Mortgages and Money Blog

Working while studying is a good idea to learn new things and develop your skills. It is not just about the academic skills, but also soft skills that will be valued a lot when you later work professionally or start a business. But as part time jobs also mean more responsibility, students often find difficulties in balancing between their study and work. For sure, there are more to consider, manage, and sacrifice. But part time jobs really help you to learn the steps ahead earlier. They can be good for your resume too. Here are some tips to help you find the middle point between study and part time work.

1. Plan your time well. There should be no conflict between study and work. Once you know your class schedule, you can make arrangement about the work shifts and study schedules. It is not easy to be discipline with time, but that is the important thing you learn when taking part time jobs. Set the time, and try your best to finish all on schedule. Of course it does not need to be that strict. Some people do better with “spontaneous” scheduling, some can not. The point is to fulfill all your responsibilities. Make evaluation. When every college task is finished on time, when your grade does not go worse, and when you still get praises at the work place, then it means you are doing all right.

2. Be efficient and flexible. Part time jobs can take from 18 to over 30 hours per week. You lose that much for study and fun time. There is no way to keep the days run the same. What is possible is to learn to be efficient and flexible. You need to understand about the ’sacrifices’ you have committed to. It is not necessarily so, but it is really about better time management.

By being efficient, you can think of bringing your text book or small notes during commuting and read them while waiting, or focusing on one work at a time so that it finishes right at the time and you can move on to the next task. If you know the schedule is strict, then get prepared for the day. By being flexible, you can think of doing what you like and need to do in unplanned but still controllable manners. You have to let go some things, for sure. But they can be offset pretty well if you love what you do and try to be flexible. Part time is not killing you.

3. Keep your body fit. Eat good food, do enough exercise, and take enough sleep at night. Now it starts to sound like health tips. But this is just the general rules of long term health we all need to know. What is worrying is that students often forget this, especially when they live out of the home. Make sure you maintain enough nutrients intake and exercise routinely. They will keep you fit all day long to do the tasks. Take enough sleep so that you can concentrate and feel energetic until the end of the day. Avoid junk foods, alcohols, other junk drinks like soda, and greasy foods. Take enough vegetables and fruits. They will cost you cheaper too in long term.

Alex Wu operates a classifieds website that lets people advertise, build groups, and connect. He hopes to create an active environment for businesses to place their part time jobs.

Taking part time jobs while studying at high school and college? Why not? That is a good idea to practice your soft skills and maybe academic knowledge as well. Now with the intense influence of Internet, students can find many part time jobs online. The chance is not limited to offline jobs anymore. You can find many new jobs on the web as many companies and Internet entrepreneurs also need part time employees to help with their business operational. Well, in fact part time employees also bring advantages for their businesses. They have wider selection of people to recruit, so that it is easier to get the best talents.

Also, they can find the most competitive rate in the market. Students just have good opportunity to do something they like and earn money. There are many part time jobs for students such as child care, house cleaning, tutor, personal assistant, administration work, web designer, public relation, programmer, tour guide, book keeper, writer, editors, photographers, store keeper, and else. You can basically do any job that is available in your community, job you like, or job that pays good enough. But students taking part time jobs also have more challenges than those who do not. It is not easy to keep the balance between work and study. However, the more you need money and realize the importance of finishing study on time, the better you should be able to manage your time. Two big tips for students who plan to do part time jobs: prepare yourself and avoid time conflict.

1. Prepare yourself from the beginning. Doing part time jobs is not an easy decision. Even though the job does not contract you and the pay is not that high, you can not treat it as you like. Responsible and reliability are the keys. Be ready for the time and opportunity cost you sacrifice for the chosen decision. Many people just want to take it on and off, find job when they need money and then go when they have got enough for the moment. What if you can do better than them?

Maintain good relationship with people and build network. Part time job should be treated as professional work. You never know what is waiting ahead. But by doing good since the beginning, you have better chance to get better job and higher pay. Yet you leave good impression for the employers. Be professional: finish the work on time, give notice period if you want to resign, be pro-active, be willing to learn new things, and have initiatives.

2. Avoid time conflict between your class, study, and work schedule. It is good to plan everything far ahead to make sure you manage them accordingly. Make priorities, but do not be afraid to tolerate what seems to be impossible. You will know from experience that you can do better than what you presume before if you are serious and motivated. Keep in mind that to whatever extent you need money, study is still the first to consider.

You need to finish the study on time to be able to do farther for yourself and your future. Time is everything, after all. Do not let the income from part time jobs drives you away from the first responsibility because it is just not worth it. Do part time jobs to your maximum capability, but do not push them.

Alex Wu operates a free classified ads website that lets people advertise, build groups, and connect. He hopes to create an active environment for businesses to place their part time jobs.