For most, work is 9 to 5 arriving in the morning and leaving in the afternoon after a long day of work. Dinner is made or bought, and the rest of the night is spent resting or socializing. So, when adults hear that students only work three to six hours a day, it is blown off. But what they fail to realize is that students have seven hours of school before work in the afternoon.
“One of the most challenging parts of working that much is working closing on a school night, I’ll close and have a rough shift on a school night and then have to wake up the next morning and go to school,” senior Brendan Reilly said. “And then maybe I’ll have a test that morning, or just a rough line-up at school.”
Reilly works about 30-35 hours a week on average as a trainer at Freddy’s, on top of this, he is in the Lewis and Clark program and at school for the remainder of the day. This makes simple assignments difficult to keep up with, along with a social life and spending time with family.
“Working every day has really put me behind on school work, I just don’t have time for it so I definitely have some catching up to do,” Reilley said.
And although some may avoid working such extreme hours during the school year, sometimes it’s not a matter of choice. There are ways to balance both work and school, students just have to be real with themselves and what they will be able to do.
“I would really try to find a balance, don’t overwork like I would,” Reilly said. “Stick to 20 to 25 hours a week, I really wouldn’t go over that. Because once you hit 25, it’s just really a lot, especially if you are taking hard classes. It’s just really not worth it. I would pick and choose between hours at work and hard classes because juggling both isn’t realistic. I also sometimes try to prioritize one over the other, and make goals in my head so I can focus on one thing.”
While school can be hard to balance with work it can help students learn a plethora of skills. This includes time management, money management and the ability to problem solve in real world situations.
“I would say, it has really prepared me for the real world, like a lot of stress and running around, and I think that will prepare me for what will happen when we’re adults,” Reilly said.
