The primary focus of a college student should be to get good grades and learn as much as possible, but with education costs so high, many may also need to work. Approximately 40 percent of undergraduates work at least 30 hours a week. That number is even higher for adult learners, many of whom balance their studies with full-time work and caring for families.
If you are involved in organized sports or other extracurricular activities in a significant way, it may be impossible to also maintain a job. If working is essential to affording college, yet interfering with your ability to perform academically, you may want to consider lengthening your academic career. You have one shot at getting good grades in college, and you will likely need to present your grades to prospective employers in your job search. You do not want to jeopardize the long-term salary boost benefit that can come from doing well in college for the sake of marginal incremental income in school if you can help it.
With that in mind, there are several benefits from working while in college:
- Income. Obviously, having extra income while in college is a good thing. Even if your parents are supporting your education, it’s is always good to have some extra money of your own to pay for textbooks, food, clothes, travel, etc. Many work study jobs are designed to be quite manageable and generously-paying, so don’t automatically think that you don’t have the bandwidth.
- Prove Ability to Manage Time. Most prospective employers will see it as a major strength if you are to manage your academics and a part-time job (and a herculean effort if you are working full-time). To the extent that you are also getting top grades, you will be in a very elite club. Remember the details about how you managed your time and develop a story giving examples of the commitment and sacrifice you have made. This time management skill should be something you clearly market to potential employers.
- Gain Experience. While you may not want to pursue the same type of role you had while in school, you should still take away from that job skills and experiences that you can apply in the future. For example, you may work with different types of personalities with different management styles. You may be a supervisor or work with different teams of people. Take note of all the different relationships and dynamics, and be able to recall in an interview the pros and cons of how your work environment was managed. What could have been done better and how did you deliver that message in a productive manner in your role? Show that you are easy to work with, but also an observant and contributing member of the team.
- Network. Make sure that you establish strong relationships with bosses and peers alike. You never know when you might need to call on them for a reference, or even work with them in a future capacity. Working on-campus can expand your friendships too. One of the major benefits of going to school is forming strong network of classmates with whom you will have shared formative years of your life. If you are working with classmates, that gives you one more point of point of reference and connection with that subset of students. Lastly, depending on your college job, you may also make connections with faculty, alumni, parents or others who can also prove helpful for your future endeavors. Take advantage!
On the negative side, working while in college can lead to diminished academic performance. It is critical to figure out ways to manage time effectively. But if this proves elusive, you may want to reduce your hours, search for a less demanding job, limit other extra-curricular activities, or perhaps put work aside until you get your grades up to potential. Taking online classes may give schedule flexibility needed to maintain a job. Consult academic advisors about what workload and/or scheduling accommodations can be made so that you can continue to work if in fact a necessity while you pursue a degree.
