To summarize, convention has long held that early employment builds character. Ourfindings indicate that for many students, working 20 hours or more a week can contribute todecreased school performance and increased drug and alcohol use. We know that these findingsmay seem controversial to many. To our own surprise, our findings make us question how long wehave held on to the conventional assumptions about the great value of work in our formative years.It's time to abandon this appealing myth! We conclude that students should resolve to work nomore than 10 hours per week if they want to be successful in school.