Out of 25 De Anza College students surveyed at varying times
from Feb. 25 to Feb. 27, 13 said they currently work a job during the weekdays.
Nationwide,
about 4 out of 5 students reported working part-time, according to a 2013 study
by Citigroup and Seventeen Magazine.
Teddy
Kebede, 19, engineering major said he works 55 hours a week on average at
Century movie theaters, but he feels his job positively affects his education.
“(My job)
keeps me focused and out of trouble,” he said. “It helps me stay on task and do
what I need to do.”
A higher
percentage of community college students hold jobs than four-year university
students. Forty-eight percent of students enrolled in a two-year college had
jobs while only 44.3 percent of students enrolled in a four-year college had
jobs, according to a study of 16 to 24 year olds done by the Bureau of Labor in
October of 2012.
Al
Dominguez, a counselor at De Anza, said this might be because the workload can be
more demanding at universities and students could also be getting a bigger
financial aid package.
Students
often work out of necessity. Fifty-seven percent of De Anza students enrolled
for winter quarter this year reported a family income of less than $50,000 for
2013, according to a survey by the De Anza Office of Institutional Research and Planning.
With the
economy still recovering from the recession students are having a more
difficult time just finding the right job.
“It took me
around two months to find the job I’m at now,” said Kebede. “I’m happy now, but
the job search was frustrating.”
In February
of 2012, only 54.3 percent of young adults ages 18 to 24 had a job, accordingto a study by the Pew Research Center. This was the lowest rate since the
government started keeping records in 1948.
This number
has increased since 2012, but only slightly and the lack of jobs plays a role
in the high community college enrollment.
“Our job
here is to get students into careers.” Dominguez said.
Out of the
13 De Anza students surveyed who reported they had jobs, seven reported a wage
of $10.25 or less per hour.
Minimum
wage in San Jose increased to $10.15 per hour at the beginning of 2014, but the
money isn’t the main issue for some employed students.
“My work
schedule constantly changes,” said 18-year-old business major Jeremy Clevenger.
“It’s hard to juggle my workload when I don’t have a set time to do homework.”
Dominguez
said he urges students to go at their own pace.
“Take your
time and do it right because you don’t want to fall into the pitfalls of
(academic) probation,” he said.
Arash Rohani, 18, engineering major said it is hard at times to balance his responsibilities at school and at his job.
"I try to plan things out so I have at least one day a week that I can focus on classes," he said.
Arash Rohani, 18, engineering major said it is hard at times to balance his responsibilities at school and at his job.
"I try to plan things out so I have at least one day a week that I can focus on classes," he said.
Students
reported working at a wide variety of places ranging from Target to Cirque du
Soleil. Dominguez said he worked numerous jobs throughout high school and
college to pay tuition.
Ultimately
Dominguez said jobs are good for students because they help students adjust to
what the workforce is like.
“Even the
smaller jobs give you some set of skills,” he said.
But students
who are overworked often forgo sleep to complete everything they need to do for
the day. Lack of sleep can lead to a decline in health and negatively impact a
student’s ability to succeed in college.
“I did
all-nighters too (when I was in college),” said Dominguez. “It did impact my
health, sometimes I was too tired the next day to take an exam.”
De Anza
counselors advise students to study two hour each week for every unit they are
taking.
For
students taking 12 units, that means they need to study at least 24 hours per
week to be successful.
“It’s hard
to get yourself to study when you have downtime,” said Clevenger. “When I’m not
at work or school I just want to relax and catch up on sleep.”
