Should you work while going to school?

According to thecollegesolution.com, 23% of full-time undergrads age 24 or younger work 20 hours or more a week. The reason? Well, the fact is college tuition fees tend to increase about 8% per year and many students are struggling to pay their way through college.

So, should you work while you go to school? The answer is that it all depends on the person. If a student is able to manage his or her time wisely, then it would not be any problem for the student to work. Time management capability is very important for students who work while going to school. If students are not able to manage their time properly, their grades will suffer.

I remember three weeks ago during one of the Hispanic Heritage Month events, Political Science Professor Luis Fraga from the University of Washington said that the majority of students in his class work more than 20 hours per week.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, working more than 20 hours each week leads to slipping grades and higher dropout rates.

It is not shocking to see students’ grade slipping due to working too many hours. It only makes sense that when students work, they have less time to do their homework, prepare for their classes, revise and take care of other school-related matters. For example, if a student is supposed to have 30 hours of homework  and revision time per week, if he or she is working 20 hours, the time he or she would spend on revision would definitely decrease by more than half.

Additionally, those students who work might not be able to fully commit the rest of their free time to schoolwork because they may feel tired and they may also have other duties such as family commitments.

Working while going to school however, has its benefits. Many companies and employers are looking for people who have working experience. Students who work while they go to school could have a head start because they could experience the real working world before they graduate from college.

Many companies and employers are looking for people who have working experience. Working while going through college will give you that advantage. Students who work while they go to school could have a head start because they could experience the real working world before they graduate from college. Students get real life experience working with colleagues, meeting deadlines and many others.

Students who work while going to college have advantages in managing their money because they know how hard earning money is.

They will learn how to spend money out of their budget properly. Budgeting is one of the most important skills every person should be able to master because it’s not only all about how to save money but also how to regulate various expenses.  There is no better way to teach students how to do budget.

Many of my friends who are working while going to college still manage to have good grade in school. However, I should say that most of them are so busy that they tend to ignore many important things including their health. I know I sometimes stay up until 3 a.m. just to finish my homework and I’m not working for 20 hours per week.

I would say that if students do not need to work, they do not have to, but if they need to work, they have to manage their time really well to be able to cope with the schoolwork and duties at work.

However, working might give students a bit of an advantage because they have more experience in working in the real world. In the end, it all depends on the person him or herself and whether or not he or she is able to manage their time properly.