The Hot Mess

From Michael Stumpo:

It’s obvious – balancing school and work is stressful. Maintaining good grades in school requires at least 30 hours a week; another 20 to 30
hours are spent working – the rent doesn’t pay itself! Having spent the
past three years as a full-time student and part-time worker, I’ve
encountered jobs that help stabilize the two.

I once worked as a teller manager at a local bank while attending
school. These types of jobs are the worst – I was a slave to specific
hours of operation, and I was not compensated for travel time that
easily reached 6-7 hours a week. I now work as a freelance writer; this
is something I enjoy doing, and now I work from home. (The tax
write-offs are awesome!)

It also helps to have a job that mixes work with social life. Friday
and Saturday nights are typically “social nights,” so why not make
money having a good time? I have a friend that is a bartender; we
frequent his bar a lot, and he has a wonderful time earning money.
Another friend plays bass in two bands, not only does he make money
doing something he loves, but he usually gets drink discounts (what
great benefits).

Of course, professors can do their part to help us out. I’m not asking
that they change their entire curriculum to compensate for “student
workers,” but things can be done to alleviate our stresses. First, I
would suggest that they give students ample time to prepare for an
assignment – nothing is worse than being assigned something that is due
a week later. Second, if the course requires group work, allow us time
to meet during class. Too often I have had classes where my entire
group has a different work schedule. Some of the best professors I’ve
had in college adhere to these two principles.