The pros and cons of having a job while in school

One of the best times to really look at your career direction is when you are a junior or senior in high school. This can help you prepare for your degree and also will help you consider how to start thinking about your job search (networking etc). I recommend this article to anyone in high school or in college, Consider Pros and Cons of Working in College.

Here is a quote I’d like to point out from that article:  

Kaylor notes that “any on-campus job can provide [students] with the opportunity to learn professional skills such as communication (verbal and written), teamwork, time management, [and] customer service” while also providing opportunities to “build a professional network.”  – These skills are extremely important when you are searching for a job after college.

My career coaching client, Molly from NY, started her work study job in college during her freshman year – Two months after starting classes. She worked for a history department learning HTML to help them keep their website updated. She continued this job all 4 years and became very interested in this line of work. She looked forward to her time spent there and often stayed longer than she was paid, as she lost track of time. Even though her degree was in social sciences when she graduated, this wasn’t what she wanted to do. After some career coaching, to help her identify her ideal career, it became very clear to her that she needed to focus on the skills that she learned in her work study job and create her own web design business. Her degree was in an entirely different area, but her work study job led her to her ideal career. She never looked back and is extremely successful.

There are the pros and cons of having a job while in school. You have to make a decision that works best for you, but keep in mind what Kaylor notes, and how you never know where you will pick up the skills or interests that later help define your ideal career.

Hallie Crawford
Job Coach

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