Many students around the nation struggle to manage school and financial responsibilities. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to focus completely on school or work.
At a young age, the importance of receiving an education is preached to us. According to Zerquera et al., authors of the article “The Burden of Debt: Undergraduate Students’ Experiences With Paying For Their Education,” college students today incur higher amounts of debt to fund their postsecondary pursuits than previous generations.
With the obligation to pay for his bills while attending school, Damian Fernandez (senior, Communication Studies) said, “It [working while going to school] teaches you the responsibilities of life rather than being sheltered.”
Fernandez has been working since he was 16 and has managed to be an honor student throughout high school and college. Today, perhaps the bigger difficulty students have to face is staying on task with such pressures to be successful.
It can also be a hard choice for people to stay in college because of the adversity that life brings as well. When asked to give advice to students struggling with balancing work and school, Dr. Veronica Dawson, a professor in the Communication Studies Department, said, “Stick with it, education is something that can never be taken from you.” This is a powerful message coming from a former student who worked through all of her degrees to get to where she is now.
Another challenge that students face is the idea of experience versus education when searching for a career. Do employers prefer education over experience or vice versa? “As an employer, I can say that we want a well rounded candidate for any position, someone who has an education as well as experience,” Sutter Health Human Resources Representative Lisa Sheppard said.
As the competition for employment stays at a high level, college students may need encouragement to finish what they have started. Completing college can show an employer that an individual has the ability to finish a tough task while sustaining oneself financially.
