Yes, You Can Work and Study: How to Balance Part-Time Work and Academic Studies
By Azra
Last year, I lived this charming life where I had five (part-time) jobs as well as a full-time course load. Interestingly, this was the year where I performed my personal best academically in my program. I rarely told people that I was working five jobs because, when I did, it really freaked them out. They assumed that I was crazy busy and really burnt out. But once I had found my balance and the right jobs, I was perfectly happy and stress-free (well, as stress-free as a university student can be).
As students, there are SO many great opportunities available to us. Right on campus, I work as a writer for this blog and as a tutor for two different writing studies courses. As a pharmacy student, I have gotten the opportunity to work at different retail pharmacies, a long-term care centre, and have also gotten involved in the development of an online tool for pharmacists. These opportunities are available to me because I am a student.
Time management, motivation, and understanding my limits allowed me to manage these jobs, but I definitely encountered setbacks when I was trying to figure out my perfect formula and have learnt a few lessons!
1. Find a job doing something you love
Have you ever heard that saying…if you find a job you enjoy doing, you will never have work a day in your life? Writing means more to me than I could ever describe, and all I want is to share my passion with other people. Working as a YouAlberta blogger has been a creative outlet for me, and when I write a post for the blog I never feel like I am working — I am just doing what I love! My work as a tutor for writing studies courses allows me to help other students discover their passion for writing. These may be jobs, but they certainly do not feel that way.
2. Work with people that you love
Coworkers are absolutely essential to making a job more enjoyable for you. In the past five years, I have had one job that I did not like. There were a few other factors that made me dislike it, but the main reason was my coworkers. My coworkers were perfectly lovely people, but I just never felt comfortable around them as I had at my other jobs. Because of this, I kind of started dreading going to work. I realized that I loved some of my jobs so much because I loved the people I was working with. If you and your coworkers mesh well, the job is 10x easier to manage.
3. Work where people are flexible
As a student, jobs do not work unless they are willing to be flexible or you are superhuman. It is very important that your boss recognizes that you are a student and understands (with proper notice) that adjustments may be necessary. It is also important that you are honest with your boss and yourself about the amount of time you are able to commit.
4. Factor in the commute
The jobs that work best are the ones that are easily accessible. A short drive, a brisk walk, or something right on campus is what I find easiest. Jobs that allow for online remote work from your own home make life even easier. Once winter and the busy exam season hits, a long commute becomes a serious pain!
5. Plan ahead
This is where time management is key. Start early and do not leave anything until the last minute. If you know you are going to be working a bit more than usual in a week, then ensuring that you do work ahead and have budgeted enough study time is essential. This mindset extended to my friends and family. I made sure that I had time for my friends and family by planning in advance so that I could coordinate my work and school schedules accordingly. For the most part, I think it worked quite well. However, when you take on extra responsibilities, I think you must be prepared that there are some sacrifices involved. You always can’t always do everything. For me, my boyfriend loves sporadic plans. Sadly, no matter how fun it might have been, I would usually have to force myself to say no because I had already planned and committed that time to completing my schoolwork.
6. Work where the experience is directly applicable to your future
As a student, school is my priority. It was hard for me to ever take a job seriously until I started thinking about how the job would be applicable to my future. Yes, I like working because I get paid, but what keeps me committed is the feeling that I am doing something important for my own self improvement. The two areas that I work in (pharmacy and writing), are the two areas that I hope I will work in for the rest of my life. This keeps me motivated and working hard!
7. If it’s not working, do not force it.
Work experience is invaluable, but I also think that you should not feel guilty for quitting a job that is not working for you. When you dislike a job, the job becomes stressful and feels like a burden. That makes it extra challenging when you also are managing coursework. If the income is essential, it never hurts to keep your eye on job postings in case you find an opportunity that is better suited for you!
8. Sleep!
If you are a university student, job or not, you are juggling a lot of different responsibilities. These responsibilities are a million times harder if you are not sleeping enough. Remembering to prioritize your sleep, allows you to be present for both your schoolwork and your job!
I often hear students lamenting about a job opportunity they turned down because they were nervous about their ability to manage it with their university workload. I absolutely agree that school comes first, but I also think working during school is completely possible. Personally, I love my jobs and I think they complement my education. You just need to find out the perfect formula for you! I hope the tips I shared help make committing to a job (or five) seem much less daunting and help with identifying the best job opportunities for you.
