Is it good for college students to both work and study?

I have been asking myself that question ever since I met a lady working in customer service at the Bank of America three months ago. She recommended that I should focus only on studying and should not take any part-time jobs because it would distract me from doing well in college and would make me get bad grades in classes. She also said bad grades would lead to possibly not getting a college degree, and lower my chances to compete with other candidates in applying for a job after college.

Those words had stressed me out in the two weeks after our meeting — especially because it happened right at the time I was ready to start work as a staff writer for the college newspaper. I always want to make the best decision for every situation with as little risk as possible. This situation is most important because it would make a huge impact on my future, and I did not want to take any bad risks.

After I asked my family, my friends and my professors for advice, however, I figured out that working also brings many potential advantages for students.

First of all, working students can learn the way to tackle their own financial situation independently. With the amount of earnings, they can pay daily expenses like gas, fees, foods and clothes themselves.

In addition, some college part-time jobs are related to a student’s major and future career. Therefore, students could gain a lot of experiences for their future work.

Finally, working while in college is a great way to help students learn how to react to and communicate with people, show respect to colleagues and to be well-trained for the workplace.

Nonetheless, students must be careful for the drawbacks mentioned above such as bad grades and distractions. There are some others problems like money’s lure, tiredness, stress, etc.

Students who believe they can handle the two at the same time should give it a try. There are certain advantages, especially with college part-time jobs.