Megan Knudsen
March 7, 2011
Home(work)
A trending topic amongst college-aged individuals is the stress that comes from being a full-time student while simultaneously juggling a part to full time job.
“In high school, school and work wasn’t stressful. My school hours were always constant and employers were careful when hiring minors and giving too many hours,” said Chris Granison, 20, second year student at SPSCC and Kohl’s employee, “But in college, my class schedule changes every single quarter and my hours are longer at work.”
“I get around 20 to 30 hours per week, but it really depends on how busy the theater gets,” said Hayley Harris, 19, first year student attending SPSCC and Regal Theaters employee, “I work a lot of closing shifts, so I don’t have a lot of time for homework. Honestly, I skip class a lot more than I used to because I’m just trying to catch up on sleep.”
“In my experience, there’s really no difference in high school to college work load. The difference is in high school, I felt like I had to be there and I had to do the work whereas college feels more optional,” said Josh Shipley, 19, first year student at SPSCC and another Regal Theaters employee, “Managing work, class, and a girlfriend is really stressful because I feel like I have no time just for myself anymore.”
“My list of priorities differ from the way they are and the way they should be. My priorities are girlfriend, work, school when they should be school, work, girlfriend.”
“I’ve never really been a fan of school, but now that I have to pay for school by myself and work at the same time has really made me resent it. I’m debating whether or not I want to go back to school next quarter,” Harris said.
The students had some concluding words of wisdom for students who are also looking for employment.
“Make sure you know exactly what you want to do in school and work towards your degree. It sucks going to school when you don’t really have a specific direction and therefore, less motivation,” said Harris.
Meanwhile, Granison felt differently. “If you don’t know what you want to do, go to school because it will save time down the road and you’ll have a head start in life and the work force.”
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Megan Knudsen 