7 Reasons to Work Your Way Through College

Reader Comments
Back to blog

I agree with axjl that two jobs on campus are not that helpful. I advocate getting a job in your chosen field. You won't start as the engineer, producer, or programmer. But it is better to be the custodian at the engineering firm, the orderly at the hospital, or a secretary at a software publishing firm.
I also want to add another benefit to working your way through school. If you do it in your chosen field, you are surrounded by tutors who also got the same education you are getting. The programmers will help you with your homework. The engineers will help you master engineering principles.

Larry Stevenson of UT 11:40AM July 06, 2011

http://www.coomararunodaya.com/

sunrisedatacare 7:31AM March 15, 2010

I served in the U.S. Marine Corps artillery from 2/1956 until 2/1959. I discovered during my service years that maybe I did have what it took to go to college even if I was a middling student in high school.
After my discharge I took the standard entrance exam and scored well. I was admitted to San Francisco State University. I worked part-time during the entire seven years (1959-1966) it took me to earn my degree from San Francisco State. (The GI Bill was suspended from 12/31/55 until the 1970s.)
I felt sorry for myself until I discovered that my classmate, a USArmy vet had a wife and three children while I was single.
The reason I'm writing to you is that the several employers I worked for for ten years in San Francisco and NYC and the several universities I taught at for 22 years in Japan all told me that they had never met anyone who worked their way through university. I gave all of them the same answer, "Well, you're looking at one."
Please pass on to your young readers that there will be plenty of time to fool around (and with a much more interesting crowd) after they get their degree/s.

Ron Murray 7:28PM November 07, 2009

Correlation doesn't necessarily mean causation.
Those who applied for Campus jobs and obtained them are those who are better students and more responsible people. It's natural that those who hold campus jobs are better students. I have two on-campus jobs, and they take away study time from me because I have to prepare for my job. I don't see how my job actually helps me get a better grade. It's a good experience though.

axjl of MD 4:40PM October 14, 2009

Seems to me everyone wants an easy route and ride through college. The students I attend school with had parents footing the bill for tuition, room and board and party money. I worked 30 hrs a week, had a family to take care of and commuted to college an hour from home. Talk about time management! I have been out of school for 12 years now and have a great career, people are impressed with the facts of my college-work experience! They always comment "YOU Have to be a hardworker, to have accomplished all of this"!
NO one "owes you" a college education, my huband I paid for everything through loans and work. Parents get suckered into thinking the owe the child an eduction, well, earn it!
I recently helped my daughter through college, she got merit scholarships, worked and donated time to charities. She graduated in 2 years from FSU and has a student loan to pay off. This girl is rockin' has a great job and all of her friends are still looking for jobs!

mary of FL 9:39AM October 14, 2009

It's just too bad there aren't more campus work-study jobs available. Many students' parents make too much money to allow them to qualify for work study. (Just like they make too much money to qualify for any real financial aid, except for loans that need to be paid back.)
Off-campus jobs are getting harder to get as our nation's economy tanks and employers are increasingly inflexible about hours. They want all of their employees, even part-timers, to be available on call, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and won't consider hiring students.

John C of CO 10:52PM October 13, 2009

1. Earn bucks but reduce your financial aid: it can often screw up your financial aid amounts, often reducing or eliminating aid that would have been awarded but for the income imputed by the financial aid office into their award formula.
2. Budget your way into debt: If you earn "too much money" (a nebulous concept that varies from school to school, often dependent on each school's endowment), you may find that your aid + income is too little to pay the basics (like room, board, tuition and books). The result may be incurring more student loan debt than you might otherwise.
3. Your time is often managed by others, not you: technical or specialty curriculum (arts, science, math or engineering) usually have one-of-a-kind-no-other-time courses. Your time is managed by your job and your courses, not by you. time Management? Please -- you may not have any time to manage!
4. Improve your learning and chances by . . .: The author contorts research to make her point. How about restating the research -- concentrate on your academics and keep any non-academic activity to less than 20 hours per week, and you'll "have higher grades and are more likely to graduate college."
5. Career experiment with your internships, not your paying job: If you find a job you enjoy, are good at and is in a desired career field, fine. If undecided, though, try internships for career experimenting. Also, internships often have much more flexible hours than paying jobs. [HINT: Once in the door, ask lots of questions and volunteer for interesting assignments. You may have to be pushy, because interns are often used to complete tasks that are non-essential, menial or someone's pet project to be filed in a filing cabinet once completed.]
6. Build your resume by using internships: See #5.
7. Connecting with potential employers, internship providers, research opportunities and interesting work can be achieved without taking a paying job.
As someone who worked their way through college, I can speak with some authority on this subject. Most of my friends and I with real jobs (not merely working less than 20 hours per week minding the security desk at the girls' dorm) had zero time to study. Plus, as a working student you miss out on the non-academic experiences and opportunities that abound in college for those with schedules unimpaired with employer obligations.
Is working while attending college bad? No, but there is no way that you can "work your way through college" with tuition exceeding $20,000 per year, or book costs of $500 - $1,000 per semester.

John P. of FL 8:17PM October 13, 2009

Another benefit is if you get the chance to work on campus. It cuts down on time spent traveling and the employers are often very understanding of student work loads changing throughout a semester. I spent two years doing grounds maintenance and I had plenty of time to fun activities and stay on top of my school work. As noted it didn't cause my grades to inflate without trying, but it did keep me focused and manage my time. Last of all, money in the pocket is always good for college students.

Rory of OR 8:02PM October 13, 2009

College is a time to learn. Work is a part of the full education spectrum. Just like living in dormatories with people you don't know.

Bob of CA 7:51PM October 13, 2009

The author probably has the cart before the horse. Readers should not be misled by her implication that if you just get a part-time job, your grades will improve. Anyone with brains enough to be seeking a college education should certainly be able to see the lack of logic in that.
Isn't it obvious that the issue here is MOTIVATION ? People who are motivated to seriously strive for an education, are motivated to work for it as necessary, both by studying hard and by working to pay their expenses. The author compares these students with those who see college as a protracted holiday of goofing off and partying, paid for by their indulgent parents. Of course these irresponsible loafers don't get as good grades, but the author draws the wrong conclusions as to cause and effect. This kind of illogical thinking doesn't speak well for the college education she worked for, and is not helpful advice for aspiring college students.

Chuck S. of OR 4:54PM October 13, 2009