While in college, many students find themselves getting jobs for different reasons. For some people, work is a necessity, and for others, it is more of a learning experience and a resume-building opportunity.
Students such as Darnell Miller, a sophomore in civil engineering, must work in order to support themselves during their college years.
“I moved from Maryland out of my parents’ house on my own, so I needed a job to pay for bills or basically live,” Miller said.
There are others who choose to work to have a little extra spending money. These students are also taking it upon themselves to prove to their future employers that they are responsible enough to balance work and school effectively.
Ann Miller Finch, a senior in fashion and textile management, said she falls into this category.
“I originally decided on my own to get a job so that I could have my own money to spend and not have to be as dependent on my parents,” Finch said. “Later on in college, I decided that it would be beneficial for me to have a retail job since I am majoring in Fashion and Textile Management.”
Finch has held a job at Anna & Alice in Cameron Village for the past year while keeping up with her studies.
Besides having extra spending money, having a job while in college has many other benefits.
For Emily Weaver, a senior in political science, having a job while in college has helped prepare her for the future.
“It has given me a good work ethic, improved my time management and allowed me to prepare for balancing multiple projects within busy and hectic weeks,” Weaver said. “I think working while in college is a much more valuable experience than only attending classes because that is not what the work force will be like.”
According to Weaver, she picked up a babysitting job that she does on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.
Nevertheless, working while also being a full-time student has its disadvantages.
“It can be time consuming and on a week with a lot of school work, I can get stressed,” Weaver said. “It also keeps you held down in Raleigh so you can’t take long weekends even when it is a school holiday.”
Weaver explained that work can change what your main focuses start to become.
“It makes your life more about focusing on school and work to get through the week rather than football games, leaving town for the weekend or going to dinner with friends,” Weaver said.
Both Finch and Weaver agree that working in college requires sacrifice.
“I have had to miss out on a few things in the past due to work,” Finch said. “Since I send in and make my schedule up for work at the beginning of each month, sometimes things come up later on like plans with friends or sorority activities that I have to miss because of work.”
However, there is a consensus when it comes to students at NC State that schoolwork should always come before their jobs and extracurricular activities.
“Since school comes before work for me, I never consider work when making my school schedule,” Finch said. “Instead, I create my school schedule and then figure out when I am available to work.”
Weaver tries to schedule herself to have most of her classes during the morning hours so that she can have her afternoons to work. She even has decided to take online classes in the past so that she could have a little extra time for work.
“I enjoy taking online classes when I have a job because I can sometimes work on the class while at work if I have free time,” Weaver said.
For Miller, his job almost requires him to take online classes, which can sometimes start to make things more difficult.
“Having a job pushes you to take online classes, but they aren’t always easy because you basically have to teach yourself,” Miller said. “With my major it’s not in my best interest to load up on online classes.”
