Modern students seek financial independence and opportunities to receive practical skills from an early age. Nowadays more than 57% of students worldwide work part-time to cover their living and tuition costs as well as to satisfy some higher personal demands (Richmond par.1).
Working while studying helps students to realize their potential and develop crucial professional skills. Only in the working environment, it is possible to gain invaluable practical experience and knowledge. Apart from financial rewards, students receive necessary team-working, organizational, planning, time-management, leadership, and decision-making skills. They learn how to deal with real situations, take full responsibility for their actions, and efficiently interact with their colleagues.
A person who is engaged in a busy working environment also develops interpersonal, communicational, and conflict handling skills (Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills 79). Moreover, employers are more favorable to those who already have working experience after graduation, especially if to speak about relatively prestigious positions (Wignall 21).
At the same time, working while studying entails many challenges. A student will face pressure and need to achieve the balance between work and studying process. The quality of his or her studies might deteriorate significantly, as well as social life. A working person faces the risk of nervousness and tiredness, which may affect his or her ability to retain and process information at the University. In some cases, over-exhaustion may even lead to health problems (Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills 78).
Thus, it is up to the student to decide whether he or she can combine studies with working. Working while studying might be exhausting and stressful, but it brings significant benefits to young people and facilitates their finding in the modern economically unstable world.
Works Cited
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 2013. Working While Studying: A Follow-up to the Student Income and Expenditure Survey 2011/12. Web.
Richmond, Leone. Student Part-time Work Increases. 2013. Web.
Wignall, Alice. The Guardian Postgraduate Guide. London, UK: Guardian, 2012. Print.