Balancing Act

The question that I pose in our blog today is for students who are trying to balance work and school with life. What do you find is an appropriate school/work/life balance? I question this because recently at VCCS we had a client who had the world at his feet. He was just accepted to attend a full time College program and had an employer who wanted to hire him for full time work. It was really time to sit down and decide what was next in this new and exciting venture.

This got me thinking about how much work/school is too much and on the other hand how little work/school is too little. This seems to be a balancing act for many. I remember the days of my College career, which were full time studies. I started College and within my first semester I was working 5 hours a week. I found myself becoming bored and lazy. I wasn’t feeling overly challenge based on the school and homework load and didn’t feel busy enough with work. Within the next semester of school my work hours changed from 5 to 20 hours a week. This was great. My energy was boosting again, I was feeling pretty busy and life was good. Second year of studies came around. I was still working 20 hours a week and my marks were okay. An opportunity came up working at the College and my 20 hour work week became a 35 hour work week. Things were good but becoming a little too stressful at times. I was trying to balance homework while keeping my marks up, and since I was working for three different employers at this time I was trying to balance my work schedules too. I did this for the next year, but I can’t say it was easy all the time. In my third year of College I was still working 35 hours a week but then I also had to complete a placement for school. The placement was typically 8 hours a week but there were times when I was working upwards 20+ hours a week. This resulted in a 50+ work week on-top of school and homework. I was so busy I often thought, is this experience of school and meeting new people passing me by and am I too busy to truly enjoy it. It was time to seriously evaluate my schedule and my goals.

In talking with other students at this time they mentioned that they were working so diligently in school and on homework that they really didn’t have time to work. What I am trying to get at is that everyone’s situation is different and requires some self-reflection and thought. For some work may be required for financial assistance during school. Others may have a high workload required for school and may not be able to balance school and work. It important to ask yourself a few questions:

1. What are your goals
2. Why are you attending school and how does work compliment or hinder the experience
3. Do you find that you work well under stress or, not so well under stress
4. What do you realistically need to do for financial support while attending school

If you’re reading this I would love you to help answer this question. If you were a past student what worked for you? Maybe you’re a VCCS client and you may be starting school in September or January, I want to hear from you! What do you think works or what questions do you need to ask yourself when dealing with this balancing act? Please comment below, I look forward to reading your thoughts!

If you have any questions about this blog or the services offered at VCCS Employment Services please feel free to contact me directly at amiddleton@careerservices.org or 705-328-0180.

Until next time,

Amanda Middleton

Job Developer, VCCS Employment Services

705-328-0180