More and more college students are responsible for their own college loans and personal finances. This means that more students are working part-time, or even full-time, throughout their college experience. Students either work to offset the costs of their education until they can really start paying off their loans after graduation, or they try to graduate debt-free by working as much as they can.
But there’s another reason why people work during their college years. Holding a steady job in college can actually make you a better student. Here’s why working during college isn’t just good for combatting student loan debt:
Priorities
If you’re working in college, you’ve likely got your priorities straight. You know how to put long-term goals before short-term wants. Video games can’t always come before working on an essay; hanging with friends late into the night can’t always happen before an early shift.
The responsibilities of a job establish other responsible attitudes on all that college entails. That makes you a better worker and a better student.
Time Management
A lot of what it takes to get school assignments done is proper time management. If you have a steady job that you’re faithful to, you already know what it takes to manage your time. Plus, your work and class schedules will give you clear guidelines throughout your week as to what you should be doing and when. Working a job helps you figure out how best to use your time.
Professional Development
If you’re in school while you work a part-time or full-time job, it’s more likely you know what you want to do. Say you’re in a part-time job you like but know you don’t want to stay at forever; you’re in college because you don’t want to keep doing what you do. You’re studying a different skill or topic that will get you ready for where you do want to be.
Are you in a full-time job or in a field you know you want to stay in? You’re going to college to get even better at what you do. Whether you study business to be a better sales associate or psychology to be a better behavioral health worker, your studies are helping you develop in your profession.
Dedication
It takes priorities and time management to work during college, but even more, it takes dedication. If you’re faithful and hardworking at your job, you’ve got the dedication needed to accomplish your goals. That same dedication will play a primary role in your education; you’ll give your studies the hard work they require.
Application
As you develop as a person, learner, and professional, a job gives you the opportunity to apply what you’ve gathered. Whether you try it or not, you’ll bring the knowledge from the content you’re reading and the skills you gather from professors, and you’ll be even better at your job. Additionally, programs like business and social work have internship experiences built in, so in some cases, you can use a current job or get connected to a new potential employer through your course of study. Ultimately, academic programs give you opportunities to apply the new skills and knowledge you gain right into the workplace.
Working through school can be hard, and it will demand a lot of you. But a steady job and a college education can coexist, and it might just make you a better student in the process.
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