Of the 293 seniors in the senior class, 61 of them - or approximately 20 percent - have a job outside of school, according to a recent survey conducted by The Southfield Jay.

Of those seniors who do work, the most common type of employment is in the food service industry, according to respondents.

Forty-six percent of those seniors who have a job said that they work in a food service capacity. That would include jobs such as waitressing, cooking, serving food or running a cash register at a food service business.

Other common jobs for seniors were in retail (at stores such as Target and Meijer), or in telmarketing or child care.

The survey found that the average senior with a job earns $7.25 an hour and works under 20 hours a week.

Most said that the job that they hold is unrelated to the career path that they hope to pursue.

More than half - 51 percent - said that they believe that their grades in school would be better if they did not work.

School Counselor Michael Odgen, however, says, “There are exceptions. Some (students) do better with less time” because they learn to take advantage of the time they do have to do their homework.

The written survey was conducted in senior English classes in September.