Two Jobs and College

I was going to write a blog post about the challenges of working two part-time jobs while being a full-time student, but then I noticed something. I always thought that working through high school and college was fairly common. I worked at a fast food restaurant through high school, did an internship over the summer and now I work two jobs, one at a sandwich place and another as a bookkeeper for my cousin's fulfillment business. It wasn't until this year, however, that I really started to realize I was not the average student. Most, if not all my friends and classmates who are the same age as me do not currently work, and did not work through high school. Keep in mind, I am not counting babysitting or mowing lawns, etc.

I am always shocked to talk to someone my age who has never held a real job. I think it's important to work while you're in school. Even if it's at a small fast food restaurant, you learn customer service, working with others, filling out taxes for work, and other skills that you might not be able to learn otherwise. Our culture is so competitive, when you apply for a job you are being judged on your experience, college, grades, sports. To be a well-rounded person you have to try other things beside school. I can understand not working if you play a college sport, are a member of clubs, and you simply don't have time, but most people are not that busy.

Working through school is important to help you find jobs later on. Get experience while you have the time and enjoy the extra money. Save up for a car, or spend it on food and shopping. The important thing is to get the experience that can help you later while you have the time and opportunities.

I feel like I'm really tired and maybe wearing myself out by working so much, but the other day I wrote all my hours I take to get things done and I realized how much time I actually have. 

Let me break down my week for you.

There are 168 hours in a week.

• 8 hours for sleeping at night (56 hours a week)
• 3 hours to eat (21 hours a week)
• 2 hours to relax, hangout or nap (14 hours a week)
• I also have a bit of a commute to both work and school so I'll give myself 10 hours of driving a week.

So in reality I have around 67 hours a week where I am not sleeping, eating, or relaxing.

• I do school work Sunday-Wednesday. With 12 credit hours of class that's around 15 hours per week
• I work at my cousin's business Thursday-Friday for 12 hours per week
• I work at the sandwich shop for around 15 hours a week
• I workout everyday for 1 hour, that's 7 hours a week

This still leaves me with 18 hours, that's 2.5 hours a day to do extra work, watch TV, walk my dog, do chores around the house, hangout with friends, visit my boyfriend, and of course Sunday football.
When I split my time up like this I realize how often I waste my time, with Facebook, twitter, watching crappy TV shows.

My advice if you ever feel overwhelmed is to sit down and add all your time like I did. Cut out all that junk that wastes your days and you'll feel much more relaxed.