Hammonton High School students take on big work weeks during the school year, devoting their time to aiding themselves financially for college, the household, and savings for future endeavors.

Senior Austin LaPlant tackles 30-hour week for his job at Domino’s in Atco. Juggling class assignments and projects after school can be a struggle for kids that have work all day after school.

Experts (Concordia University) have found that students who work more than 15 or 20 hours a week see a decrease in academic performance. Part-time students put in many hours hoping to make more money but lose the time they spend doing school work.

In addition to losing time for academics, students see a lack of sleep in their schedule as well. Students like juniors Ray Triboletti and Isabella Traxler suffer from sleep loss, constantly running from school to work to bed.

For Triboletti, who puts in 16-20 hours a week at the ShopRite in Hammonton, sleep is a luxury.

“I used to get 8-9 hours a night, but now it’s only 6 or 7,” he said.

He stays up later to keep up with his school work.

Traxler works approximately 26 hours a week at Sahara Sam’s in Berlin.

“My grades and amount of sleep suffer from working two jobs, but when you provide for yourself and pay your own bills, you put up with it,” she said.

Many students struggle to find the balance between work and school. For high school students, most states limit them to 18 hours of work per week during the school year, according to the Department of Labor.

A report from the American Association of University Professors noted that juggling work and school “creates high levels of stress and anxiety, making it less likely that students will complete their degrees.” Whether it’s getting that diploma or paycheck, both cost time and stress that every student endeavors their last years as high school students.