Should I Work While Attending College?

If you are a college student, you might be wondering if working while being in college is a good idea. If you are hesitant to balance work with school at the same time, we cannot blame you. If you have talked to somebody that you know about the idea, and they recommend that you do, just be sure that no two scenarios are the same. The answer to this question depends on your situation, specifically.

Part Time vs. Full Time

If you are going to school part time, you will likely have the time to hold a part time job, or even a full time job. There are many full time workers who attend school part time. There are even a few full time workers that have managed to attend school full time, as well, but those that do should expect that one or the other would be compromised. Either you will struggle in school or at work, because you will have to invest too much time to focus solely on one of these two daily commitments.

Financial Assistance

Some students are under the assumptions that they have to work while they are attending school, so that they can pay bills, pay for classes, and pay for student loans. While this is true, there are other avenues that students can take to get financial assistance.

Which Degree Are You Pursuing?

In our ideal world, all degrees would have the same level of difficulty, and would take the same amount of effort and time to earn. Of course, there are degrees out there are require more credentials than others. If you are enrolled in a degree program that is requiring you to hit the books 5 days a week, you likely do not want to add work to your already hectic schedule. You likely decided to enroll in many courses at once so that you can graduate in no time, after all.

However, if your course schedule is looking rather light, with perhaps one or two different online courses, you can consider finding a job so that you can accomplish more in the time you are cruising through the semester. Buy an online degree so that you can find programs that will lighten your workload.

Which Job Are You Pursuing?

Not all jobs are the same. Some jobs offer more than just paychecks, while others do not. While some people believe that having a job while in college is great to have on a resume but this is not entirely true. Your job can likely affect your GPA, so if your grades suffer because you are working at a local golf course, employers are not going to be enthralled about that.

This applies to networking as well. If you are able to work in your desired field, you might be able to make some valuable connections that can be very useful to you in the future. But not every job will guarantee you a helpful connection.

There are other factors besides money and education for holding a job. It offers you an extra social circle. If you are an online student only, a job may only be your social circle. If you don’t leave the house, a job can be the motivation for you to do so.

Having a job also allows students to have a break from lectures, homework, studying, or simply being at the campus. Jobs give students physical activity that they otherwise would not experience in a classroom setting. On the same side of the coin, students can also partake in extracurricular activities that are nearly as productive as a job.