Work & School Balance

January 17th, 2023

Happy New Year to all of my readers and welcome back to another article! I have to apologize for taking such a long break. Exams became so busy and I decided to take a bit of a mental break for a few weeks over the Christmas break! But I'm back now and excited to see what this year will bring. I have a few ideas for Good Student Review which I am hoping to be able to work on this year and I can't wait to share them. But for now, lets talk about this weeks topic, having a work and school life balance!

While having a job and being a full-time university student is not always ideal, unfortunately sometimes we need to make a bit of extra pocket cash in order to make ends meet. Of course it would be great to be able to dedicate all of your spare time to studying, or free-time to relax and decompress from all of the stress that school life brings. Yet, that isn't always practical for some of us. As a person who has had three jobs while also being a full-time student, I can confirm that it is not always ideal, but I am here to share some of the things I did that made my experience a bit easier. This week I'll talk to you about that time in my life, some ways to avoid having to get a part-time job while in school, types of jobs you can try out, as well as how to manage your time to maximize productivity, while also minimizing stress.

Lets start with the point in time when I was working three jobs. This was almost about a year ago and I was working as a sales executive at a tanning salon, a proshop assistant at golf course, as well as a hostess at a local club. I landed in this position because I had initally had the job at the tanning salon in September 2021. In light of needing some extra money, I picked up the hostess gig in Novemeber 2021. By the time March 2022 came around, I had the job at the golf course as well. So essentially, I was working at least two jobs for the better part of my third year of undergard. This was pretty intense for me if I am being honest, it was difficult to balance all three while also being a full-time student. Sometimes I would go from one job directly to the other and at times even all three consecutively in one day. It was exhausting!

While the money I made was good, it was defintely difficult to keep up with this schedule while also making time to meet deadlines for assignments, attend lectures, and also just having some free time of my own. I wouldn't recommend having more than two jobs during undergrad. Since it is pretty difficult to keep up with school even having one job, I quickly realized that three was defintely too much. But I ended up in that position because I was thinking about the summer and wanted to make sure I was making as much money as possible throughout the summertime. At the end of the day, this experience taught me many valuable lessons about the work load I am able to handle, as well as the amount of stress I can put on myself. It was defintely a period of personal growth for me.

Now, in my last semester of undergrad, I am only working at the tanning salon. I chose to do this because I put myself in a position where I can make enough money with this one job, while also being able to put a good focus on my studies. Needless to say, having a part-time job in university can be a very enriching experience, while also serving as a nice break from school, if it isn't too hectic of course.

If having a part-time job in school is not your style, but you still need to have funds to get you through the school year, I would highly recommend overloading your summer with as much working hours as possible. This is essentially why I had three jobs at the end of my third year. My goal was to work as many hours as possible, while also saving as much money as I could. This way, I am presently able to work around 10-15 hours a week at the tanning salon because I have money saved up from the summer. This ensures I can buy things like groceries, or pay for my phone bill, while also not having to worry about running out of money. Essentially, it's all about being proactive!

If you have no choice but to have a part-time job, or you just genuinely like to have a little more on your plate, there are tons of different options you can pursue in order to make money. A classic route is to work at a restaurant or bar as a server or bartender. Many students love this option because there is a high earning potential when it comes to making tips. Another option could be to work at a night club. I personally had a love/hate relationship with this option because of the hours. It was great because you had time to work on school work during the day and still be able to make some money from 9:00pm to 2:00am (I was never really studying during these hours anyways). Unfortunately for me, I LOVE my sleep. So as you can imagine, I was never very excited to go to work. On the other hand, as someone who works in a tanning salon (which also happens to be a lash extension and brow studio as well), I also have to advocate for working in aesthetics. Aesthetic practices, such as lashing or waxing, are good side hustles to think about investing your time in. This is because they make very good money and can also be a good skill/side hustle to have throughout your 20s and up if you are looking to make some extra cash.

All in all, having a part-time job while being in school comes down to being able to manage your time effectively. I cannot stress this enough: time management is one of the most important skills that I have used throughout my university career. This comes down to being thorough with your syllabuses, marking down important dates and deadlines in your calender, or keeping a weekly scheudle of what needs to be done. All of these things can make it easier to see where you have time gaps in your week, so that you know when exactly you will be able to make time for a part-time job. It can also help to effectively plan when you will do assignments and meet deadlines, so that work is never an issue and you always know what times in your week are open for working on assignments or studying for exams.

In general, a work and school life balance may not be easy or practical for all of us. Yet, there can be many rewards that make having a part-time job throughout the school year worth it. I can honestly say I do not regret working any job I had throughout my past and present time as a student. As always, please feel free to contact me with any ideas or topics you would like to hear about in future articles! Thank you for reading!!

-Sam