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I'll be commuting back and forth to county college for the upcoming school year and I'm debating whether I should get a job or not. I have a really good summer job that has allowed me to put enough away to purchase books for the first semester, and plenty left over in the savings account. That money will likely go towards gas.
But should I get a small side job for the school year just to have extra cash on hand? I wouldn't be spending it on goodies, just to pay for gas, food, and other expenses that will come up over the next several months. Or to put into savings. I'm sure its difficult to balance work and school, so I'm wondering what others' thoughts and experiences are.
Try to get a job on campus. I know all schools are different, but my undergrad school had great student jobs available, and they would obviously work around your class schedule (which many bosses won't do for you).
My university even hired me after graduation to do research for them.
Do you think you can work and keep your grades up at the same time? Are the classes you're taking now going to be fairly easy or are you going to need a lot of time to study?
Do you have enough money in the bank to pay for a little bit of a social life, going out for pizza with friends or having a nice date night from time to time? Do you have enough for unexpected expenses like car repairs, or are your parents going to help you out in an emergency?
If you do decide to work maybe try for something other than the usual retail or fast food. I suggest that because DS is a college student working retail, supposed to be 16 hours a week but they call him in a lot. He's reluctant to say no for fear of losing the job, but working 30+ hours a week at times took a toll on his grades and he's having to repeat a class. I'm sure it's probably different for everybody, but for him anything over about 20 hours a week is too much and interferes with school. Maybe you could find a job with a lot of down time that you can use to study, working in a laundromat, a parking garage, receptionist at a small business, etc.
Just some things to think about. Good luck whatever you decide.
Absolutely, get a small job of maybe 10-12 hours a week. You will need a little emergency money for Murphy events in life and it will look good on a resume that you worked while going to school.
Be thrifty, stay out of debt, no credit cards, listen to Dave Ramsey, save money and you'll be a millionaire by the time you're 40.
But like someone said, go with an on campus job if possible. Some of them allow you to study like mine did. I used to be a DA, and I'd study all the time during dead hours.
If you're working hard for a high-paying job eventually, where the difference between an A and a B is getting hired, focus on school.
If you're working to be a social worker, teacher, or other relatively low-paying job, I'd recommend working through school.
I'm doing pre-med, so it makes no sense for me to work. My brain is useless goo after all of my classes, and I definitely couldn't handle working right now. My husband is working on his AS before he transfers to a four year program, and he has no problem working part time. It all depends on how hard your courses are, and how badly you need money. It can be done, but you do want to survive those four years, ideally.
The general "rule" is that you should spend 2 to 3 hours on homework for every one hour spent in class. That's why 12 to 15 credit hours is considered a full course load at most schools. If you are a strong student, your first year of classes likely will not require such a huge time commitment. I would also leave time for school activities. This is a rare time in your life when you will have access to so many free and low cost clubs, lectures, outings, and social opportunities.
Most of the jobs that you might hold as a student are very easy to leave if you find that you can't handle them. It's never wise to burn bridges, but if you had to quit a restaurant or retail job on short notice, it probably wouldn't effect you too greatly; just don't put it on your resume.
Don't push yourself too hard for some extra spending cash. However, anything you can make while in school will be a huge help. Maybe it allows you to spend a semester abroad, to be able to take an unpaid internship later on, or helps you to move out on your own once you have your degree.
I would definitely try to get a job, but try to keep it to 15 hours or less. Ideally you'll find something on campus; that way you'll meet fellow students, it will be convenient, there will probably be increased flexibility when it comes to things like schedules (around exam time, etc.), and, if you're lucky, you might be able to get an interesting job that may even relate to your long-term career goals (or, like someone said, has lots of downtime where you can double up studying and paid work at the same time.)
I vaguely remember reading references to a study that showed that students working a small number of hours per week, I think somewhere around 10-15 hours/week, actually did better in school than those who worked no hours. Not sure if it holds up or not, but I think the theory is that a small number of hours creates some additional structure. Too many hours and it starts to take away from study time, but with the right balance it could be both good for your wallet and for your grades. I'd at least give it a shot.
Do you qualify for work-study? If so, try to find a job on campus. At my college, there were jobs funded by work-study money and could only hire work-study students. The library was full of them. When I went to school work-study jobs were limited to a max of 20 hrs/wk, and many were 10 hrs/wk. The library was a good choice b/c, esp if you were a shelver, you could be scheduled around your classes really easily.
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