Should I work while being a college student?

Hi Reann!

Working while in college can be beneficial in a number of different ways:
- it can provide income
- it can provide a needed distraction from school and studies
- it can enable you to learn more about the career area that you are pursuing
Here are tips from someone who has figured it out and may be able to help:
https://www.unigo.com/in-college/college-experience/creating-a-workschool-balance-a-college-student-perspective

Best of luck! I got through college beginning at a community college while working several part time jobs including: mowing the college campus, driving a cab, driving a truck, setting up for events on campus. I succeeded - and so can you.

Let me know if and how this helps. Keep me posted. I would like to follow your progress.

Hey Raeann!

I completely feel sympathetic towards you and It can be really tough to work and go to school. Lots of stress is placed on you since work naturally takes a lot out of you. I think you should first do one semester without a job to see how much coursework you can take. There's no point in doing earning some small income but not doing well in school. If I were you, the University usually offers student positions that pay well and feed you (my University gives us food credits so that meals are basically free). Especially at cafeterias, the employment positions there are usually pretty good for student (usually better than retail or other places).

I would also look for internship opportunities and research positions. It gives you great industry experience while helping to pay for college. Good luck!

During my 40+ years in HR and networking training and coaching, I have found that there are basically two types of resumes that one can use effectively:
- A chronological resume
- A focused functional resume

A chronological resume is one that is a historical laundry list of what you have done, including such information as:

Company name
Title
Dates of employment
Short description of duties

Education
School(s)
Subject or Major
Date of Graduation

This historical laundry list would include paid, non-paid, volunteer, intern, etc. even though it might not relate to the position to which you are applying or inquiring about.

A focused functional resume is one that is focused on the position to which you are applying or inquiring about and would contain such information as:

Objective: Use my skills, abilities, and experience to assist your organization in achieving its goals

Work Experience:
- list in bullets only the significant experience that you have had regardless of whether it was paid or unpaid or volunteer or intern, etc. You could pick up the relevant information from a job posting or a job description

Education: list the relevant training and degree without listing the name of the school or the dates of your training

The chronological resume can be built as you go along, but the functional resume is one that you put together based upon the position involved, as it is focused on that position.

I have had people use this format and gain jobs using a hand written pencil on lined yellow paper draft - as that is as far as we had gotten. The purpose of a resume is to enable you to organize your thoughts and present a short description to get people to invite you to learn more. It is like when you go to the grocery and they give you a sample of a product. They only give you a small amount to get you interested.

Let me know if this is helpful. Keep me posted. I would like to follow your progress.

It really depends on your personal situation. If you feel really confident in your course work I would recommend a work study program (which you can apply for through the FAFSA) But no amount of money now will make up for good grades later on!