The Causes and Effects of Working while Attending College

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The Causes and Effects of Working while attending College
A high number of students, especially in higher education, attend college and work at the same time for various reasons. Given the high cost of higher education and competition in the job market, it is important for students to consider working while attending college and try to prioritize on the two. They have to learn how to balance the two so as not to fail in either because working and attending college at the same time can be quite draining and failure to balance the two can also result in dire consequences. While there are benefits that can be derived from working while attending college, there are also some challenges that students experience as well. The main cause of students working while attending college is their need to ease the financial burden that is caused by the high cost of education since they receive very little support from their parents and the government as well(Scholar Advisor). The other reason is their quest for financial independence (Gao). When students work to make their own money, they feel some sense of independence since they are able to make financial decisions on their own. Additionally, other students work so that they can be able to afford luxuries and pay for leisure activities or finance their expensive lifestyles. However, a minority of them work so as to gain experience in their field of study and desired career path (Jewell). Some students also work to avoid debt that comes from borrowing the student loan to pay for tuition. Working while studying will supplement the tuition fee, and therefore a student will only borrow a little amount, if any, to cover the tuition fee thus reducing the amount of debt accumulation.
One of the main benefits of working while attending college is that students become more competitive in the job market. The experience they gain while working and studying positively affects their future career. Employers will prefer employing someone who has some experience since this will save them the cost incurred and time spent while training the new employee on the job. In addition, these students stand a higher chance of getting positions at the management level after they graduate. Working while studying also clears the career path that a student wants to follow since working in a different job while still in college gives them a sense of what works best for them and gives them awareness on their strengths and capabilities (Scholar Advisor). They can therefore work on perfecting their specific skills and capabilities while still in college. Additionally, students who work and attend college at the same time are able to manage their time effectively because they have to learn how to balance between the...