Should You Work During College?

I was brought up to believe that a little hard work never hurt anyone. When I was in college, I worked in the college library. When my children turned 16 they knew that they would need to get a job. Sometimes working is about making money but sometimes it is also about learning the skills required to hold a job. And once you finish college, that will be an important skill to have. I have always told students that they should consider working a job in college, even if they don’t need the money. There have been studies in the past that have showed that students that have a job during college actually do better than those students that don’t have a job as long as they work a reasonable number of hours, generally 10 hours a week or less. A recent article in Inside Higher Ed supports this belief. Basically the article says that work study students are more likely to graduate college. Should you focus your efforts on your classes and doing well in those? Absolutely. But, if you can’t find 10 hours a week for a job while in college, you need to learn time management skills. Oh, time management skills; one of the benefits of holding a job in college. Is a job while in college for everyone? No, but for the majority of people, it might be one of the better things you do.