JOB EXPERIENCE AS A STUDENT

People love to say, “Get a job while in school; it’ll make you incredibly responsible and independent, and you’ll be able to build character.” And while that may be true, they fail to mention that it can also build stress, exhaustion, eye bags, and an unhealthy emotional attachment to caffeine. They don’t tell you how difficult it can be trying to balance assignments, attendance, emotional stress, deadlines, and a job that behaves as if you don’t also have a life outside work.

Being a working student is basically learning the art of survival.

You learn how to rush from lectures straight to work without going home. You learn how to eat at strange hours because your schedule no longer belongs to you. You’ll learn how to make good financial decisions.

And don’t let us even talk about sleep. There were days I’d sit in class praying silently that the lecturer would not ask me any questions because my brain was operating on less than three hours of sleep and caffeine.

One thing working while in school teaches you very quickly is time management. Because procrastination? Ah. That thing will disgrace you publicly.

You’ll start setting alarms. Sticky notes everywhere. Calendar reminders. Timetables. To-do lists. At some point, your life starts looking like a military operation. And even with all the planning, something will still somehow go wrong. You’ll forget an assignment. Miss a deadline. Oversleep. Or remember at 11:48 p.m. that you have a test by 8 a.m. Peak character development.

Then there’s the emotional side of it.

Some employers don’t care if you’re fighting for your life academically. They’d act shocked that you cannot suddenly work overtime during test or exam periods, as though your CGPA is supposed to pause itself for company growth.

And honestly, balancing both worlds can feel isolating sometimes.

Your classmates may not understand why you miss hangouts or why you’re always tired. Your colleagues at work may not understand why you cannot take extra shifts every weekend. So, you end up standing in the middle of two demanding worlds, trying not to disappoint either side.

One thing I had to learn quickly was how to say: “I’m busy.” Because as a student, everybody somehow wants a piece of your time. Friends want outings. Group members want meetings. Employers want extra effort. Lecturers want assignments. Your body wants sleep. Your account balance wants help. Meanwhile you? You just want to survive.

And please, if you’re a working student, rest whenever you can. I know hustle culture likes to make people feel guilty for sleeping, but burnout is very real. Your body will eventually protest if you keep treating it like a machine with no off switch. Sleep when you can. Eat properly when possible. Rest is not laziness; it is survival.

Most importantly, stop comparing yourself to other students.

Some students only have to focus on school. Others are balancing academics, work, family responsibilities, emotional stress, and financial pressure all at once. Your journey will naturally look different. You may not attend every outing. You may not have the energy to read for ten hours daily as the motivational speakers on TikTok tell you to. You may not even look “put together” half the time.

And that’s okay.

Being a working student teaches you that strength is not always loud. Sometimes strength is simply continuing, even when you’re exhausted.

Because one day, when people look at your achievements, they may only see the final result. They’ll see the degree, the confidence, or the experience. What they may never fully see are the moments you were surviving on determination alone. The nights you cried quietly from stress. The mornings you woke up tired but still showed up anyway. The days you wanted to quit but couldn’t afford to.

So, if you’re currently balancing school and work, please give yourself some credit.