Why work experience is more important for high schoolers than you think

As a 16-year-old high school student balancing school, friends, and constant flow of extracurricular activities, delving into work experience felt daunting. When my school announced that students would be engaging in work experience week, I was hesitant. The prospect of swapping my school uniform for office attire was very intimidating.

I questioned doing a week of unpaid work experience whilst a pile of schoolwork lay on my desk. Looking back, I had failed to realise how experience can be the greatest teacher.

If the place we are in defines the experience we have, then there is no defining place more than that of a sunny Monday morning in the heart of Sydney. 

Walking into the Hybrid office on my first day was an atmosphere I’d never experienced before; the subtle hum of conversations, the clicking of keyboards, the smell of freshly-brewed coffee. 

Hybrid is a specialist media and creative agency with offices in the US, UK, Australia, Malaysia and Nepal. Entering the Sydney office, my nerves were on high alert but I felt like an adult. Attending client meetings, communicating with colleagues, analysing campaign numbers; for the first time, I was making things happen.

Why is work experience important for high schoolers?

No matter how short, a work experience exposes you to many new things. So give it a go.

The workforce is changing rapidly in response to the automation of careers

The world of work is changing fast. The digitisation and automation of new jobs, careers, and knowledge have massively altered the workforce future generations will enter. 

At the start of my work experience at Hybrid, I was introduced to multiple online platforms. Campaign dashboards, project management tools, video calls, contracts; it all felt foreign to me. 

I was at first overwhelmed by the amount of tools and systems I had to familiarise myself with, having never learnt these skills in school. I was particularly confused by the guaranteed campaign metrics, revealing data such as clicks, social engagement, and impressions. I couldn’t grasp how something as abstract as clicking on a website could be so essential to company success. 

Through my work experience, I began to understand the importance behind these metrics, learning how these statistics measured campaign impact, allowing the team to refine strategies for improved results. 

In my experience, this exposure has opened a world of understanding of the extent to which digital development has altered the workplace. 

According to McKinsey Global Institute, 50% of current work occupations are automatable by adapting currently demonstrated technologies in the future. 

However, the K-12 school system, as we know it, has remained consistent in its nature for 150 years. Tests rely upon memorisation and regurgitation; students are taught to know the answers, rather than how to find them. 

With crucial skills for future careers not being taught, work experience feels more important than ever. Initiative, self-management, and technological education; the knowledge learnt in a week of work experience feels comparable to that of a year’s worth of high school. 

As the week progressed, my work experience continued to expose the large gaps within the education system, revealing the lack of practical and technology-based teaching. This highlighted the importance of being resourceful in seeking solutions, along with the need to progress with the digital evolution. 

“My week mentoring Lily at Hybrid has highlighted just how essential work experience is for high schoolers. Reflecting on my own first work experience, I remember feeling overwhelmed by unfamiliar tools, systems, and concepts — things school had not prepared me for. But as I learned the ropes in a hands-on environment, I realised how vital these skills are in today’s workforce,” says Harriet Hart-Ramsey, Account Director for Hybrid Sydney. 

“Work experience provides the learning and adaptability that our education system often overlooks, bridging the gap between traditional schooling and the rapidly evolving, technology-driven workplace.”

Having mentors guide you through real-world problems is one of the most eye-opening things about a work experience.

Work experience made me more confident about my future career

Confidence is crucial when being introduced to the workforce. It breeds competence and allows for positive experiences. 

When beginning their career, this is the quality many young individuals, like myself, find themselves both requiring and lacking in the most. 

When I walked into the Hybrid office, I was filled with nerves. I had never been in an office setting before, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. 

My first day had multiple scheduled video calls and I remember feeling unsure of myself, afraid of speaking up, making a mistake, or sounding juvenile. 

By the end of the week, through the supportive environment, my confidence grew. I found myself speaking more freely and expressing my thoughts and questions during these meetings. 

In a survey of approximately, 5300 young people living in Australia, Canada, France, Japan, UK, and the US, respondents were asked how confident and optimistic they were when forecasting future employment opportunities. Overall, only 62% of respondents reported feeling optimistic about their future employment opportunities. 

Work experience has taught me that confidence is learnt and practised. I never learned this in high school, which is why I’m glad to have done so now, alongside harnessing an optimistic outlook for future employment prospects.

Opportunity to make mistakes and learn through experience

“Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterwards.” – Oscar Wilde. 

This makes work experience the ultimate teacher. It provides a chance to do the “pre-test” and get the lesson before you have to enter the actual workplace in a few years’ time. 

When a high school student enters a working environment, whether it be an office or a job site, no one expects a born master in the field. 

Work experience is the perfect time and place to make mistakes; you’ve got the job, skipped the interview, and can’t get fired. Use the opportunity and challenge your confidence to act independently and take initiative.

It might be scary at first, but you won’t know what it’s like until you give it a shot.

It is a process of career sampling and familiarisation; it’s not scary

Work experience is an opportunity to sample various roles and industries. 

I went into the Hybrid office nervous and confused. However, despite this uncertainty, I was able to gain firsthand insight into daily operations and office culture in an environment accessible to learning. 

Walking through the city, I felt as if I had joined the sea of suit-wearing professionals heading to their offices. Each morning, setting up my desk with my laptop and coffee, it felt as if I was finding my flow. 

I participated in many Zoom calls, where I listened to discussions with clients, took notes, and observed how the team navigated campaigns. I witnessed the behind-the-scenes work of signing and creating contracts, tracking deals, and online communication. 

For me, this exposure allowed me to gain familiarity with working operations within the career path I’m considering. 

At Hybrid, I was also able to sample a collaborative, team atmosphere that ensured strong relationships with both clients and each other, reinforcing how these qualities are the foundation of success. 

Things will be very different

A high school classroom is often a chaotic symphony of shouting teenagers and shuffling feet. 

When I stepped into my work experience office for the first time, the silence was deafening, broken only by the sound of typing keyboards. Initially, this silence felt distracting.

This was until I realised how much work could be completed in a silent room without the constant flow of high school chatter. 

When going into work experience, expect to feel thrown off by your new environment. As the days progress, so will your ability to adopt and adapt to change.  

Working hours are not like school hours

There is no set timetable instructing you how to spend your time. This is one of the largest changes I experienced through my office on-the-job learning. 

However, it was these changes in my work experience that bridged the gap between student life and professionalism. I began to enjoy the amount of freedom I had with my time. 

This structure further grew my skills of adaptability and self-managing. I could work on multiple tasks at once, keeping my brain both stimulated and refreshed. I could explore the city for an hour in my lunch break and then return feeling rejuvenated and ready to work.

A view from Hybrid’s Sydney office.

Window into the future

As a high school student, people will always try to tell you what life is like outside the four corners of the classroom. However, until I popped that bubble for myself, I never understood the full picture. 

For me, work experience was like a window into the future. It made me question what it is I want to do with my life – what job, environment, and career paths suit me?

Through this experience, I was able to forecast what upcoming adulthood might be like. This envisionment gave me a new sense of motivation for my current studies. It reminded me of my passion for writing and collaborating with others. 

It has helped me realise that pursuing my passion for English in future university studies is the path I want to take. For me, work experience has ignited both excitement and confidence to take that step in times ahead. 

When school life feels overwhelming, the process of work experience has reminded me I am working towards a greater goal: my future. 

Embrace the lessons

The foreign environment, the self-management, the organisational skills, the business etiquette, the initiative; all of these are lessons work experience has taught me. 

As I conclude my own work experience, I have gained knowledge and qualities I didn’t know I needed. 

New experiences always teach a lesson. Although it was only a week, my work experience has given me countless lessons and opportunities for growth.