Being a full-time student and working 4 jobs all at once
I work in a cafe from Monday to Thursday half past seven till two in the afternoon. Then, occasionally, I go onto an online meeting straight away after work. Take a nap, and wake up to work on my university essays.
I am a 19-year-old barista. On the side, I work on two paid research projects at Russell Group University and am a volunteer marketing intern at a legal podcast. Well, I also am a full-time undergraduate student.
This all started when I watched Elizabeth Fillips’ video “How I Consistently Study with a Full-Time Job: My Scheduling Formula” I remembered her saying she was working 5 part-time jobs and 2.5 degrees all at once. As someone who loves to jump from one project to another, that just sounds terrific to me! Elizabeth is someone whom I admire because of her working attitude and curiosity towards different subjects and discipline. At that point, I was wishing someday I could be like her…
When I decide on whether I should take up a job, I have one rule for myself – I have to love my work. If any work feels like it would bore me out of it, I would simply quit.
I always loved brewing coffee and the main reason I chose to be a barista instead of staying an at-home coffee enthusiast is simply that I can’t drink all the coffee I practice with. When I first started learning latte art, I would make three coffees a day just so I could practice the art. Then, I feel that three cups are not enough. At this point, why not just be a barista so I could enjoy making the coffee while getting some extra cash?
I take part in paid research projects from my university. I enjoy the flexibility and the style of remote working. I could just work on the tasks whenever I have time and do a bi-weekly meeting to update the progress. Delving into topics that interest me in an academic setting is always something I want to do. Even if this is not yet my mainstream income, it is rewarding to be paid for the work I did.
I also do volunteer work for a legal podcast, updating the social media accounts and website regularly when a new episode is out. I love managing social media, it’s fun and easy work for me so I don’t mind doing that. It’s a great opportunity for me to build my connections and do practical marketing tasks so that I would one day be skillful enough to earn from that.
Do I regret taking up so much work? I don’t know. I pretty much enjoy all of the work so it is difficult for me to decide which one I should do less. With all the coursework and studying on top of these responsibilities, it could be quite stressful. On some days, I think I am on the edge of a burnt out. It is the connection with my customers and the close bonded relationship with my employer that keeps it going. I am grateful that I have supportive employers who understand my difficulties and want me to flourish in the journey of exploring different careers.
However, this culture of quitting 9–5 and creating multiple streams of income could be toxic. There are many online videos telling everyone to acquire various ways of earning a living, more behind that is the hustle and hard work in building that up. You won’t wake up the next day becoming financially free, a lot of work has to be done to get cash flowing into your account.
I am still 19 years old and feeling lost about what I should do in life. Not sure where I am heading to. “Juggling 4 jobs? Sounds like a university student.”
