GAC008 Assessment Event 4: Academic Research Essay

Prejudices toward students

working part-time while studying

Student’s Name: Armando Núñez Bautista

Student ID: PUPC42564

Teacher: Miguel Ángel Reséndiz Pacheco

Due Date: 01 April 2019

Word Count: 1061

GAC008 AE#4 Armando Núñez Bautista PUPC42564

Question: Most of students who are currently pursuing a university career, are looking for

part-time jobs with the opportunity to work while studying, in order to gain more experience

and achieve greater success in their professional life, however, they are also interested in

studying and working at the same time in different countries around the world. What is the

positions of students when facing this challenge? How are companies that offer the option

of part-time work affected? What is the attitude of the people toward students who work part-

time? What are the differences in attitudes between different countries?

Currently the world is in a stage of development and growth where many of the different areas of

opportunity have been affected by this great expansion. One of the great causes of this effect is

overpopulation, where year after year the population rate of each country has been increasing. On the

other hand, technology has been another factor that has caused this development and growth not only

in a specific country but throughout the world, which has allowed communication and relationship

between different countries. Actually, technology is challenging humanity in the labor sphere with

the so-called automation, which has wronged different trades and areas of work. One of the great

consequences created by overpopulation and technology is the increase of labor competition among

the world population. This has led students to do different things to differentiate themselves from

others; for example, currently students who are pursuing a university career seek to study and work

part-time simultaneously, thus achieving a greater benefit and differentiators for their professional

career in future. In this essay, the different prejudices faced by the students will be compared and

contrasted when they want to study and perform a part-time job simultaneously, taking into account

both the different attitudes of people and companies towards students, as well as their major

advantaged and disadvantages in Mexico, as in other countries such as the United States.

First of all, let’s mention about what a part-time job is, its characteristics and the requirements

involved:

01/04/2019 2
GAC008 AE#4 Armando Núñez Bautista PUPC42564

A part-time job is simple understood as the difference of working hours among full-time jobs and the

low maintenance occupations. One of the most common characteristics of a part-time job is that,

frequently, low maintenance occupations include somethings call work shift, this are movements that

are typically rotational with others. Generally, the hours that a part-time employee works are

established by the international labor organization. According to this, a part-time employee must

follow the regulations and policies of the company, so according to most companies, a part-time

employee must work approximately less that thirty hours per week. Normally, part-time workers

receive the same benefits as full-time workers, such as, equivalent pay rates, including wiped out pay

and parental permissions, a similar annuity openings and advantages, a similar number of holidays

and rest days as the ones of full-time job. That is why this type of work is ideal for university students

who want to acquire more work experience. Now, let’s mention some benefits and disadvantages that

students may acquire in working a part time job: recently, studies have revealed that students who

have worked while studying tend to have a more confident attitude of themselves and to have a better

organization of their times, also, they acquire quickly a greater maturity and independence. Working

while you study gives you skill such as responsibility and at the same time it reinforce your academic

studies. However, researchers have observed that students who worked more than twenty or twenty-

five hours per week, experience a decline in their school performance, causing students to abandon

their career before finishing it. So, what student should do is to find a balance that benefits them and

does not affect them.

The next topic that will be discussed is about the opportunities, attitudes and prejudices that Mexican

and foreign university students face in Mexico. Mexico has always been characterized as a third world

country with respect to its economy, however, throughout its history through foreign investment and

its type of economy (free market economy) has allowed both public universities and specially private,

make agreement with Mexican and foreign companies so that Mexican and foreign students work

part time during their university career.

01/04/2019 3
GAC008 AE#4 Armando Núñez Bautista PUPC42564

However, each university has its own regulations, for example, in most private universities the job

market is very large, therefore, what Mexican universities recommend is that students work until their

las year of university or at least until their last semesters, since this way they will be more prepared

for the requirements needed from jobs. Employer’s attitude towards students who work part-time

shifts is very positive, since companies are currently looking for young people with innovative and

creative ideas, however, they require that students who work have a certain knowledge. Another

restriction is that while you study some jobs do not offer salary, their ideology is that you’ll acquire

experience and then already at the end of your studies you’ll be prepare for a better salary, however,

some jobs offer some salary, although not very high. These are some characteristics of Mexican part-

time jobs while studying.

Now, it will be mention the views and perspectives from the United States in relation to the part-time

work and students. The United States, unlike Mexico, is a first world country, which usually, due to

the high rate of employment that exists, receives many foreigners to live, work and produce in their

country. Due to this high number of migrations, the United States has certain regulations and

restrictions when studying and working in it. For example, American students can do part-time work

while studying without major problem, however, foreign students must obtain the F-1 visa which

authorizes foreign students to work only at the university campus during its first year. It is up to the

second university year, when foreign student through the American Immigration Services can obtain

a permit to work outside, at the city.

In conclusion, it can be said that the attitudes and barriers to working in a part-time job are very

different with respect to Mexico and the United States. Each country has different regulations and

restrictions, which is specific to each country. However, despite the different constraints imposed by

each country, both are interested in the development of students and encourage them to work while

they study in order to obtain better professional success.

01/04/2019 4
GAC008 AE#4 Armando Núñez Bautista PUPC42564

References
Cruz, R. Vargas, E. Hernández, A. Rodríguez, O. (2016) Adolescents who study and work in
Mexico, Scielo [Online] Available at:
http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0188-25032017000300571
[Accessed 11 March 2019]

Marion, V. (2008), Employers’ attitudes toward part-time work, Eurofound [Online]. Available at:
https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/article/2008/employers-attitudes-toward-
part-time-work
[Accessed 11 March 2019]

Murphy, G. Iacuone, R. (2019), The Job Satisfaction of Student Part-time Workers, Sage Journals
[Online]. Available at:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/103841118502300310?journalCode=apja
[Accessed 11 March 2019]

Pérez, A. (2004), Students and work, OEI [Online]. Available at:

https://www.oei.es/historico/valores2/monografias/monografia04/reflexion03.htm
[Accessed 11 March 2019]

Students and Part-Time work, (2018), [Online]. Available at:

https://professionals.collegeboard.org/guidance/prepare/work
[Accessed 11 March 2019]

Trias, V. (2015), Work Part Time while studying abroad, Hot courses [Online]. Available at:
https://www.hotcourseslatinoamerica.com/study-abroad-info/careers-prospects/
[Accessed 11 March 2019]

Woodhouse, A. (2017) What is a part-time job. KasFlow. [Online] Available at:

https://www.kashflow.com/blog/what-is-a-part-time-job/
[Accessed 16 March 2019]

Working in the USA, (2019), International Student [Online]. Available at:

https://www.internationalstudent.com/study_usa/way-of-life/working-in-the-usa/
[Accessed 11 March 2019]

01/04/2019 5