College in itself feels like a full time job, so when you have another job on top of that, it can be hard to tread the waters. Whether they are working just to build their resume or because they have to support themselves, it is difficult to balance being a full-time college student as well as work a job. With the assistance of the Glenn Gibney, Georgia Southern’s director of career and professional development, as well as advice from other working students, here are some tips on how to navigate college while working a job.
Prioritize
“You have to make sure that your priorities are set up” said Senior Angel Paul, double major in marketing and linguistics.
Prioritizing comes a lot easier when you are organized. Gibney suggests even getting a planner to help with time management. He said that he uses both an electronic planner as well as a paper planner to ensure that he is well organized and knows what he needs to do first.
For example, say you have an exam coming up within the next week, but you also have to work three out of the five nights that same week. Keeping prioritizing in mind, you could plan to study every day before work, but also study extra hard on the nights that you do not have to work, that way you are making your money as well as making good grades.
Keep your Mental Health in check
Along with your job, you have classes and homework and extracurriculars such as a club or organization. This can be mentally draining and incredibly stressful. Gibney said that it is so important to learn how to manage stress, especially when in college. Be sure to exercise, eat healthy and get enough sleep.
Additionally, be sure to remember that there is life outside of college and work–hang out with your friends and get out of the house,college or work environment.
Always be sure to listen to your body. If you feel mentally drained and exhausted, it is important to give yourself a break so that you will not grow to resent your job or going to college.
College should come first
Jared Lanton, sophomore psychology major, said don’t try to leave room for work when making your class schedule. He suggests trying to even out your classes and just work when you can.
Although this might be a difficult thing to do being a college student, you need to remember that you are here for your education. If you need certain classes but do not want to take them because they will interfere with when you could work, you have to prioritize which is more important.
Lanton also said that getting an on-campus job helped him a lot when it came to his job working with his class schedule.
Gibney added that “the fact that you are working while in school is actually a great thing from an employer perspective.”
Overall, being a working college student can be difficult, but if you use these tips, it may make juggling the two a little easier.
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