It’s a balancing act

Going to school and working is an impossible thought for some people, however for others, it’s reality. 

Working and going to school is not for everyone but for some students it’s a necessity. Although it comes with some disadvantages, some students agree that the perks of working while going to college is worth it. 

Magaly Cortes, a sports medicine major from Rolla, is currently enrolled in 13 credit hours while working 35 hours a week at Walmart. Cortes thinks that it is not hard all the time to manage a job and school at the same time. 

“If I have a lot of school work in one week it can get difficult but most weeks I do not have much to do,” Cortes says. 

Another student, Denisse Delgado, an elementary education major from Hugoton, thinks that taking 15 credit hours is hard enough and waitressing makes it even more stressful.

 “It got pretty hard now that I’m in college because I take hard courses,” Delgado says. 

However, she knows that when she gets home from college it’s straight to homework until it’s time for her to go to work.  

Motivation plays a key factor for both these students when it comes to maintaining their grades. 

“Sometimes there are days that I want to slack off but I just remind myself why I am here and what’s in it for me in the long run,” Delgado says. 

Cortes could not agree more, however, it was a bit harder for her to find this mindset. 

“One time I drove to the Walmart parking lot and as I was getting out, I got a reminder about my test the next morning. I read it, got back in my car and called in so I could study. I got my A but I also lost six hours of work that day,” Cortes says. 

Cortes knows that after that day she felt successful but not so much with her job. She decided to stay motivated with both her job and school work soon after her paycheck hit her bank account.

Javier Victoria, a nursing major from Guymon, Oklahoma, believes that working 35 hour weeks at Walmart and keeping up with his 18 credit hours is a big challenge to overcome. 

“I am trying to stay in my courses but some days it’s hard to find the motivation to keep going,” Victoria says. 

He studies or does whatever he can of homework on his breaks or when he gets off of work at 10 p.m.

Money plays the biggest role for the students and their reasoning for getting a job. Delgado says she wants her own money so she can buy her own things. It is important for her to be able to say she went through college or bought her own car without her parents’ money. 

Meanwhile, Victoria just likes the idea of spending money. 

“I just like having some extra walking around money if anything,” he says. 

Eight hours of sleep is what is recommended for everyone but these students were quick to giggle when they thought about it. They went on to explain how it was more like six hours of sleep, sometimes less than that. Delgado and Cortes both agree that six hours of sleep is a good night’s rest while Victoria thinks that he is perfectly fine with only five hours. 

All three students agreed that time management was the biggest struggle that comes with working and attending school. 

“Time management basically covers everything from sleep to studying because you can’t study if you’re sleepy but you can’t study if you’re sleeping,” Cortes says.