Jobs are an important part of any person’s life. According to the U.S. census, 1 out of every four kids over the age of 16 has a job. Many students from every grade have jobs. There are a lot of jobs out there including working at restaurants and gyms. That is what students Joe Lopez, Bobby Huynh-Phan, and Payson Guillotte do to make money.

Sophomore Joe Lopez works at Vero Italian Kitchen. Lopez fixes salads, restocks anything that needs to be refilled and cleans the floors. According to Lopez, Getting paid is one of the biggest rewards for him.

“I walked in and asked for an application, then the manager ended up texting me a few months later,” Lopez said. “They called me for an interview, and I got the job. The best part of my job is being very social with my coworkers and any customers that I have.”

Junior Bobby Huynh-Phan works at Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers. Huynh-Phan works the cashier and makes the custard.

“My brother was the manager, and he hooked me up with the job,” Huynh-Phan said. “The best part of my job is just how chill it is and I still have time for all of my school work.”

Senior Payson Guillote works at the inSPIRE rock climbing gym. Guillote hosts birthday parties and works the floor of the gym. Guillote may work a lot, but according to her, it does not always feel like work.

“My best friend worked there, and I needed a job and wanted to do something fun and cool,” Guillote said. “I didn’t want to fold clothes all day, so I applied, interviewed and got the job. My favorite part of my job is interacting with all the members at the gym. We are all really close. Working at inSPIRE is fun, it doesn’t feel like work and it is better than working at the grocery store.”

A recent study, released by Drexel University found out that kids that work from the ages of 16-19 have a 20-25 percent increase in their salaries ten years later.

“Oh yeah, I definitely feel like working now helps for jobs after college,” Guillote said. “Since I started working at inSPIRE I’ve started doing things I couldn’t do before. I really like seeing my progression.”