Feature Article Sample (800 word count)
School Flow + Work Flow
By: Mackenzie Rector
University of Tampa
The end of summer, school bells ring in the distance,. School is back in session. Summer jobs end as
bags are packed and students take a
leave of absence from summer jobs. Unfortunately, the reality for more and more
students is that the school bell only means school AND work, until summer comes
back around.
According to a U.S.2011. Census report, 71% of the nation’s
undergraduate college students were working during the school year. One in five
of those working undergraduate students were at work before class, after class,
and on weekends, 35 hours or more a week, year round. More than half of them
were working at least 20 hours a week while maintaining full-time course loads.
A survey of 26 University of Tampa students indicated nearly 50% of them hold jobs during the academic
year. In the chart below the percentage by classification is shown. Of first
year students, fewer than 10% worked in addition to taking on a full course
load, 23% of sophomores worked. The highest percentage of student workers were
those in their third year, followed by seniors.
According to CBS News, the Northeast and West have the lowest
percentage of working undergraduate students. while states in the West and
Mid-Atlantic have the highest percentages. Since 1970, the number of full-time
college students who also held jobs has been on a constant rise. In 1970, about
30% of college students were working. According to the National Center for
Educational Statistics, by 2005 that
number rose nearly 50%.
Working and managing a full-time course load can be a
challenge; fortunately some students at UT are balancing the two well.
Sophomore journalism major Kyetra Bryant said, “Working has not affected my
GPA. I work whenever I’m not in class, or not studying.” On average Bryant works
between 12-20 hours a week, and studies about 4-5 hours a week outside of
class. Her GPA is well over a 3.00 average.
A study conducted by Dr. Jonathan
Orzag of the University of California shows that working part-time as a college
students should has no effect on students’ GPAs. In fact, in his 2001 study, students who worked on campus had higher GPAs than the students who were
unemployed.
Dr. Orzag’s study demonstrates that students who worked had
better time management skills when compared to students who were not combining
work and school. The study also showed that students who held jobs spent their
free time doing more productive activities. He sampled the use of students free
time and found that 51% of non-working students reported watching at least
three hours of television, compared to the 34% of working students.
When Mark Sugden, a senior communications major, manages to
create time to study. He says, “Any free time I have, I study. I only work two
days [a week] so it’s not interrupting my study time.”
All four of the working UT students surveyed, said their GPAs
have not been negatively affected since they begun off campus jobs. They work
while maintaining a good GPA. Finding time to spend with friends seems to be
the biggest issue among the working undergraduate students at UT. After
interviewing 12 working students at UT, 11 of them stated they wished they had
more free time to go out and socialize with their friends. Brandon Caples, a
senior journalism major said, “I don’t go out as much and see my friends as
much as I would like to. But, working a lot has given me tremendous work
ethic.”
It seems that although most students who choose to work have
to sacrifice some of their social lives to stay balanced between work and
class, the benefits are worth it to them. Kyetra Bryant said, “Working has
taken a toll on my social life. I don’t hang out with my friends as much as I’d
like to, on the other hand working has definitely made me a more organized
person.”
Working
to help parents pay for tuition, to be self sufficient while at school, or just
for the experience and discipline it requires, students at the University of
Tampa and across the country are working more, and becoming better students
because of it. Holding a job may equate to less time with your friends, but
results in more money in your pocket, combined with the tools to obtain a
higher GPA. In the long run, seems like a nice trade.
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