Good Morning Green Panda Friends. I hope that the first day of the fall semester won’t be too harsh on our college friends, and the first day back to work won’t be too harsh on our young professional readers. Today marks the beginning of the Fall season and it’s also the first post in our new series called Ultimate Success Tips for College Students. If you have made some mistakes during your college career, or if you are looking to start off college on the right path then this series is for you.
Working in College
Since college students are known for being broke, one of the first major decisions we have to make in our college career is whether we want to work or not work while studying in college. College life is the first time in our lives that we really have to start making our own decisions, and we hope that the choices we make are smart moves.
I definitely don’t regret working in college because I wouldn’t have a successful career today if I didn’t. Although sometimes I was jealous of the other students in my classes who drove to school in their parent’s car, paid their tuition with parent’s credit card, and didn’t have to pay rent because they still lived at home with Mommy and Daddy.
My life during college would have been a lot easier if I stayed at home to live with my parents because I wouldn’t have had to work so much in college. However, I wouldn’t give back the experiences that I gained from living life on my own for all the money in the world. I would hate to be 30 years old and still living in my hometown with the same group of friends that I had in elementary school. Working in college is a good idea because it allows us to meet new people while still earning some money on the side.
Money for College
If you decide not to work in college, how will you get money to pay for college? Maybe you are lucky enough to have the financial assistance of your parents. Maybe you decided to apply for financial aid directly from your school, or maybe you applied for a student line of credit from your financial institution.
If working full time during college is not a financial necessity, then maybe working part time is your personal financial goal. Working part time gives us work experience which looks good on our resume, and it also gives us a little social break from always being stuck in the books. I always loved working in retail or in the food services industry during college. The pay is not super great, but the discounts and perks on clothing and food can definitely save us a lot of money.
Maybe working full time for an employer is not your thing, so why don’t you work full or part time for yourself. Being self employed is a great option for students to get money for college because it allows us flexibility to manage our own schedule. College life is a lot easier when we can efficiently manage both our work and school schedules.
College students can start their own tutoring business and share their wealth of knowledge with other college students or with high school students. Students often need assistance with subjects outside of their field of study. If you play a musical instrument, tutoring and teaching hobbies is another great way to earn money for college.
Photo by My Life Story
Tahnya is 30 years old and lives in Montreal Quebec. She graduated in 2005 from Concordia University, and she currently works for a major International Financial Institution. She recently launched http://www.mediamadam.ca/. You can follow her on Twitter @TahnyaP.