Working while in college shows that you have a great work ethic and gives you a unique perspective on the college experience. I personally work at a bar, intern, work at tradeshows, and a college student. I consider myself to have 4 jobs, because being in college is a job all in itself, and you don’t even get paid for it!
You do not get much sleep. A typical work week for me goes from Monday-Saturday, only taking Sunday off so I can get my life together for another week of complete chaos. Counting school, I work anywhere from 40 to 60 hours a week, with little time for sleep since my jobs end up being anywhere within the 24 hours of a day. There have been many times I have left my bar job, spent 2 hours doing homework, then gone to my internship without sleep for over 24 hours. It takes a toll on your body and can be dangerous, which I have learned first hand.
You do not get to be very spontaneous. If you look in my planner, I have my dates booked out for about 3 weeks in advance. I sometimes have friends call and tell me they are all going to a party tonight, and my answer is, “I needed to know this 2 weeks ago so I could request off of work!” It makes it very difficult to have a social life and make times for the things that you enjoy doing. I have to plan out every little detail of my life, including when I am going to sleep, eat and do my homework.
Having this much going on in my life makes my priorities a little different than the student who sits next to me in class. The hardest part about being an intern is the fact that even though it should be my first priority behind my college work, it is not. A lot of students are blessed to live with their parents, who pay for everything, or have someone else financially supporting them so they can excel at beginning their career. I do not have that luxury. I live with two other girls and pay every single one of my bills. They only thing my dad may pay for is gas money to run our dog to the vet. Now I am not complaining or saying my dad is a bad father by any means, I have chose this lifestyle because I was raised not to depend on anyone or anything. If you want something, you work hard and earn it yourself. Working this hard is rewarding, but it comes at a cost and you have to make sacrifices which gives you a different college experience than the sorority girl who parties 4 days a week because their parents pay for everything.
The number one downfall of 4 jobs is the stress that comes along with it. There are never enough hours in the day to go to work, eat, go to class, take a nap, go to your other job, and make it home in enough time to take a shower before having to do it all again. It is beyond easy to get overwhelmed and I have multiple times. I have been hospitalized twice now for dehydration because I was so busy working, I didn’t think to take a drink of water for a few days.
Being a working college student in the 21st century is not an easy thing to do. You don’t get to have as much fun as your classmates and you have to make sure you have your priorities in line. Everything I have been doing has been extremely valuable and helped begin my career. Even though I do not know what I want to do in regard with my career, using all these tools will help me make the decision I need to be able to be successful. The most useful thing I have learned from working and school is time management. I have failed at it multiple times while being in my internship but it has been extremely beneficial to teach me. I was able to fail in a position that was able to help me learn and grow instead of failing and be fired. As my career evolves and my professional life begins, I will be able to use everything that college, work, and my internship has taught me to be able to be successful.
