By By Samantha Tracey / Log Staff Writer
Published: Friday, March 23, 2012
Updated: Friday, March 23, 2012 16:03
Article from The Salem State Log
Full-time students at Salem State University experience both positive and negative effects from maintaining one or more jobs at the same time while attending a college or university.
According to a study done in 2008 at the University of Kentucky, just over half of all students who go to college work while they’re in school.
Some students have recognized an increase in their overall classroom performance, specifically due to developing better time management skills.
Talia Maihos, 21, a senior at SSU, is currently carrying 12 credits this semester while working three different jobs. She works as a waitress at TGIFridays in Danvers approximately 30 hours a week, and teaches dance at two different dance schools for a total of eight hours a week.
Maihos also dances for the Repertory Dance Theatre at the school for about five hours a week, and spends an estimated five more hours each week of her own time to choreograph dances.
This semester is Maihos’ first where she is working more than one job. She has been working at least one job since the second semester of her freshman year. With all the working, she has seen a difference in her schoolwork, but in a positive way.
“My grades are actually better,” she said. “I feel like I need to always be on top of things so I actually have to schedule time for my homework.”
Maihos feels that her busy schedule this semester has forced her to time manage even more efficiently. She doesn’t always do it alone, though.
“It takes a lot of energy drinks and coffee,” she said.
The two teaching jobs that Maihos took on this semester are at dance studios: the Youth Talent School and Maureen Macaro’s School of Classical Ballet.
Although they take up a good amount of her time and energy, Maihos feels those jobs are the most rewarding because she’s doing what she loves to do: dance.
“It’s such a rewarding job; it doesn’t even feel like work,” she said.
Heather Spring, 21, a junior at SSU, also started working three jobs this semester as well.
She works at Home Health Aid for an hour and a half on Wednesdays, teaches gymnastics at the Youth Talent School in Swampscott every Friday for three hours, and works as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) for approximately ten hours a week.
Along with working, Spring is carrying 15 credits this semester and is a nursing major. She takes one four-hour nursing course on Tuesdays, and two online courses outside of class. In addition to schoolwork, she also has to complete 16 clinical hours every other week.
This semester is Spring’s first time maintaining a job while in school. Like Maihos, she feels that her grades have taken a positive effect.
“I’m actually doing better,” she said.
According to an article from About.com, working in college can actually improve students’ time management skills and increase their grades. The article also stated that “this is a result of learning to organize and plan your study time effectively.”
Although some students benefit from the responsibility of maintaining a job, working while in school can also have negative effects on students.
According to a University of Kentucky study done in 2008, researchers found a strong correlation between working 20 or more hours a week and sleeping less, binge-drinking, and low academic performance.
Lucas Paradis, 23, a senior at SSU, has maintained an on-campus job since his freshman year. He works as a secretary at the help desk for the facilities department approximately 15 to 20 hours a week.
Paradis is currently holding a 12-credit course load and goes to school Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
“I usually go to work after class every day,” he said.
The department closes at 5 p.m., so Paradis has the rest of the night to go home and do his homework.
He has always worked while in college, but each semester brought him new challenges.
Up until this academic year, Paradis used to participate in the school’s golf team. He’d go to work in the morning, go to class, and then have golf practice until about 7:30 p.m. After that, he’d go home to shower and eat, and by the time that was done it would be about 9 p.m.
“Trying to do homework at 9 p.m. after you’ve been up since 8 a.m. just didn’t work out,” he said. “It was mentally draining.”
When Paradis first started college he said he was very focused on his schoolwork.
From his sophomore through his senior year, he started participating in golf tournaments every weekend. He’d usually miss class on Friday, and wouldn’t get back home until Sunday night.
“I’d be gone all weekend, and get back and realize I had all this homework to do,” he said. “It ends up piling up pretty fast.” Paradis is not the only student that has felt the stress of working while attending college.
Kevin Card, a Salem State student, has also felt the pressure. He works for the information technology department (IT), and music departments on campus and is also training to be a DJ at WMWM Salem.
“I was managing a 12-credit work load, but I recently dropped an 8 a.m. class, because three journalism classes and a literature class on top of all that work was just too much,” he said.
The stress of balancing schoolwork with working a job is not the only issue students’ deal with. They also have to be concerned with how many hours they are receiving at their jobs and being able to work enough to afford what they need.
According to Card, the IT department has cut hours recently and it has hurt him.
“It kind of stinks because I need those hours for grocery money,” he said, adding, “I can’t really do an off- campus job that wouldn’t allow me to study in the off minutes.”
Working in college doesn’t seem to be a choice that students have any longer. As tuition continues to rise, more and more college students must maintain jobs while attending class in order to afford their own education.
Article from The Salem State Log