That is the question, isn’t it? In many cases the student does not want to do any part time work but their parents want them develop a sense of responsibility, accountability, understanding of money and what goes into getting money and so many other skills and lessons that can be acquired through working. Then there are students who want to work or find a way to make some money on the side. Most high schools now require some volunteer hours in order to graduate. Let’s start by considering the pros and cons of part time work.
Pros of working part time while a student
- Make some spare money for yourself.
- Meet new people
- Develop new skills
- Head start on work experience that can be added to your resume
- Develop skills such as time management; money management; working with others; accountability to someone, your boss in this case; work related skills e.g. retail work allows you to develop customer service skills
- Gain a reference, your boss, you can use for future jobs and more in the future
- Increase your social network
Cons of working part time while at student
- Less sleep. / More tired.
- Less time for school work.
- Reduced time for social life
- Less time for extracurricular activities e.g. sports, music, drama etc.
- Busier schedule
While it looks like there are more pros than cons, the cons, mainly the first one, can potentially be devastating. Adults with just a full time job can get tired and exhausted from their work. But to go through a full day of school and throw part time work on top of that and maybe an extra curricular activity and social life as well, it’s very easy to sacrifice sleep which results in being tired for class and work and eventually becoming exhausted and then delivering a poor performance everywhere: at school, at work, in your extra curricular activities; with your friends and family. This is when time management is really important but also deciding when is it realistic to do a part time job?
Question: When exactly to do part time work when a student?
Answer: While studying or during breaks from school such as summer or Christmas holidays etc.
Working over the summer and during holidays:
One way to overcome or avoid the less sleep/more tired con of working part time when a student is to find work during the summer when you aren’t taking any classes. Although, some of you may consider summer school, but that’s another post! Working during the summer allows for the opportunity to get a full time job for the summer months and really get involved in the work. However, this means the money you earn over the summer, needs to last you throughout the school year, so the remaining 8 or 10 months depending on whether you’re a university or high school student, respectively.
Part time work while taking classes:
If you choose to work during the school year, part time hours, managing your time and school life will be the biggest challenge.
- One way to mitigate this is to only work on the weekends. It’s not ideal as you will have homework over the weekends but at the very least, you will potentially not have an assignment or test due the next day which can happen during the week if you’re working after school in the evenings.
- If you do work during the school year, you may want to let your boss or supervisor know in advance when you may not be able to take on extra hours. For example, before tests or big assignments are due; during the exam period.
Paid part time work or volunteer part time
In some cases, money isn’t the driving force behind getting a part time job. Maybe it is all the other pros 2-7 on the pro list. In this case, a volunteer position may an ideal solution. With a volunteer position there is the freedom to do as few or as many hours as you are able to without the obvious repercussions with a paid position. This will help with the potential pressure of working too many hours and risking less sleep and increased fatigue during the school year.
If a primary reason for part time work while studying is financial, then a paid position is an obvious solution. At the high school level, if you’re in public school, your education is covered so there is no tuition costs. If you are at the high school level but in a private school, then tuition may be a factor but presumably your parents have enrolled you in the private school and are covering the costs. If not, then some external income may be required. There may be bursaries or scholarships for private school students. It’s worth looking into this avenue. At the university level, tuition is required so unless you have the funding already secured by some previous means, some external income will be required. Fortunately, at the university level there various options to consider and look into. Student loans; bursaries; scholarships; grants
While looking and when to work and type of work, paid or volunteer, we touched upon why work. This is the real reason, why work part time while studying full time at all? The pros and cons list above is a good starting point, but really look at your reason why you want to work part time. In some cases it’s the other way around. Working full time and studying part time. This is not a bad option but definitely a separate post! Here is a great post on the best part time jobs for college and university students.
