Working while in high school to help pay for college
Is it a good idea to get an afterschool job to save money for college? Probably.
For decades, it’s been a rite of passage for many teenagers: the after school job. If you’re considering working part time in high school to help pay for college, we have some tips to help be sure it’s the right decision.
Good practice for college
Aside from the benefit of earning extra money, holding down an after school job is a good way to learn to balance the priorities in your life — things such as school, homework, job and family. Why is learning to balance priorities an important skill to learn in high school? Because you’ll be doing a lot of juggling in college. Besides classes and studying (and working, if you have a job), you may need to manage time for things like laundry and meals, working out, and student clubs or other extracurriculars.
Student first, employee second
As beneficial as a part-time job can be, it’s important to remember that school comes first. If your grades start to suffer because you’re spending too much time at your job, you may need to give up the job. After all, having extra money for college is helpful, but if poor grades prevent you from getting into college, what’s the point of having a job in the first place?
And speaking of being a student first, you might want to look for a job where the employer understands that your school work comes first. Of course, this isn’t always easy — the priority of most employers is to run a successful business, so naturally they want their employees to share that priority by putting their job first. But if you can find an employer who can afford to cut you a little slack when it’s finals week or you have a big project due, then you should hold on to that job as long as they can. (Read on to learn how finding such an employer gets easier in college.)
Go full time in the summertime
Many part-time jobs offer students the opportunity to work full time when they’re on summer break. This is an opportunity for you to really save money for college. For example, you can quadruple your earnings just by going from working 10 hours a week to 40. And if you’re lucky, the position might still be waiting for you next summer even if you have to quit working while you’re in college.
Keep on working through college
When you get to college, finding an employer who understands school comes first will be easy — the university you attend. Most universities hire student workers in a wide variety of departments. (As an example, ASU employs more than 11,000 students.) These student jobs are a win-win-win-win. The pay is usually competitive, the job is right on campus where you’ll already be spending a lot of your time, you can often find a job at the university in the field you’re studying, and universities understand that “student” is the first word in the term “student worker,” so they’re usually pretty flexible with schedules.
The payoff
These are only a few of the benefits of working while in high school. We could go on about how holding a job prepares you for the working world, helps you start building your resume and a professional network, hones your interview skills, develops a work ethic, teaches you about handling money, gives you some financial independence and provides opportunities to work with a range of different people. But remember, an after school job isn’t for everyone. Our suggestion: Give it a try. If holding a job just isn’t working out, you can always leave it. But if it does work out, it can open up all sorts of professional, financial and social avenues for you — as well as help you pay for college.