There is a diverse demographic of students at San Francisco state that range from many different ages, which is the beauty of state schools. It is seen as more accessible for the majority, however, with tuition hikes that have been effective most recently this semester; accessibility has become more questionable. There are a myriad of reasons behind why students work while pursuing a higher education and everyone’s story is different.
I had a classmate two semesters ago in my ‘Introduction to Sociology’ class that was a single mom of three kids and she could only make the three hour evening class since she worked full time. It was the only day she was available to attend school after work; the type of schedule that she’s been forced to maintain in order to provide for her children and herself. Another classmate of mine in that same course, worked an on-campus job because it gave her pocket money that she spent mostly on the things she wanted. The spectrum of why people provide for themselves is unique to them and their story to share.
I am a senior with a Sociology major alongside a minor in Business Administration. I am working towards achieving my law degree in hopes of better understanding the legal system we all follow underneath. Law school, and higher education in general does not come cheap. As someone who has known the career path I’ve wanted to walk down, I have begun working since I was 15 years old. It began more out of a desire for independence and a start to saving, but it eventually became a means to an end. I was lucky enough to get into a program during my initial years at community college that, at the time, supported me through tremendous financial aid. However, since transferring to SFSU I have had to pay for every cent of my tuition because I no longer qualify for any financial aid. Especially with the tuition hikes the challenge to balance life, school, and work is no easy feat. When it comes to creating a class schedule, in the past years I have taken more than 12 units each semester by leaning towards 15+ units to ensure that I graduate in a timely manner. But while working a lot and with the recent course cuts, it is much harder to find a more flexible schedule. It is a privilege to be receiving an education but simultaneously working to afford it does make it that much more difficult. It keeps me busy for sure and I question on many days if I am able to even have the mental capacity to sit down and contribute to the important assignments. Many days, I find myself struggling to stick to a schedule because my body craves rest above everything else. I work in urgent care at a hospital near me and the things that some patients come in with make for some great stories to share with others. However, working a 12 hour shift and then opening for an 8 hour shift the next day sucks out all the fun. While working in itself is also a privilege and generally having a job in this economy is luck, it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when doing things to fill my cup gets harder and harder because of the continuous effort being thrown into work and school. So much so that the two become entirely my life most of the time.
If you are a student who also works and balances school with it, it is by no means an easy path but it is a fruitful one no matter how overwhelming it can most definitely be at times. And even if you don’t feel like it, I promise you, you are doing your best and truly at the end of the day that is more than enough and all that really matters. I wish you strength.