College vs. high school employees
The Situation
A relatively unique situation exists in Davis, according to Head Counselor Courtney Tessler. High school kids not only have to compete with each other for jobs, they also have the added pressure from college students for those jobs.
This situation is almost inimitable to college towns such as Davis.
“Yeah I’ve experienced some competition [from college kids]” Sophomore Adam Siegel said, adding that there weren’t a lot of jobs available either, which only increased competition. Seigel applied to be a coach for young basketball players for the City of Davis.
The Application
One of the most nervous moments according to Siegal, is the actual returning of the application form, the room was mostly empty magnifying the sound of his footsteps, with only two other boys in the room with him. He spent the next few minutes nervously talking with the others and waiting for his turn. The relief after submitting the application was palpable said Seigel.
“ there would be competition, but not during the summer… because most of the college students are gone” sophomore Alex Borowksy said, leading him to believe that the best time to apply would be over the summer.
The Numbers
There is a large dissonance between the number of High School Students in Davis and the number of College students, with davis last year enrolling 1649 students, meanwhile this year UC Davis has enrolled
27, 292 students according to Dateline, a inter-university publication.
Business prejudice?
There is a belief that college kids are usually more mature than high school students, according to Borowsky. However, some believe that that prior experience is more valuable to an employer than their age, says Seidel.“ there are high school students and college students who try to get those jobs, because it may be something fun for them, and may help them pay for necessities” sophomore Nashiz Memon said, agreeing with Seigel.
Employers often look for someone capable of handling the responsibilities of the job, and not always looking at their age only according to Tessler. They may or may not discriminate solely on their age.
Some differ in opinion, sophomore Mandy Chen believes that businesses would probably choose college students for their greater maturity and usually more flexible work times.
Another key factor says Chen, is that college students have a higher probability of having prior work experience whereas high school students have probably not had a job before.
Students from Both UCD and DHS compete for jobs, that they both may need, college kids may need it for tuition and high school kids saving up for their tuition, according to Memon, in the end they both have the same priority.
