Students struggle balancing jobs and classes
Fallon-Renae Costa
People of all ages have come to find a High School diploma just isn’t going to cut it. Especially during the economic times the United States finds itself in.
But for many, the opportunity to focus on school and fully take advantage of what they are paying for is not even a choice.
In steps the circus act of balancing a school load along with a full time job in order to maintain an array of financial responsibilities. The act may seem like an all or nothing climb at times.
Along with time management between the two responsibilities, students also have to find the time to fit studying in, not to forget the management of all the stress piling on.
Although not an actual task on the to do list, managing the stress from work and from your responsibilities at school can be vital.
According to the American council on Education the likelihood of a student age’s 16-24 years old working has increased over 60 percent since 1984.
Not only are many more students working, but the number of those that are working fulltime has increased also.
Evidence shows full-time employment while in school may cause students to dropout. Not only do the number of hours spent working matter but the amount of time spent away from the campus community tends to have an affect also.
This is why on campus jobs seem less detrimental than those off campus. Stephanie Kulyk, a psychology major here at MCC is on track to complete her associate’s degree and has fully supported herself while in school.
When asked what Kulyk’s biggest challenge has been when it comes to balancing all her responsibilities she said sleep, time with her dog, and personal life in general tend to be affected the most by her strict schedule,
“I try to have a day just to relax with out school or work. I don’t have a lot room for personal time. Even on days off lately I find myself doing homework. I used to have time to play with my dog Jersey, but she seems to be suffering the most.”
Academic performance can also be affected by working while in school. But working while in school can teach students how to better manage their time.
“I know I’ll have good time management skills later in life. I may be behind now, but I’ll be ahead later.” Says Kulyk when asked what motivates her just when she’s about to loose her sanity during stressful times.
Studies also show that students that work 1-20 hours a week actually tend to have higher GPA’s then unemployed students.
It isn’t until about 30 hours of work the student’s GPA shows a lower difference that an unemployed students.
The majority of students surveyed don’t see working while in school as a burden, but they do find it to limit some aspect of their educational experience in some way or another.
After completing her third semester of school Kulyk has managed to find time to be apart of Psi Beta and qualifies as a potential member of Phi Theta Kappa.
“I spend about an average of at least 20-25 hours on studying; not including when I have tests or projects,” said Kulyk. “I didn’t want to be serving and bartending forever. I always think of the bigger picture.”
With proper time management, motivation and patience it seems handling a full workload and attending school, although may be trying, is possible.
