While I know it’s not for every student, when I started university I decided to continue working part-time outside of my studies due to various factors. Now, being well into my second-year of university, I’ve been introduced to a wide range of students, both those that work and those that never have. So, here’s a little article for all my fellow working students living the struggle to let you know I get you, and also a little heads up to the students who don’t work and seem a little confused about what working students have to deal with.
1. You don’t get a day off
One of the worst parts of being a working student is that days off just don’t exist. If you are a full-time student like me, you spend a majority of your weekdays on campus doing coursework and possibly even going to your part-time job after your classes. Then, on the weekend when other students are taking time to relax, catch up on coursework or get ahead, us working students are often scheduled at our jobs and not spending nearly as much time on coursework as we’d like to.
Even if we manage to have a day off from class or work, those days are spent frantically catching up on our massive loads of coursework and other things that have been put off because of the lack of time. Honestly, as a working student, there’s no such thing as a “day off.” I know personally whenever I have time off I end up having to clean my apartment because I haven’t had time in weeks or I’m completing readings from the month before or attempting to do assignments due much too close for comfort. Days off just become another stressful day of playing catch up because there just isn’t enough time.
2. You couldn’t survive if you weren’t working
Every time I mention to someone that I’m working while also in school—normally in response to why I’m unable to participate in an event on campus or meet up to study—I get told “well just quit if you’d rather be focusing on school!” While the delusion obviously stems from the fact that such individuals don’t have to work, it doesn’t excuse the fact that some of us couldn’t attend school and pay for the other expenses if it weren’t for whatever paycheck we manage to get.
I sometimes have to remind my peers that my OSAP doesn’t cover all of my expenses, even though I have a roommate that splits everything with me. Even while working, it’s sometimes impossible to afford the most basic necessities if I haven’t been able to work as many shifts as I need to for various reasons. Sure, if I didn’t have to pay rent, or eat, or have shelter, then it’s completely feasible for me to go to school and not work. But, until then, I literally can’t survive being a student without also working part-time, and I know I’m not the only working student who is in the same situation.
3. Some things have to give
The life of a working student generally means that something has to give, especially if you’re a working student who also lives off-campus like myself. During busy weeks when I have multiple assignments due, it’s very likely that I won’t have time to go grocery shopping and thus have to spend money on food on campus. Unfortunately, this is a reality because I just don’t have time to meal prep or go shopping regularly even though I’d like to. It’s also likely that my laundry and any other related cleaning in my apartment will be put off until my first available day of no work/classes.
This is just something that has to happen. My schooling comes first, and then my work because it’s what pays for me to live. Due to this, other things like cleaning, socializing, extracurriculars, etc. are often put on the sidelines. I’m sure I’m not the only working student that feels horrible having to choose one thing over the other. It’s always a constant game of “I want to do that fun thing, but if I do, I’ll have to take time off of work and I won’t get scheduled for enough hours to eat this week.”
4. Your friends are the best
Students who don’t work and can hang out with their friends regularly just can’t appreciate their friends the same way working students can. The friends of working students are some of the most understanding, caring people out there because they never get mad at you for choosing to work over hanging out with them. Often—but not always—these friends are also working students and have similar reasons for it as you do. You can all understand the struggles the others face and can support one another even if it’s months between physically seeing one another (especially if you don’t go to the same school). If you’re a working student who has a friend that will schedule hanging out with you around your schedule so you don’t lose time studying/working/cleaning/all the other junk you have to do, make sure you give them some love because they deserve it.
5. Your job is your lifeline some days
Everybody assumes that working while in school is the worst thing. Some days it can be, especially during weeks when it seems like every paper, midterm or presentation has been scheduled, you haven’t slept more than a few hours for who knows how long, and you can’t remember the last time you showered. But working is also a little ray of sunshine in your otherwise dreary schedule. When I go to work, I generally know what I can expect to deal with and what I’ll have to do. While there may be horrid customers (working in retail or the service industry means they are guaranteed), the routine and your co-workers transform it into a special time that makes having to step away from doing coursework a little more bearable.
While being a working student is difficult on it’s easiest day, us working students wouldn’t have it any other way. We know that at the end of the day, it’ll be worth it to have worked while we are in school and we can feel good about having supported ourselves through our education. While it’d be nice to not have to work and focus on our studies, that just isn’t on the table for us. So we make the best of the situation we’re in. In return, we get a little extra spending money every few weeks that we worked hard for, we have some great laughs with co-workers we would have never met otherwise and when the summer comes, finding a job is a little bit easier, especially if your job is a year-round position!
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