College students juggle many responsibilities during each semester. One major responsibility some have is to work off campus. There are different reasons for a student to choose a job that is off campus rather than on campus. Perhaps it may pay more, or it could offer scholarship assistance to help students pay for school. Whatever their reasoning may be, many college students work on top of their other responsibilities such as class, clubs, and sports.
“Working an off-campus job made me learn how to manage my time a lot better,” said Van Harrington, a student at Olivet who also plays on the baseball team.
Harrington currently works at Amato’s Pizzeria in Aurora, IL as a pizza delivery driver. He works three nights a week and his commute is about an hour. He said there are two reasons why he decided to work an hour away.
The first reason is because he has been working there for two years and an hour is not that bad of a drive. The second reason is because his friend got him the job and he loves working with all of the people there.
His main reasoning for getting a job while in college is because he needs money to pay for school and wants to save up for a new car.
Harrington said there are three main struggles he has juggling work, baseball, and school. The first one is that he struggles to make time for homework. The second struggle is that he rarely has time to relax and rest during the day. The last struggle is that he has trouble finding days to pick up extra shifts at work.
He explained that the distance of his job from school makes it tough due to the commute, but the advantage is that he has loyal customers who request him to deliver their pizza to their homes.
The Bourbonnais area has many great job opportunities for college students. One place that offers jobs specifically for college students is McDonald’s. College students that work at McDonald’s have the option to apply to the Archways to Opportunity program to get tuition assistance. Students obtain this assistance by working at least 90 days straight for the same franchise, including the time they fill out the application. They also need to have a good relationship with the franchise operator and work at least 15 hours a week. Once they get accepted into this program, they receive $2,500 a year towards their tuition. Students could also be eligible for $3,000 a year if they work at least 30 hours a week.
Working a part-time job as a college student off-campus has both pros and cons. One of the pros is that it can help students pay for personal expenses and tuition. Another is gaining experience in the workforce while receiving an education. These both help in finding a job after school.
Daniel Douglas, co-author of a 2019 Rutgers Education and Employment Research Center Paper, showed that students who work during college have higher earnings later in their career.
One of the cons working an off-campus job has is that it might conflict with a class schedule and might not be flexible to work around it. Another con is that if you are a student that is involved in extracurricular activities such as sports you might not be able to work at all.
Working a job off campus as well as pursuing a college education are two things that can be managed and can complement each other.
