People say that part of the college experience is being broke all the time. But constantly being broke, working several jobs and managing school can’t be healthy either. Wondering how you’re going to pay for college or meals shouldn’t be the first thing on your mind when you wake up.
But for many of us, it is. Or, at least, it is for me. I work two jobs currently while searching for a better paying job that will take me with the lack of experience I have. While we’re in college, most of our options are retail and fast food. If you have better options, great! But honestly, most of us are stuck in jobs that don’t pay well, working while we aren’t in classes and sometimes even working multiple jobs to make ends meet.
Why isn’t this healthy, Amber? Well, first of all, it’s bad for your academics. I can speak to that myself. I’m constantly working, so I barely have time to eat, sleep, go to classes and do homework. This puts me behind in my classes, already putting me at a disadvantage. Second, your brain needs a break from time to time. You can’t always be running around doing everything at once. And worrying about what your next paycheck may or may not cover isn’t helping your brain to calm down for a second.
Only getting paid once a month through Wittenberg makes it hard to see the rewards for the effort you’re putting in, which also doesn’t help. Most jobs pay either weekly or every two weeks. This gives you a chance to see how what you’re doing really impacts your wallet. But college itself is a full-time job that you’re paying for. You need to be able to put in the effort for your classes so you really get your money’s worth out of it.
By working a second, third or even fourth job, while it may help with financial security, isn’t giving you the opportunities you need to do your homework. Not to mention the fact that you’re going to be exhausted all the time. Plus, many on-campus jobs don’t give you the experience you are going to need in your field when you graduate, making it harder to get the job you want.
And jobs that do offer the experience you need, which are usually off-campus, require a degree and certifications you may not have. Not to mention, if they don’t require experience or a degree, they often don’t work with college students’ schedules. This makes it hard to gain any experience in your field so that you can get a good paying job, adding stress to your life.
Financial insecurity leads to a lot of stress that can become anxiety, all of which is bad for your mental and physical health. Constant stress leads to a weakened immune system in the long run, because our bodies aren’t made to be in constant fight or flight mode. The constant stress can also make it hard to sleep, which can make you irritable and lead to depression or anxiety or other mental illnesses.
In all, working yourself at full throttle all the time is going to impact your life in more ways than you think. You don’t get to work on homework if you’re constantly working, and you don’t really have time for sleep if you’re overworking yourself. Remember to take breaks and let yourself breathe, even if only for an hour a day. I’ll make sure to keep reminding myself of that, too.
