Pros and Cons of having a job in college

I’ve talking about my job a lot this semester, because it’s the first time I’ve had to balance school and work since high school. Deciding whether or not to work during school will be an extremely important decision you will need to make once you get here, and I thought I might give you the low-down on my experience so you might have an easier time.

After working consistently from the time I was 15 until two weeks before beginning college, I decided not to work my first two years at Transy. I feel that this was probably one of the best decisions I made for myself, as it allowed me to really be present on campus, get involved, volunteer, and focus on my academics. I didn’t qualify for work study, but having a work study job doesn’t interfere with school and campus activities perhaps as much as an outside job. I would probably recommend taking work-study if you qualify, but I can honestly say that I don’t think I would have been able to integrate into the Transy community as well had I taken a significant part-time job off-campus my first year especially.

That being said, I understand that some of you will have to take a job for financial reasons, and while I would be lying if I said it were easy, it’s doable. My job this year at The Reading Room, a speech and language pathologists’ office specializing in dyslexia, as a tutor in a special reading and spelling program has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my life, and I wouldn’t trade it. I have, however, had to learn to say ‘no’ to some of my on-campus activities; I have had to miss fun outings with my friends; I have had to learn to go without a couple hours of sleep here and there to get my school work done, but it has taught me a great deal of responsibility, accountability, and time management and has opened my eyes to an important field with which I had no previous experience.

Do I regret missing out on some of the fun of college this year? Having to cut down on my campus involvement? Yes. But do I regret taking a job? No, but this is probably due to the fact that I found a job I was passionate about and found internally rewarding. I’d say the first step to take if you need to find a job once you arrive at Transy is to visit our Career Development Center and have them help you find a job you can look forward to going to every day. Because let’s face it—school is stressful enough, who wants to leave a stressful day at school to go to a job you hate?

How people at Transy have helped me learn to make the best of a bad situation

Hi there!

I know, I know. I’ve been missing for a while. In the past two weeks I have tackled a 15 page research paper, drafted my Psychology study proposal, read over 300 pages, and studied for 2 tests, worked 8 days at my job, and volunteered with one of my campus organizations. Needless to say, with homework, a job, and other on-campus commitments, it’s hard to find time for a lot of fun and relaxation.

I was determined, though, to find one night of it, though, because one of my really close friends is about to graduate and leave me. I bought us two tickets to see a concert in Chicago on December 1st as his going-away present, and everything was set to go for our last hoorah before he ships off to law school. The plan was for him to fly us there (he’s a pilot and his dad owns a plane), but at the last minute, we found out that his Dad needed the plane to get to a business meeting. I was devastated. Not only would it have allowed me to spend some quality time with him before he left, but also it would have given me a temporary break from the stresses of school and work. It was probably for the best, because we both had a substantial amount of work due the next day, but I was still pretty down.

Seeing my disappointment, my Transy friends stepped up to help me make the best of this bad situation. One of my best friends, whom I never would have met had I not chosen to come here, decided we should have a fake concert anyways. We made a playlist that included a set for each of the bands that would have played at the real concert. We printed out fake setlists. We air-guitared, danced, and sang our hearts out in my apartment for an hour and a half, completely forgetting stress and let-downs, pending loss and life-worries. Though losing $120 for the tickets was tough to swallow as a poor college student, it was almost completely worth it to know that at Transy I have made friends who intuitively sense when I need them most and will be my light when the rest of life seems characterized by darkness.

Me holding one of the tickets that would have gotten us into the actual concert.

Me dancing and obviously having a blast if only for an hour or two before getting back to work.