“Sorry, I can’t hang out today. I have to work.”

As students get older, more and more are having to say this to their friends as their part-time or summer jobs take priority. But working increases a student’s income, and freedom, which is why some students choose making cash over down time with friends.

“I like working because I think it has taught me a lot of responsibility and I have definitely matured,” junior Lucy Skugstad said, who works at Jules Thin Crust in Rockridge. “However, some disadvantages are that you have to choose work over time with your friends and it gives you less time for school work.”

Skugstad works about three days a week, or 12 hours a week. She said it has become easier now that school is winding down, and she will work even more over the summer.

However, she found it hard to balance homework, lacrosse practice, and her job earlier in the year.

“I definitely think a job is a great thing to do, but you need to make sure you can handle it in your schedule,” Skugstad said. “Students need to focus on not spreading themselves too thin with a zillion commitments.”

Similarly, junior Will Brown also works at Jules Thin Crust. He said he got a job to cover expenses and save money for after high school, gain some skills, and because he thought having a job on his resumé might help him find one in college.

“Working has introduced me to some very cool people. It’s also made me a lot smoother with professional interactions,” Brown said.

But, he added, having a job “definitely limits your flexibility quite a bit.”

Sophomore Dominic Frost sells his art to make money. While he does not consider it a “real job”, it is a source of income for him.

“I started advertising my art as for sale after a few people offered me reasonably big sums of money (10 to 15 bucks) for what I thought were just doodles I did during Bio,” Frost said.

Frost said he usually sells to classmates who know about his art and show an interest in it.

His drawings can go for anything from $10 to $50, depending on the “effort, effectiveness of composition, color diversity, and overall goodness,” Frost said.

Frost said he draws “psychedelic stuff, including strangely contorted people with disproportionate body parts or similarly distorted animals.” He also does oil paintings which are not for sale, although he would consider selling a few if he needed the money.

Although Frost only sells to classmates, he said he would consider a more formal business if a gallery were willing to show and sell his work.

“Typically, the money goes towards things I don’t need, but I think that’s okay because I didn’t invest anything other than a bit of time and concentration into each piece,” Frost said. “It’s almost like I’m drawing money that I can spend.”

Senior Bryn Daniel, like other PHS students, works as a lifeguard at the Piedmont Community Pool. Lifeguards have to go through training and are then tested and interviewed before being hired.

“I like life guarding because I get paid and it keeps me busy and I work with fun people,” Daniel said.

She recommends that other students get jobs because it “gives you responsibility and you don’t have to rely on your parents for money.”

More money means less having to ask parents for cash to spend on clothes or food, and more ability to buy items one might have wanted but not been able to afford in the past.

Skugstad said she usually saves her money. She uses tips for spending money, but she puts the rest into her bank account.

“I have a lot of things I want to do this summer so some of the money I am getting is going towards that,” Skugstad said.

Frost said that having an income forces him to manage his money, which can be difficult, but it is worth it when he can tell his dad he does not have to worry about cooking for him because he can feed himself.

“I get to use my money for whatever I want, which is often out of the realm of things I would be able to do without money of my own,” Frost said.