok to give up a night or two.
It also sounds like you'll have a good time with it since it isn't in the fast food industry lol. So yeah I reckon you can do study and a job during year 12, I believe in you.
Yeah, that's what I reckon will happen because I actually enjoy being at work for some reason hahaha. I'm sure it'll be fine though, thanks
Having a job is really useful to have, it may not seem like it now. But later on in your life, this piece of work-experience will become valuable in training "soft-skills" such as communication, team-work, mangaging timelines/deadlines, working in a "potential" high-pressure environment, etc. High school doesn't teach you these skills, let alone at the level work does.
If you find the job isn't working out, then leave it or reduce your hours. It seems like your employer understands your situation, so don't worry about it.
In terms of adapting, think of it as developing and/or maturing yourself into becoming an young adult. Seize the challenge and take it head-on. If your struggling, have no fear ATARNotes is here! I should coin that jingle now...
Yeah I know, I've had a job for 3 years prior—so the idea of being employed isn't new to me; it's just that my new job is so much higher demand due to a continuous overflow of customers coming in haha. I enjoy working, but I also want to attain a really high ATAR aswell. Thanks for the reassurance
Good luck with the new job!
I got a job in retail during year 12 last year (was probably a bit before Easter), and I don't think having to adapt to something new did anything bad. In fact, I think it was actually really good for me!
When you first start, it can be pretty daunting. I found product knowledge, and learning how to deal with peak customer periods tricky to adjust to at first, but I got used to it pretty quickly, and I reckon it taught me a lot about working well under pressure Soon enough, it'll be second nature to you!
Aw thankyou! And yeah, I really like the challenge of a new job—it has peak hours literally 24/7, the queues never fucking stop hahha. In my previous job of 3 years, I adapted to the demand of peak hours relatively quickly because they were much less frequent, but man this is insane. There's no time to chill hahahaha. In my previous job, I had so much experience to the point of mastery—I knew the answer to every single question that could be potentially asked by the customer; whereas in this new job, I am clueless. This trial today made me realise how shitty being at the point of mastery is, because there's nothing new to discover so every shift is just boring as hell with nothing to look forward to. I love being unfamiliar with the work environment, because where I used to dread my shifts, I now look forward to them in hopes of learning something new.
Having some work can be good as you get a change of environment. You aren't stuck in the house all day and experience new things!
Don't be too anxious about it , Have faith in yourself.
Aw thanks, I'm trying hahaah
Mod edit: Merged posts