Introduction
Time is money. A minute lost is never recovered. Having part time jobs is an added advantage for college students as it is a way of killing two birds with one stone. Part time jobs help students identify their career and interests early enough and therefore adding value to what they learn in class compared to students who are in college without any part time jobs. It builds and gives students knowledge and understanding both in theory and in practice. Part time jobs help students have financial independence, and it’s a way of relieving financial strain. Most colleges offer part time jobs for their students and also part time classes for the students who work during the day. Most students who work, especially in the colleges where they study have more added advantages. This essay shows how part time jobs are a stepping stone for students as they gain experience from their workplaces, the impact on their financial position, their responsibilities, their duties, and the challenges they face everyday. It gives a deeper overview of the advantages and disadvantages of being a student and taking up part time jobs. This paper also shows how students who work part time are able to relate with the society (Goffman 70).
Experiences
Student who work part time are at an advantage of having experience while still in college. This is a stepping stone to their careers and future jobs. They gain experience in areas such as team work, working under pressure, punctuality, responsibility and competence (Avolio 25). Those who are lucky to work alongside their field of study or career gain experience that is a stepping stone to their promotion, and better placement. Others are interested in starting their own companies, organizations, or large scale businesses. The experiences and skills they acquire such as leadership qualities, anger management, tolerance and understanding become helpful in managing their organizations.
Students who have had part time jobs before are able to adapt to the corporate world easily after school. They have less culture shock. They are also able to relate in the world of competition and aggressiveness where for one to make it, he/she must give the best. Experience is the best teacher and students with field experience might perform better in class because they can apply field knowledge to theory and theory studies to field work. Therefore, it is necessary for college students to have part time jobs at some point in their studies, for example, attachments, volunteer work, and internships.
Financial position
Students with part time jobs are better off financially because they have an income. Though they might not be paid much, they are better off compared to the students who do not have any extra income. They are financially independent and relieve their parents the financial burden (King 3). Some colleges offer school fees discounts to students who work for them. Other colleges pay some of the student’s fee or all of it. Some students take up these part time jobs and then their accommodation fee or up keep fee are paid for them. This is of benefit especially for students who are from families that are financially strained.
When students take up the part time jobs, they are able to plan for their finances. They are able to control their expenditure and income, have budgets and maximize on what they save. By taking up the jobs, students are able to take care of their school projects, pay for their trips and holidays, and most of all they learn the act of saving as early as possible. Students can also invest with the little income they get and they will gain much more from the interest accumulated. Students, who are paid on commission, as is the case with sales jobs, will work hard to increase their salary.
Responsibilities
Part time jobs are an added responsibility for students. They have various responsibilities both at their work place and in school. They might have assignments to submit at both places. Sometimes they have to meet target performance at their place of work. All these are responsibilities that the students have to take up. It might be tougher if the student has a leadership position at any of the two places. Part time jobs help students in staying focused and planning their time well so that they are able to attend to both the responsibilities with efficiency.
Having all these responsibilities, students are trained to be good leaders in future. Their leadership skills are sharpened, their knowledge and understanding of the corporate world is built and commitment to everything they are involved in is strengthened. There are more responsibilities as one matures such as family and the society. Responsibilities help one in brainstorming so as to come up with as many ideas as possible. Brainstorming helps students in writing and understanding their essay questions in school. Research shows that students who are in part time jobs are more reliable and responsible compared to the students who do not have any jobs.
Duties
There are more duties attached to students with part time jobs. Responsibilities and duties intertwine. However, students have duties to attend to, without excuses, such as being responsible in school and at their place of work. Part time jobs have demanding duties that call for hard work and sacrifice. At work places, duties are assigned to the employee irrespective of whether they are students or not. It is the duty of each individual to ensure they meet the goals of the company, satisfy the customers they are serving and bring in new customers. Therefore, part time jobs prepare students for their various duties in their career after school.
Challenges
Students in part time jobs face various challenges. They face the challenge of balancing work and school. Some jobs such as advertisement and sales involve a lot of travelling. This will be a problem in case an exam is done while the student is away because they can fail the unit, re-sit the exam or redo the unit again. This is a challenge because time is wasted and more money spent. It can also be a challenge where the unit requires wide understanding. The student loses important points. Sometimes they even lose the general knowledge being passed on by the lecturer.
Secondly, students may face stress issues. This could be caused by overworking themselves, resting for fewer hours, or pressure from their bosses at work and lecturers in school. This could lead to a student’s grades going down and especially if a student increases his/her working hours. Students who especially work off campus might have less time in accessing campus facilities such as library facilities and laboratories. Working students might suffer from burn outs due to work overload.
However, these challenges can be dealt with and overcome. Students can balance the load of being in school and working. If a student realizes he/she is suffering from burn outs, revising their schedule can be of great help. A student can add more time for resting and sleeping balancing this with school work and their working time. Engaging in activities that they enjoy and having fun helps in stress management (Allen 87). Students in part time jobs can also consider reducing the number of academic hours they take. This will create time for them to read and rest. They will also be productive in their work places.
Part time jobs for college students have both advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages
Part time jobs help students develop their time management skills. This is important for students to succeed in college and in life. Secondly, students are able to save for their future and learn the value of money. The salary they get from working is a contribution to their source of income. Learning that money comes from hard work makes students not misuse money and instead they spend wisely.
Students in part time jobs are reliable because most of them are already responsible. They have acquired skills such as leadership skills, time management, conflict resolution and working under pressure. They have experiences in various places such as the corporate world (Avolio 68). Most of these students are also mature. They have good communication and presentation skills (Werner 135).
Disadvantages
Students in part time jobs have some disadvantages. One of them is that they most likely take longer in school as compared to students who do not take these jobs. This could be in cases where they take less hours. This makes them delay in school unlike students who are not taking part time jobs who can take 4 years or less for their degree. The second disadvantage is they could be overwhelmed by work, stress and have burn outs.
Conclusion
It is an added advantage for students to have a part time job at some point in college. It could either be an attachment, volunteer work or working in campus. It could also be a job off-campus. This will help them gain career and field experience. It will be easier for such students to adapt to the corporate and business world once they are out of school.
Works Cited
Allen, David. Getting things done: the Art of Stress-Free Productivity. New York: Viking Penguin, 2001.
Avolio, Bruce. Leadership development in balance.Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2005.
Goffman, Erving. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Anchor/Doubleday, 1959.
King, Jacqueline. American Council on Education: Working their way through college: student employment and its impact on the college experience, 2006. Web.
Werner, Eric. Toward a Theory of communication and Cooperation for Multiagent Planning, Theoretical Aspects of Reasoning About Knowledge: Proceedings of the Second Conference. USA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 1988.