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Bria White
Prof. Montgomery
WRTG-042
23 November 2015
Article: Working in College
Being able to go to college is a new and and important step in someones life. The
average freshman college student has been going to school for years and had to stay in school
each day until the bell rang. Now, one has the responsibility and independence to finally able to
set their own schedule for when they learn. This is great for some, but a downside for college
students is having to pay for each of their classes every year. Not all students can survive off of
their caregivers for money, so many students have turned to working while going to school. Due
to the rise of these working students, positive and negative effects of upholding these two roles
has come to light. People should become more concerned with this because with the rise of
tuition and living going up, the more students are having to resort to working. Working and
going to school can be stressful so it should only be fair to get as much information as possible.
This article will cover every aspect a future working college student is curious about.
Pros vs. Cons of Working:
Obtaining a job as a student can be tricky for college students because one has to balance
both work and studies. However, learning how to balance both effectively can definitely help in
the long run. Research shows,Based on their experiences, students are able to develop
teamwork skills and experience service quality delivery during hands-on work experiences,
which are qualities employers value in entry-level managers. (Schoffstal & Arendt 332) When
college ends, one is (hopefully) given a degree that can show future employers that someone is

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eligible to take on the responsibility the job entails. A degree is important, but if all a student
does is bookwork, how does the employer know you can handle real-world situations outside of
the classroom? Jobs like working at the university cafeteria or bookstore can tell employers the
experiences a person has interacting with people in a setting outside of class. One should also
look out for the type of job they know they would be good at. Jasmine Jones, a college freshman
at Eastern Michigan University, currently works for the schools Commons area which serves
food to the whole campus. She admits she would not mind working at a less busy job on campus
and says I would work at our student store because its more calm. That and there is only one
thing to do. Youre not all over the place. Although working in a likable atmosphere is nice, one
can also learn a lot from these busy jobs about how to work under pressure and how to use their
communication skills.
Of course, not everyone can handle working and studying at the same time. This is a
choice that is completely up to the person. Being a student with grades good enough to earn a
degree is a big responsibility and so is having a job. Some young people who had graduated high
school prefer going to school later and working before then to save up enough money to pay for
following semesters. This is called a Gap Year and is an interesting alternative compared to
immediately going to college after high school. Research on this year details Investment
activities during gap years can take the form of work that is relevant for future studies and/or the
career subsequent to university graduation. This includes behaviour that improves work related
skills, such as learning punctuality and good work habits.(Holmlund, Liu & Skans 2)It is never
too late to apply for college, and it might be best for some students to gather some money during
a Gap Year so they will not have to worry about expenses during the school year.
Programs:

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Finding employment can be very overwhelming already, but when one is a student with
varying free hours every week it makes the search even more difficult. This is why workin on
campus may seem more alluring to students because the employers are more considerate of the
students schedules. There are also more options on campus that will let students study on the
job. These are work-study jobs that are provided across America by the FAFSA (Free Application
for Federal Student Aid). An on-campus job is also a good way to make connections throughout
the college. Work-study programs were established in the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 to
help the future generations who needed to both learn and experience their respective fields
(Seligsohn) . However, due to the rise of working college students this program is not able to
help all students. Laura Perna elaborates While some of these students are rewarded work as a
part of their financial aid package, other students either do not receive work-study funding or
find such awards insufficient for to cover the cost of attendance. (16) This is obviously
concerning for students who need on-campus jobs. Having a job on-campus can help the students
with no transportation and limited time to go off campus. If a student looking for a job cannot
work on-campus, they will have to work off-campus.
Working off-campus is more than likely ideal for students who also live off-campus, but
for on-campus students the research states otherwise. Hamish Coates, a professor and researcher
of higher education states,
In recent decades, combining paid off-campus work and study has tended to be received
as a troubling situation driven by economic hardship and lack of government support that
resulted in students being distracted from their studies. Broadly, while off-campus
employment has been seen to have uncertain or even harmful effects on study, this is not
the case for on-campus employment, which research has shown to be positively related to

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academic outcomes.Hence there is less immediate need to explore the impact of oncampus employment. (54)
This information proves that working on-campus is a students best bet into securing
money and getting good grades. Before a semester starts, it is smart to try and apply for a college
Work-study program as soon as possible for the best results.
Part-time or Full-time?:
A full-time job can bring in more money but would leave less time for studying. It would
be useless to not do well in a class and then have to take it over again, wasting more money. It is
not impossible to be a full-time working student, but there are other choices besides living at
school. Online college classes can also be of value to working students. However, it is a big
responsibility to take the time and pay attention to online classes as opposed to face-to-face
learning. Research shows that performance avoidance is negatively associated with academic
achievement, and can often lead to avoidance behaviors such as strategic withdrawal of effort,
self-handicapping and procrastination. (Xie & Huang, 125). One has to have a good amount of
dedication, motivation and self-control to actually succeed in online learning. If a college student
was not home-schooled prior to entering university, they may not be fully ready to handle this
type of learning. Usually, students who work full-time are in graduate school, so this may not be
the best choice for students just starting their college experience.
Doing part-time work would be much easier compared to working full-time and would fit
better for undergraduates who are still getting used to taking college level classes and
understanding the workforce. A part-time job would give a student more freedom, mainly to
study or do other things. Jasmine J. the working college freshman said Ill always find a way to
make it work. When I asked her how she handles a part-time job and school work. Sometimes

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I have to attend study tables later in the night because I work in the afternoon, but I get it in.
This is where motivation comes into play. No matter if the job a dedicated student chooses to
have is full or part-time, if they need to get anything else done they will find a way to get things
done.
What does your college do?:
Jasmine is apart of Eastern Michigan Universitys CAPS (Counseling and Psychological
Services) Program. This gives students at EMU a chance to pay off half of their room & board
for a semester by working for the university. This program also goes hand and hand with the
PASS (Promoting Academic Skills and Success) Program which makes it a requirement to go to
study tables for a certain amount of hours each week. I asked if the programs helped her and she
said yes, not only because of it helping with college expenses but, Because of the study tables, I
actually learn in the study tables and it helps with my studying habits a lot. Eastern Michigan
University is a college that does offer programs to help its students who need financial support
and study help. A college that has programs like these should definitely be a determining factor
for incoming college freshmen.
Experience:
Not everyone going into college has the same background in work experience. Some
people worked in high-school and already know how to balance a part-time job with school,
others may have never worked any type of job a day in their life. This can greatly affect the
success someone can have with being a working student. It would be greatly recommended that a
student who has never worked would start with a part-time job, because they need to know
themselves that they can handle the possible stress to come along with this. I worked during my
senior year of high school and learned a lot about myself, not only as a worker but a student as

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well. I could not put off homework or studying like I usually did without a job. I had to set up a
specific time for each day when I would do my homework and study. I sometimes had to
sacrifice eating lunch with friends by going to the library for studying just to keep up with my
classes. It was a big adjustment but my productivity went up. My own family could tell that there
was not a day I was not busy. Because of this experience, I at least know what I need to do if I
need to work as a college student. Other students do not have this knowledge which could be a
hindrance. Working in high school is a good way to test out the waters of becoming a working
student in college. Youth themselves think that employment helps them to develop a wide range
of beneficial attributes, such as the capacity to take responsibility, develop time management
skills, overcome shyness with adults, and handle money. (Mortimer). Having these types of
traits at a high school grade level can make it easier to work not only as a college student but as a
future employee in the workforce.
Jasmine was asked what type of work she did before college and all but one of them were
part-time and during the school year except a full-time job during the summer. I asked what type
of skills she learned as a high schooler that helped her become a worker in college and she said,
I was taught savings skills, it became easier to find a job since I had work experience already. It
built my resume, made me become more responsible and improved my time management and
social skills. Working while in high school can definitely help a persons workmanship, but if
anything it would be wise to get a job during high school to let employers know that the
experience is there. It can get harder to find a first job as a college student if not recommended
from at least one formal job.
Working while going to school is a tough decision in itself. It can be tiring and sacrifices
might need to be made, but making the choices best for oneself can make things easier. It is

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completely possible to do if one thinks through their options and makes a plan. Education is
important because it can give a secure enough job where working at a campus store for life will
not be necessary. However, also remember that these jobs can help with future work experiences
as well.

Work Cited
Coates, Hamish. "Working on a Dream: Educational Returns from Off-campus Paid
Work." Taylor & Francis Online. Journal of Education and Work, 30 May 2013. Web. 16
Nov. 2015.
Holmlund, B., Q. Liu, and O. Nordstrom Skans. "Mind the Gap? Estimating the Effects of
Postponing Higher Education." Oxford Economic Papers 60.4 (2007): 710. JSTOR
[JSTOR]. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.
Jones, Jasmine. "Being a Working Student at Eastern Michigan University." Personal
interview. 30 Oct. 2015.

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Mortimer, Jeylan T. "The Benefits and Risks of Adolescent Employment." The
Prevention Researcher. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 22 Nov.
2015.
Perna, Laura W. "Understanding the Working College Student." American Association of
University Professors,(2010). Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
Schoffstall, Donald G., and Susan W. Arendt. "Benefits and Challenges Encountered by
Working Students." Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education 26.1 (2014): 332.
Routledge. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
Seligsohn, Andrew. "A Brief History of the Federal Work-Study Program." Campus
Compact. KPMG, 2012. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
Xie, Kui, and Kun Huang. "The Role of Beliefs and Motivation in Asynchronous Online
Learning in College-Level Classes." Journal of Educational Computing Research 50.3
(2014): 315-41. Sage Journals. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.