# Teen jobs

**Should our teen have a job?**

Whether your teen works during school years, from no job to summer only to part-time during the school year.

In short: Parents choose between 4 main approaches: No job, school first; Summer only; Part-time under about 20 hours; Encouraged or required. Evidence: evidence leans one way. Research or guidance points in a direction, but it's thin, small or correlational. Best settled: teen.

- Area: The teen years
- Evidence: Evidence leans one way
- Best settled: Teen
- First published: 2026-10-03
- Last updated: 2026-10-05
- Page: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/topics/the-teen-years--teen-jobs

## Teen jobs: what are the options?

1. **No job, school first**: The teen does not work, so they can focus on school.
2. **Summer only**: The teen works only in the summer.
3. **Part-time under about 20 hours**: The teen works during the school year, up to about twenty hours a week.
4. **Encouraged or required**: You want or require the teen to have a job.

## Teen jobs: what does the evidence say?

**Evidence leans one way.** Research or guidance points in a direction, but it's thin, small or correlational.

More than 20 hours a week in the school year went with lower engagement and more substance use

Sources:

- [University of Virginia](https://news.virginia.edu/content/study-finds-working-more-20-hours-weekly-detrimental-teens)

## What else is worth knowing?

A job teaches responsibility and gives a teen their own money. Long hours during the school year can cut into sleep and study. Summer work avoids that trade-off.

## Questions to ask each other

- Do we want our teen to work, and how many hours?
- What would a job teach that school cannot?
- What would make us say no?

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General information, not medical advice. Two parents can each answer this and compare: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/explore?cat=the-teen-years&topic=the-teen-years--teen-jobs