Planning ahead, arriving on time, taking initiative: these are some of the basics of professionalism. But for most young people, these job skills don't just develop--they must be learned and practiced. Many teens have traditionally honed these skills during a summer job--scooping ice cream, busing tables, lifeguarding. Such summer gigs have long been seen as a kind of rite of passage for American teenagers. Statistically, though, there are far fewer teens with summer jobs today than just two decades ago. The number of 16- to 19-year-olds working during the summer has dropped significantly in that time, from 61 percent in 1998 to 40 percent in 2018. That has some researchers and educators worried. They argue that teens who forgo a summer job miss out on a uniquely formative experience, one in which young people learn important lessons about the working world. Even more troubling, the decline in work may be yet another way in which advantaged students get a leg up on their disadvantaged peers. Teens of color and those from low-income families stand to benefit most from early work experience, some researchers say, yet they're the least likely to land a summer job. The implications of this trend extend beyond the local job market and into education. Preparing students to be "college-and-career ready" is the stated charge of most high schools today. But can young people be career-ready if they've never worked a job? As employers place greater value on skills like communication and collaboration, how should high schools adapt? With questions like these in mind, some researchers are making the case for schools to play a more active role in connecting students with work opportunities.