Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Holding a Job while being a Full Time Student

    Being a full time college kid can be hard, with studying, homework, and classes. I know a lot of people who think that being a college kid makes it impossible to have any time for a job. The truth is, you can either work during school and use time management, or you can whine about being broke and have "boredom."

    I have noticed that tons of businesses, especially in college towns, not only hire college students but work with their schedules very well. Most job applications will ask you for your hours of availibility. This is where you need to learn to balance your time. If you have any night classes dont try to work before them, that would be a good night to say you cant work period. Make sure you always allow yourself time to study, dont get out of classes at 3 and say you can work from 330 to 12. You need homework/study time, and you dont want to overload yourself. Maybe work one or two nights a week and then stick to weekends. Maybe even get Sunday nights off so you have that time for your weekend homework. The thing about most of us college kids is, even if we do have enough homework to last us a whole day, we arent likely going to actually sit down and do it in one day.

    College kids want lives like any of the rest of us, and sometimes the anti-job argument is that they wont have time to go do things with friends. I would argue that if you actually want to go do anything while you are with your friends you will probably need some money. Now, getting a part-time job and working 12 hours a week isnt going to make you rich, but you will definitely have some cash to spend on things like food and gas.

    When applying for a job, just make sure you tel them that you are a full time student first thing, they will know that your schedule will require some flexibility. Not everyone can handle the stress of being a student and working, so if it gets to be too much, or your school work starts to suffer, you may just have to quit because youneed to focus on your studies. Always remember you are a student before anything, so make your schoolwork your first priority. It is also smart to take finals week off of work, you will be plenty stressed already and will need every spare minute to study.

    It is possible to be a full-time student and have a part-time job at the same time, but it takes a very determined person who is good at time managment. A lot of employers will uderstand your schedule if you just talk to them, and they are probably used to having college kids that only work during the school year. Havings a job in college also boosts your resume.

    Another option and amybe the best is an on campus job, no one will work with your school schedule better than the school itself. Colleges usually hire students to do a variety of things like be campus tour guides, or work as desk assistants in the offices.

Here is a great website with some job suggestions for students, feel free to check it out!
http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2010/12/13/10-paying-college-jobs-that-look-good-on-your-rsum

Good Luck!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Introduction!

Image Courtesy of http://guyism.com/lifestyle/things-you-did-in-college-that-you-cant-do-as-an-adult.html/attachment/ramen-noodles
     Hey! My name is Cali Portenier, and I am the certified author of this blog. Now, If you are anything like me college is a time of asking your parents for gas money to get home, eating Ramen because its all you can afford, and I know plenty of people that wear clothes twice to save costs on laundry! I think it is fair to say that a good portion of college kids are broke. It seems that having no money during college in inevitable, but that is not one hundred percent true.

     In this blog I am going to supply weekly tips on how to have some money during those brutal college years. I will tell you not only how to manage your money better, but even to maybe make some while being a full time student. I personally feel that money management is a hard thing to master while worrying about classes, homework, and grades, but fear not, for it can be done! I'm not going to tell you how to pick winning lottery numbers, or strike gold. I'm going to give you some small saving tips that in the end will make a big difference!