It is recommended that full-time students work between ten to fifteen hours per week in a paid job. Part-time jobs such as these give students the opportunity to earn some extra cash on top of their studies. However, some students exceed this amount and work full-time in order to provide for themselves, their education and their families, all while attending school.
It is a known fact that college alone is a challenge, but for those students who also work forty hours at a job each week, it can sometimes feel like a huge struggle. Immense stress and worry are familiar for full-time students doubling as full-time workers. Oftentimes, it is not easy to fit assignments, exams and group projects into an already demanding workweek.
This means high amounts of pressure to meet deadlines and create quality work, which sometimes calls for sacrificing sleep and nutrition. Like Erick Rodriguez, an SNU junior experiences, “Sometimes it is hard to get meals in when I have three classes back-to-back, and then I’m scheduled to work fifteen minutes after my final class.”
Time management is a common skill these students perfect. Tiffany Thomas, a senior at SNU, works full-time on top of her studies and is familiar with the battle, “My weeks are fully planned out. I have to make sure I have time to do homework, go to work, and get some sleep if I’m lucky.”
Many of the students who juggle two full-time commitments at once also have other things going on in their lives that require income from a full-time job. This is the case for Erick, who said, “I support my family, specifically my mother, with the job I currently have, and I also pay tuition.” For many, like Erick, school is just one of the many responsibilities on their shoulders. This added duty outside of work and school can make meeting deadlines for school much harder.
The full-time student with a full-time job has multiple roles and obligations. With so much to do within a limited amount of time, things can get overwhelming. These students are highly skilled in planning and organization as a result of their hectic weeks. It is safe to say they hold traits of bravery and commitment because what they are doing is not easy. Tiffany put it best when she said, “Everything can get super stressful sometimes, but at least I have coffee.”