College is a balance. A balance of social life, classes, health, and work.
Nearly 40% of undergraduates nationwide hold part-time jobs while attending college, and nearly half of these students work on-campus.
Does working during school put a strain on your education?
Only if you work too much is when it really hurts your education.
29% of students working 30-39 per week and 39% of those students working full-time indicated that work had a negative and frequent impact on their academic progress.
And studies show that upperclassmen work more hours than freshmen. This puts a strain on their academics.
We all know that as you are in your later years of college, you have harder classes, and more assignments. Some students are not granted the privilege to have the money they need to get themselves through school. So they are stuck working. It can become overwhelming with deciding what is the top priority in a financial situation.
Student Kaylee Komorowski is studying Public Health. She pays all of her bills and deals with the challenge of balancing it all.
“Working and going to school I treat as equally important because I work in order to pay for school and I go to school to get a better job! I live alone and pay a lot of bills so saving isn’t an option for me. I’m usually too tired or busy to hang with friends. My grades were terrible then I took one day of work out of my availability and couldn’t believe the improvement I made, except now I make less and stress about paying bills on time so it’s really hard to balance everything.” says Komorowski.
There are positive findings with working in college.
Hard work actually builds stronger academic character because it teaches students time management skills, give them outside experience which overall makes a student feel more satisfied. Students are forced to become more organized based on figuring out how to balance their credit hours with their shifts. Students who work 1-15 hours a week have a slightly higher gpa than those who don’t work and those who have heavier workloads. Students gain experience with the working world, they are able to meet other students and create bonds. Students are able to gain that feeling of responsibility and accomplishment due to their time management success.
Student Samantha Alimi is an example of one of those students who feels a sense of accomplishment.
“I love working it lets me get my mind off of school and problems in my social life. It doesn’t hurt my grades, I just balance my time with good time management and with having a planner so I don’t forget things and keep everything in track. I suffer from ADD, now and with balancing money it’s super important to save as much as you can. For example, I work 2 jobs the money I make in restaurant I save it all. The money I make when I nanny I take a good 10% of that to keep for the weekend or next 2. Saving money is important especially for me because I pay for school on my own and my parents always taught me to only use my spending on absolute necessities and to treat myself here and there.” says Alimi.
I work part-time. I’m one of the lucky few who do not have to pay for rent but I do pay all my bills. I do work about 4 times a week as a server. I usually work the night shifts and so I have to give up my studying time to work. It is a challenge with balancing everything. I have to worry about my friends going out without me and me having to meet up with them because I usually get off later. I have to find time to get my school work and studying in after or before I work. I want to have good health and so I try to find time to go to the gym when I’m off. Overall, it’s really just a balance, and it may get stressful at times but I over come it and try my best.
College Problems 