Wednesday, March 30, 2005
A Student Guide to Working Off-Campus
I am a student who currently works off campus and has a full load of classes. The following is a guide for students thinking about getting a job and a reminder to those already working of how such a life is.
As a student, work can be a joy. One of the biggest joys of having a job, especially one that is off campus, is having a place to get away from everything once in awhile. Everyone knows how nice it can be to get away from the dorms or to take a study break, work provides that opportunity. Work can make you feel refreshed from a hard day at school, helping you prepare to hit the books harder next time it is necessary. Another joy of work is the money that can be had. College students are notoriously known for never having money. Having a job alleviates the worries of paying the bills and also allows for fun activities. With a job you can have money to go to the movies, go bowling, go out to eat, and to buy gifts for holidays and birthdays. Even though I don’t do any of these activities very often, it is nice to know that the money is there if I want to use it. These reasons above are why I work to save money. It is a nice break from the ordinary school life that allows me to earn and save money to be able to do things when I want.
Although work can be a joy, work can also be a huge struggle. I especially think of those who work and have a hard time getting things done for school. The life of a full-time student is a full-time job, throw work in there and life can become hectic quickly. The biggest struggle a student faces when working while having a full load of classes is time management. For some, time management is easy, for others, it is extremely hard. No matter what the case, if you plan on working and going to school, you need to find a balance that is best for you. Another struggle of having a job while being a student is motivation. Some days you could care less about going to work, wanting to focus on your tremendous amounts of school work, while other days you want to work and not want to do any schoolwork. In order to solve this problem, you need to constantly remind yourself of which is more important, school. You need to remember that school will give you a degree which is almost priceless, while work will give you $8 an hour. If work starts to hinder your performance in school, cut back on work.
To say that all of these rules apply for everyone looking for a job or already in one would be ludicrous; however, it is strongly advised to keep the previous paragraphs in mind no matter what your current situation is.