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Milana Albakova

Holly Batty

English 101

28 May 2019

Working College Students: Are They Reaching Their Full Potential?

How many students actually get through college while being unemployed? For a lot of

college students, being unemployed is not an option, but having a job can negatively impact your

grades. A lot of people can say that having a job as a student is not a hard thing to do, but the

evidence suggests that it can stunt one’s academic performance and cause an overall decline in

well-being.

A lot of people can argue that having a job and going to college is a piece of cake on its

own because some students have many responsibilities outside of school and work but still

manage to maintain a high GPA. The facts prove that it is not the reality for most college

students. An article written by Walden University states that, “Researchers have learned that

students who work upward of 20 hours a week suffer from reduced academic performance”

(“Should Students Hold Jobs While in High School?,” n.d., para.8). This could be for many

reasons. Even a 20-hour per week job takes a lot of time out of a person's hands. Working takes

up a lot of a student’s energy, which can result in college students having a lot of trouble keeping

a good sleeping schedule. All these factors are important for them to reach their full potential in

school. Having a job can take away a students goodnights rest, which will affect their

performance in school. A study done by Harvard Medical School states that “Without adequate

sleep and rest, overwhelmed neurons can no longer function to coordinate information properly,
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and we lose our ability to access previously learned information” (Sleep Learning and memory,

p9). Because of this, overworked college students who need rest will find it harder to recall

important information that they attempted to study the night before. That will negatively affect

their test scores which further proves that a job can keep a student from reaching their full

potential. This can make one wonder how many hours of work would affect their progress in

school. Rajeev Dorolia conducted a study in which he tried to see whether the number of hours

worked per week had an affect on credit completion. The outcome was that “some students take

fewer credits due to work commitments. Part-time and full-time students tend to spend less time

studying” (Dorolia, 2014). This can result in graduating at a slower pace because less time will

be spent focussing on school and studying. Another issue with this is that taking longer to

graduate can result in higher student loan debt which would be counterintuitive. It is better to

evaluate your options and get a second opinion with counselors and staff members at a college.

Establishing a relationship with the faculty in your college is an important step to your success in

school. Many schools offer counseling to aid students who are suffering from a mental illness.

An article written by Susan R. Elling and Theodore W. Elling goes over how unemployed

students were able to find ways to stay in school by creating relationships with the faculty.

“Students who did not work indicated that they had more frequent interactions with faculty and

were more likely to establish an important relationships with faculty. These relationships were

evaluated as important in helping the student remain at this college.”(The Influence of Work on

College Student Development). This quote shows how students who work part-time or full-time

jobs don’t have the time to access help and information from the faculty that could help them

succeed in school unlike their unemployed counterparts. It can be hard to balance school and

work and sometimes you might prioritize work over school even though school should be the
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priority. Being consumed by the thought of making more money can make you forget about the

long term ambition of finishing school. It is easy to get caught up in making money to have the

lifestyle that you want now, however it can easily get in the way of building your future career.

When push comes to shove students may choose their job over school and end up dropping out.

“The number one reason for leaving college is money. It’s not high tuition bills though… 54%

said they dropped out because they couldn’t balance school and work”(23 College Dropout

statistics that Will Surprise you p.11) This is from a study that was conducted by public agenda

and it brings to light the staggering amount of students that would rather make the money that

they are making now instead of completing school and building their career.

Getting good nutrition is also very important, but a lot of college students overlook this

issue. An article published by Extension.org expresses this concern saying, “Deficiencies in

other vitamins and minerals, specifically thiamine, vitamin E, vitamin B, iodine, and zinc, are

shown to inhibit cognitive abilities and mental concentration.”(Extension.org p3). Having to

juggle school and work leaves a student with very little time to put effort into healthy eating

habits. That in turn can make them gravitate towards fast food and energy drinks in order to

sustain themselves. Some people would say that having a job would mean you have more money

to spend on healthier food. This is not a credible argument because a lot of students have a job

simply to put themselves through school. That in addition to choosing the faster option, students

will ultimately end up eating unhealthy foods. Flora-ala.net mentions this issue in one of their

articles. “According to boundless.org and their campus culture survey it is estimated college

students eat an average of six to eight fast food meals a week.”(Students rely more on

convenience, price when considering food options p1). This article backs up my statement on

how college students will prefer to eat unhealthy foods while being occupied with a job and
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school. Ideology and reality are two different things, and the reality of this situation is that

college students prefer to go for meals with a lower cost, and those meals do not give the

students the nutrition that they need. Mental and physical health are both very important and too

much stress could take a toll on a students health. School on its own is takes time and effort and

can be stressful. When you add work on top of school it will exacerbate stress on a students

mental well being and becomes a major issue when it begins to affect their academic

performance. “Taking a survey of 225 participants of students, it showed that stress was a main

cause for these students which caused emotional and physical exhaustion.” (“Optimism and Risk

for Job Burnout”p.6). This type of stress will inhibit the ability to learn. This exhaustion caused

by stress could easily lead to loss in motivation and even affect a students sanity. Having little to

no time to spend on social interactions due to work and school related stress can throw many

students into a range of mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and emotional distress.

According to John Hopkins University “mood is strongly correlated to motivation, concentration,

and energy levels. Prolonged dips in mood can greatly impact a students ability to study and

perform.(“Depression Anxiety and Emotional Stress”p4). The outcome of this is almost always

low mood, social isolation, feelings of hopelessness, thoughts of self harm, sleeping and eating

disturbances, and difficulty concentrating. All these factors can make a student start avoiding

school assignments and not dedicate enough time to studying. Bouts of anxiety over not being

able to perform well in the work and school environment can be detrimental for not only your

well being but also the ability to meet the standards required for both. Although it is hard, there

are options available to cope with with these types of situations.

Although not all working college students suffer academically, there is no denying that

the stress of a job will at some point get in the way of them reaching their full potential. All the
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research points to the fact that being a working student can get in the way of spending more time

on studying, homework, and overall getting a better GPA. Not only that but it isn’t worth

balancing both the stress of school and work because it can lead to decline in school performance

and overall well-being of the student.

Works Cited

“Should Students Hold Jobs While in High School? | Walden University. n.d. Web. Mar.12

2019. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.waldenu.edu/online-doctoral-programs/doctor-of-

education/resource/pros-and-cons-of-working-a-job-in-high-school%3fv=amp
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Evan King Staff Writer. “Students Rely More on Convenience, Price when Considering Food

Options”.The Flor-Ala, Feb 17, 2011. Web. Mar.26 2019.

https://www.florala.net/news/students-rely-more-on-convenience-price-when-considering-food-

options/article_1574daf4-3a21-11e0-8bc5-00127992bc8b.html

“Sleep, Learning, and Memory”. Healthy Sleep. N.d. Web. Mar.26 2019

http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/learning-memory

“3 Ways Nutrition Influences Student Learning Potential and School Performance”

Extension. Jun.26, 2014. Web. Mar.26 https://articles.extension.org/pages/68774/3-ways-

nutrition-influences-student-learning-potential-and-school-performance

“Depression, Anxiety, & Emotional Distress”| John Hopkins University. N.d. Web. Mar.26,

2019.http://jhsap.org/self_help_resources/depression_anxiety_emotional_distress/index.html

“The Effects for Working While in School”.n.d. Web. Mar.26, 2019.

http://sites.psu.edu/workingstudents/background-2/

Kim P. “23 College Dropout Statistics That Will Surprise You”. CreditDonkey, Nov.21,

2017. Web. Mar.26, 2019.

https://www.creditdonkey.com/college-dropout-statistics.html,