With this in mind, I, like many of my fellow classmates, began looking around for job opportunities, not expecting one to appear right underneath my nose. Yet, this is exactly what happened when I made an inquiry about a problem involving the money in my lunch account a year and a half ago. I was offered an opportunity to work at Aragon’s cafe, serving and making food during brunch and lunch on school days.
The average work day involves leaving my third and fifth period classes five minutes before the bells for brunch and lunch ring. Then, I either position myself at one of the registers or snap on a pair of latex gloves and begin preparing food in the back. I usually serve around 15 people at brunch, and 30 to 35 at lunch. The goal is always to get people their food as quickly as possible, but I can practice social interaction in a completely different setting than I am comfortable with. After the lines have dwindled down, I wipe down my station, organize the money in my register and head out to enjoy the 10 or so free minutes of lunch I have left.
This relatively simplistic and flexible schedule is one of the best perks of working at the cafe. Most minimum wage jobs require long hours spent either after school every day or on the weekend. My job does not take any time outside of school, helping me utilize my free time at school as an opportunity to make some money.
However, from what I have heard from fellow classmates with jobs, the pay is significantly lower than other jobs outside of school, with payments being around $90 to $120 a month depending on how many days work. I am allowed to eat free brunch and lunch, as well as a total of $3 worth of free snacks per day, which more than doubles the monthly salary, allowing the total compensation to challenge that of longer-hour minimum wage jobs.
[My job] provides the ability to learn the real-world work ethic needed to survive past school”
Along with its financial rewards, the job is not overly demanding. The students at Aragon are almost always courteous, and it is rewarding to help them out. Also, whenever I have school commitments during brunch or lunch hours, all I need to do is let the cafe lead Emilia Rivera know, and she’s happy to excuse me for that time period.
Being in this “powerful” position has allowed me to have a little bit of fun with my job. There have been times when, while preparing chicken burgers in the back, I have placed two patties in one pair of buns, giving one lucky student a pleasant surprise. This, along with interacting with students while serving, has made working at lunch something to look forward to every day.
While there are fewer drawbacks than benefits, they still should be considered. Besides the lower-end salary, the main negative for many students would be the fact that their work would overlap with brunch and lunch, times they would normally spend hanging out with friends or relaxing. In some cases, teachers will not allow students to eat food in their class, requiring them to save their food until after school. If students truly cherish the time they spend during breaks to connect and enjoy time with their friends, I would not recommend this job for them. As far as I personally see it though, why have friends when you could be making money instead?
Another drawback would be the fact that this job can occasionally be high stress, with too much to handle going on at once. Plenty of social interaction is involved, which may be difficult for some people. Sometimes customers are rude. However, this is the case in any job in the world. The best way to handle it is to experience it at a young age, and learn based off the effects of your reactions.
I have had a good time working at the Aragon cafe these past one and a half years, and I have learned a lot about the real world through it. I would definitely recommend the job to students who do not have a lot of time after school or on the weekends but still want to gain job experience. It provides the ability to learn the real-world work ethic needed to survive past school, while still confined within the forgiving walls of Aragon.
