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Essay: The Causes and Effects of Working while attending College

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  • Subject area(s): Education essays
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  • Published: 15 September 2019*
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  • Words: 940 (approx)
  • Number of pages: 4 (approx)

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The Causes and Effects of Working while attending College

A high number of students, especially in higher education, attend college and work at the same time for various reasons. Given the high cost of higher education and competition in the job market, it is important for students to consider working while attending college and try to prioritize on the two. They have to learn how to balance the two so as not to fail in either because working and attending college at the same time can be quite draining and failure to balance the two can also result in dire consequences. While there are benefits that can be derived from working while attending college, there are also some challenges that students experience as well. ​The main cause of students working while attending college is their need to ease the financial burden that is caused by the high cost of education since they receive very little support from their parents and the government as well(Scholar Advisor). The other reason is their quest for financial independence (Gao). When students work to make their own money, they feel some sense of independence since they are able to make financial decisions on their own. Additionally, other students work so that they can be able to afford luxuries and pay for leisure activities or finance their expensive lifestyles. However, a minority of them work so as to gain experience in their field of study and desired career path (Jewell). Some students also work to avoid debt that comes from borrowing the student loan to pay for tuition. Working while studying will supplement the tuition fee, and therefore a student will only borrow a little amount, if any, to cover the tuition fee thus reducing the amount of debt accumulation.

​One of the main benefits of working while attending college is that students become more competitive in the job market. The experience they gain while working and studying positively affects their future career. Employers will prefer employing someone who has some experience since this will save them the cost incurred and time spent while training the new employee on the job. In addition, these students stand a higher chance of getting positions at the management level after they graduate. Working while studying also clears the career path that a student wants to follow since working in a different job while still in college gives them a sense of what works best for them and gives them awareness on their strengths and capabilities (Scholar Advisor). ​They can therefore work on perfecting their specific skills and capabilities while still in college. Additionally, students who work and attend college at the same time are able to manage their time effectively because they have to learn how to balance between the two to ensure that they perform well in both. Studies have also shown that students who work while attending college are more dedicated to their school work than those who do not work because there are more mature and responsible (Gao).The other benefit of working while studying is that students are able to improve their leadership and communication skills, teamwork and can be able to forge healthy interpersonal relationships (Jewell 2). According to Jewell, students with work experience are offered a better package in terms of entry salaries once they graduate from college than those with zero experience.

​However, there are a few challenges that students who work while attending college face. One of the challenges is that they may suffer some health issues caused by fatigue since they do not have enough time to rest or sleep because they are either working or studying. Furthermore, they lack the free time to interact with friends and family, which can result in strained relationships, affecting their personal life negatively (Scholar Advisor). The main challenge is that working while attending college has a negative effect on the academic performance of students. This is attributed to the fact that the jobs usually limit the student’s access to academic learning resources, class schedules, class choices or the number of classes attended (Gao). Moreover, working students also lack enough time to review lessons and class work as compared to those who do not work. According to Smith, failure to properly manage and balance work and school can result in dropping out of school, which will be a waste of time and other resources on the part of the student. Moreover, even if it does not result in dropping out of school, it may increase the time taken by a student to graduate from college.

​Working while attending college has both advantages and disadvantages. From the discussion above, the positive effects of working while studying are more than the negative effects. Students should work on maximising the positive effects since they prepare them to be sufficient individuals in their future careers. They should, however, try as much as possible to minimise the negative effects which are discouraging and focus on making the best out of their situation, especially those students who work as a necessity. Working while attending college is advisable for students who are not able to acquire scholarships and are still willing to enrol for college despite the increasing cost of tuition in higher education. Furthermore, working while attending college enables the student to acquire a sense of responsibility and this will make them more appreciative of their efforts. Additionally, when students contribute to their own tuition fee, they become more engaged in their studies and put in extra effort in class activities. Ultimately, the ability to balance between the two depends on an individual’s organization and time management skills.

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