Full-time students find balance between work, school
Elisa Vincitorio
Has life always been so tough on twentysomethings? Well, yes, but most of us are just discovering it now. Life is whizzing by at light speed with stakes at their highest.
Voices are shouting from every direction telling young people what to do with their pockets, backpacks and interests.
On top of all the demands and expectations of the American college age student today, many find it necessary to work full time while going to school.
After 23-year-old Eric Simmons graduated with his associates in liberal arts and sciences while working in a hardware store 30-40 hours per week, he was burned out.
“I stopped going to school because I was sick of it and I didn’t have the drive to continue,” he said.
Simmons would get off work in the evening, sleep for about five hours and then get up early to do homework before class.
“If you’re a full time student, I wouldn’t recommend working more than 20 hours per week,” he said, “It leaves you very little time to do homework or have a life outside of work and school.”
20-year-old education major Katelyn Greer, however, cannot afford the luxury of having only one job and going to school.
After Greer graduated high school, she moved out of the house and tried paying for rent and college with one job but soon realized she was not able to make ends meet.
“I couldn’t even afford schoolbooks,” Greer said.
This semester she will be taking 15 credit hours between MCC and ASU while working two jobs at 35 to 55 hours a week.
“I have a planner and I fit in homework whenever I can, sometimes even between breaks at work,” Greer said, “Also, I try to set aside one night a week where I just hang out with friends and recuperate, which is really important.”
21-year-old Erica Vitiello, another full-time student, has two jobs to save up money for the future.
When Vitiello was a freshman in college she tried to pile on more work than she could handle.
To avoid an overload Vitiello stresses the importance of planning ahead and requesting work schedules ahead of time in order to make time for tests and studying.
