When I attended college from 2009-2012, I was kind of a rarity, at least among my friends and classmates, because I worked my way through school. I’ve always had a job, ever since I turned 15, and when I was in college it was no different.
My first year I worked at the front desk in my dorm building, and after that I worked as a paid intern at a government office across town. Additionally, I held down a weekend job in a retail store to give me a little more spending money and to help pay my rent and other living expenses.
I considered myself lucky that my parents were able to help me pay my tuition for my first two years of college. But before my final year of college, the savings they had set aside for my education had run out and I was forced to take on a student loan to cover my tuition.
As I worked my way through school, I encountered people with lots of different opinions about whether or not college students should work during school. Today, I want to share those opinions and reasons with you and then I’d love to hear your opinion on the topic in the comment section too.
College Students Should NOT Work During School
Although I worked nearly full-time while also taking a full class load, I heard from a lot of people that college students should not work their way through school. One reason given to me was because college students should be focused on their education, not on working a job un-related to their future career.
On one hand I agree with this reasoning. I do think that many jobs are not worth the focus of a student if it means their grades will slip and they risk not finishing their education. However, there are students who would not be able to financially afford going to school without working during college. If they don’t have financial support from their family or are not able to attain financial aid, working may be the only way they can continue attending college.
The other reason I heard from several of my middle-aged co-workers while I was interning in their office was that I should enjoy being young and having fun while I don’t have many responsibilities during college.
While that’s a nice theory, I still had rent and bills to pay. Plus, who’s to say you can’t have fun after work hours? 😉
College Students Should Work During School, But Part-Time
The same people who suggested that college students shouldn’t work so they can enjoy being young and having fun are usually the ones that conceded with “maybe you should only work part-time” when I told them I’d be in favor of not working during college if they’d be willing to pay my rent.
Not surprisingly, that didn’t go over so well with them.
College Students Should Work During School
This pretty much the camp I fell into when I was in school. I wanted to work during school as much as possible, without sacrificing my education, so I could pay my bills and have some money left over each month. Near the end of college is when I first started getting into debt. I took out my first student loan and I got my first credit card that same year.
Looking back I know I would’ve been a lot worse off, financially, if I had decided not to work during school. I also believe that my strong work ethic and the fact that I worked my way through college better prepared me for the “real world” after college.
Do you think college students should work during school? Why or why not.
I worked through college and high school even. I feel like there was plenty of time to work, keep my grades up, and still have a life. It was a good experience to prepare me for the real world and teaches responsibility.
That’s exactly how I feel about it too Heather. 🙂