Spartan Times

Balancing work and school

By Levi Cordova, Reporter

    Is it possible to attend school full-time and work a full time/part time job? I think it is, but there is more to it than meets the eye. Especially when students are living on their own and paying for all their own bills, it gets tough. It’s hard to find a balance between a job and academics.

   Students whose parents take care of them and fulfill all their financial needs are somewhat lucky, and if I were them, I would take full advantage of it. It gives them an advantage over others who do work because they don’t have a job and have more time to focus on their studies. 

   If I could choose for myself whether to work and go to school, or just go to school, I would definitely just go to school.  I work about 30-35 hours a week, and to top that off, each semester I take anywhere from 14-16 credit hours.

   That would mean I work a full time job, and I’m considered a full time student. I mean, it’s a good life experience and teaches me to balance things in my life and learn responsibility, but it doesn’t allow me to be 100 percent focused on school.

   One of the hardest things about going to school all day and working all night is having the willpower to keep myself up and get my homework done.

   I wake up every morning at 6 to work out because it’s the only time I have during the day to get it done. Then I get ready and go to class, which is from about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. or from 9 a.m. to about 6 p.m. 

   Then I go to work from 5 p.m. to 10 pm., unless people come in past closing time, and that keeps me there longer.    

   After that, I head home and then I start on my homework for that day. Sometimes I am too tired from being at work and school to finish all of my homework. Therefore I have to chose how much homework and whose homework I am going to do first. 

   I also work on the weekends from morning to evening, and at times I have to work doubles, which is from open to closing time. I personally find hard because I feel like I don’t get enough sleep. 

   Another hard factor with working and going to school is the financial part of it. You are told as a student that, in order to receive financial aid to help pay for school, you need to take so many credit hours. That’s hard because you may become overwhelmed and overloaded with more classes than you can handle without fully having the opportunity to succeed. 

   There’s a certain amount of money that has to be made to pay the bills. I work so much so that I don’t have to take out a loan and have to worry about paying it back on time. So taking fewer hours in your job isn’t really an option, either.

   If you do decide to work while going to school, be prepared to have no social life and to have less time to work out. It’s really mentally and physically exhausting. I find myself wondering how I do it. You really have to be focused on wanting to be in school, or else you are just setting yourself up for failure. If I’m not working, I’m in school, and if I’m not in school, I’m working.  

   My advice for a student who isn’t working is to take your time, focus on your studies to the fullest extent, and not slack off.

   Also, some advice for a student who is working: hang in there and everything will follow through, as long as you are putting in your utmost effort and staying dedicated to your future goals.

   For students who want to work, if you don’t have to, don’t. But if you decide to, be sure that you are mentally and physically ready to take on a lot of responsibility, and manage your time so you can do well in both your work and academics.

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