Does Working While in College Help or Hurt Students

 

      A lot of college students today are trying to balance their education and employment, but most times it comes at a high cost. Some argue that working while attending college can help students build responsibility in things like time management and basic financial skills. Others, like myself, believe that holding a job while being a full-time college student can hurt more than it can help. College alone is like a full-time job within itself; it takes so much time and energy to succeed. Adding a job on top of all that can easily lead a student to feeling exhausted which also can lead to lower grades, and missing learning opportunities like staying on campus for tutoring or office hours with the instructors. While it’s true that not every student has the financial freedom to stop working, CBC should step up to help them focus entirely on their studies without having sacrificed their wellbeing.

Image credit: Academe Magazine (AAUP),"Recognizing Reality: Working College Students."

            The reality is that many college students aren’t working for career experience, they’re working to survive. When you consider attending college and having a job at the same time, you might think that this is a great way for students to earn money as well as learn responsibility, but the majority of studies show that this could negatively affect students, academic performance. As Saddique et al. (2023) explain in their study, students who work over 15-20 hours per week are likely to have lower grades and experience more stress than students who do not work and can focus solely on academics. Saddique et al. (2023) also points out that long work shifts leave students with less time to sleep, which makes it harder to keep up with assignments. It’s easy to imagine how difficult it will be to manage your schedule with multiple jobs, homework, and final exams and as a result of that you may be losing many hours of sleep and experiencing a great deal of physical and emotional exhaustion. Even though some students try to turn in their work by the deadlines, the work is usually rushed because they’re just trying to finish, not actually learn the material. In the end, this leads to lower grade averages for students.

            I worked as an employee of Yokes in the deli area while attending school full time in the fall quarter. I learned quickly that working 15 – 20 hours per week was going to be extremely difficult to do well with school and parenting responsibilities. The exhaustion that comes with working has taken its toll and has made it very difficult to show up to class, get homework done and turn in assignments on time. Because of this, I believe there is no way to truly excel academically when you are spending that amount of time at work and not enough time learning your class material.

Image Credit: Fastweb, "Financial Aid Questions: Work in College or Go Full-Time?"

            Colleges are beginning to understand how difficult it can be for college students with jobs to stay in school and perform well. Ashley Mowreader (2024), from Inside Higher Education, reports that many students are at an academic disadvantage when they have jobs of twenty or more hours per week, as the cost of attending college continues to rise and as the number of students paying their own tuition increases, this will continue to increase stress for many students. Many students, especially those from lower income families, end up working long hours just to afford tuition and living costs.

            Mowreader shares stories of professors describing how they have seen the effects of being overworked themselves and then see their students suffering from it. Mowreader shared an example when one of his students would fall asleep during classes, but at the same time he was working nights to be able to pay all of his bills. Stories such as this clearly demonstrate that while taking on work may appear to be a smart decision financially, it can ultimately lead to exhaustion and lower grade averages for students. Therefore, CBC need to acknowledge this issue and provide better financial options, flexible schedules, and job opportunities on campuses which do not exhaust students, especially because this is the college most of us actually attend.

             Although some research indicates that work study may be beneficial for students, it is important to note that not all jobs are created equal. Katerina Kroupova and her fellow researchers completed a large-scale meta-analysis (Kroupova et al., 2024) that examined the effects of student employment and noted that many of these studies have found that working during college generally causes a decrease in academic success, and that this is most common among students who work long hours. These researchers also indicated that an excessive workload leaves a student less time for studying, as a result, the student's grade point average and ability to successfully complete degree requirements will negatively be affected. Therefore, the more hours that a student works, the greater the negative impact on their education. From what the research suggests, jobs with shorter, predictable shifts like work-study or on campus tutoring fit better with a college schedule, while long shifts in retail or food service are the ones linked to stress and lower grades.

Image Credit: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, "Working Learners" report.

            Whether it’s paying rent to keep a roof on your head or buying gas to get to class or even paying for childcare to get some quite moments to study, all these real-life pressures make it nearly impossible to balance everything. I’ve seen this firsthand with friends I’ve made through my college experience. My lab partner in Microbiology had 3 part time jobs she relied on to support herself and her kids, all while taking 2 summer classes. That means that the amount of the content remains the same, but there is less time to cover it. As each of the exams passed, slowly but surely, she began to slip further behind academically, and by the end of the quarter, she was so far behind she just threw in the towel and did not even bother with the final. At this point, she felt there was no way to pass the class. It was truly unfortunate to witness all of the work she was doing to remain afloat, that she eventually burned out completely. While there may be working students who can balance through on-campus jobs, the reality is most of the working students have their plates too full, and the academic cost cannot be ignored.

            The truth is that many students don’t choose to work while in college. They’re left with no other option. The price of going to college has risen by more than thirty percent in the last ten years, but the median household income has barely changed at all, says Laura W. Perna and Taylor K. Odle (2020). The increasing distance between the cost of college and the amount of money families have is causing a lot of students to take a job, apply for student loans, or even do both so that they can continue to go to school. For some, it's taking a full load of class time and working as much as possible so that they can pay their tuition and cover their basic needs. Perna and Odle also points out that students from low-income families have it the hardest since financial aid hasn’t kept up with inflation. Students who have motivation and a drive to succeed in school will be set up for a failure, and this is due to the fact that the system makes it nearly impossible to full concentration on their education without working themselves into exhaustion. Financial stress has been one of the biggest reasons I had to slow down my own college path and seek out help when I need it. With the government shutdown affecting SNAP benefits, students that are also parents like me must turn to on-campus resources just to make ends meet. I’m grateful that Columbia Basin College offers a food pantry, but not every school does and not every student has the courage to ask for help. Even though CBC helps with food pantry, they could do even more for working students, especially parents, by offering more online classes and flexible class times. Not everyone can make it to campus during the day , and online options make a huge difference for people with kids. CBC could also create more easy on campus jobs like the library help, stocking, filing, or short janitorial shifts that are only a fewhours long and don’t leave students worn out.

Image Credit: Women's Health Research Institute, "Mental Health on College Campuses."

            After looking at all the research and from what I’ve experienced myself, it’s clear that balancing school and work is harder than most people think. Saddique’s study shows how working long hours adds stress and lowers academic performance. Kroupova’s research pointed out that the pressure of holding a job while studying full time can lead to feeling drained, especially for students without support systems. Leonard, Akos and Hutson had different perspective, showing that work study jobs can actually help students prepare for their careers, but those opportunities are limited. Then there is Aliya Liu's piece (Inside Higher Ed) about how we have to be doing a lot more for our working students by offering flexible programs and other campus resources that will assist these students. To be honest, I somewhat agree with all three articles. The truth is, it depends on the situation but for most students, especially parents like me, working while in college often does more harm than good.

            As I was researching this topic, I realized how many resources already exist to support students. I just didn’t know about most of them. My own college, Columbia Basin, offers over a million dollars in scholarships through the CBC foundation each year. There are also programs like iGrad, the Washboard, and the College Success Foundation that connect students to scholarships based on financial need in that field of study. These kinds of opportunities can make a real difference for students who want to focus on school without overworking themselves just to afford tuition. But even with these resources, CBC could still improve by offering better food support on campus. A lot of students walk around nroke and hungry, going to events just for a free pizza because the vendors on campus are too expensive. Instead of paying outside vendors, CBC could bring back a cafeteria and offer healthier, affordable food options for students who spend all day on campus.

Image Credit: Barton Careers, "Grad School vs. Work: Weighing the Pros and Cons."

            At the end of the day, college students shouldn’t have to choose between keeping a job and keeping up with school. I’ve lived it, and I’ve seen what happens when working too much takes over your time, energy and focus. All of these studies are saying basically the same thing, when students are working long hours, their grades, mental health, and motivation all start to suffer.  I understand that many students don't have that luxury of simply choosing not to work.   I strongly believe schools and communities should offer more support to students who are unable to make it without a source of income. A lot of us are grateful for programs such as Work-Study or the food pantries. Most of us wouldn’t even have been able to attend without the support of Financial Aid, and Scholarships. However, I truly believe we could do so much more. That's what college should be for, learning, and building your future, rather than just struggling to make it through each day.