The balance of work and studies is a
precarious one and requires an excellent
level of prioritisation, focus and drive. You
have to be willing to give up some of your
social life, and probably some of your study
hours, meaning you need to maximise on
your class time. Added to this, you will
have to become extremely efficient at your
job because employers will not take likely
to you skipping on your duties in order to
study. The stress levels are likely to build
up so you need a cool calm mind and the
ability to de-stress. Here is where your
friends and hobbies really come in handy. I
used my time in the gym to let go of the
built up stress levels.
Speaking of friends, they are going to have
to understand your priorities. It’s not that
your friends are unimportant, but those
friends who are most healthy for you will
urge you on to success in your attempt to
make money on the side. You should make
it clear that you are trying to improve your
life, and to that end you won’t have
unlimited amounts of time to chill. Good
friends will understand this. Similarly you
should understand this if any of your
friends say the same.
I think the most important aspect of all is
the actual choice of work. The most
common student jobs are waitering,
promotions, tutoring, au pairing, house
sitting, modelling and stock taking in retail
stores. My advice is that you choose, as far
as you have a choice, a part time job that
either contributes towards your experience
in your field of study or a part time job
that allows you to make money from
something you enjoy.
I tried my hand at everything from
bartending to tutoring to writing. My
undergraduate studies were in Economics
and Applied mathematics so there was not
much scope to grow my work experience in
that field, so I focused on the writing jobs
as I enjoy them the most. It most definitely
made it easier for me to juggle my workstudy paradigm.
It’s not all negative though. If you’re as
lucky as I was and find a way to make
money doing what you enjoy, every new
project will bring smiles. Plus, your
pockets will be a fair bit fuller, and who
wouldn’t want that?
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