Find the Best Online Universities

October 10th, 2005

Many college students choose to work while going to school, either out of necessity, for the real-world job experience or simply for some extra spending money. Some students manage to successfully balance the responsibilities of both, while others have difficulties. So how can you successfully balance college and work?

Start out by buying a planner or downloading a planning app to your smart phone. Map out when various school papers and projects are due and scribble in when exams are scheduled. You can also use this planner to jot down your work hours and deadlines for work projects, if applicable. This will help you keep track of all of your responsibilities and manage your time more wisely. Be sure to clearly communicate your class schedule with your boss as early as possible so you don’t get scheduled to work during class times.

Consider working part time during the school year and reverting to full-time during the summers and holidays. This is yet another important idea to discuss with your supervisor. If it is impossible to keep your job on a part-time basis, you will need to significantly reduce the amount of time you spend on leisure activities such as watching TV or partying during your extremely limited free time. Something has to give in order for you to have time to study while working 40 hours a week and going to school full-time.

Also consider the stress level of the job you choose while going to school, along with the opportunities a job affords for studying. For example, if you are running a register at a convenience store, you will likely have down time to study during slow periods. Other jobs provide reliable lunch hours where you can hit the books. College may not be the best time to enter a professional career that requires you to take your work home with you during time you will need to spend studying. If it is possible, choose a job where you can count on leaving work at work.

Finally, think about enrolling in an online degree program at a fully-online university or taking one or more courses online through a traditional university. Online courses are generally much more flexible than traditional courses that require students to be in a certain place at a certain time each week. Online programs help free up your schedule and allow you to log in to your courses whenever you have free time during the day.

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