Noah Trybuch, education student at the University of Lethbridge, flips his page as he preps for his exam later before going to work at Sportchek on Sept. 18 at Lethbridge College. Trybuch came to the college because he thinks the area is closer to work.
With the new school year starting, students are trying to determine if they want to get a job this semester.
As tuition and living costs increase every year, most students have to get jobs while in school to help keep up with their finances.
As students attempt to maintain focus in school, while trying to make money, balancing work and school can stress them out. As they receive more homework at school, students begin to get frustrated as they can’t find time to work on their assignments. This is because of the demand that their job has on them.
Shannis Turner, third year psychology student at the University of Lethbridge, has been balancing work and school in all three years of her program.
“The biggest thing is to know your limits. I think everyone experiences burn-out and you have to know how much you can handle before your school performance will drop significantly or you stop doing your job effectively,” she said.
Turner, a cashier at Sportchek said she finds herself studying for exams, while on her breaks whether it’s before, during or after work. She adds that during exam week is when she finds herself asking for more shifts at work because she is not in the classroom as often.
These extra shifts sometimes result in exhaustion and frustration with grades as students try to find time to do be in the workplace as well as in the classroom.
Srihari Veluvolu, fifth-year psychology and economics students at the University of Calgary compared this to the Freud theory, saying that the more effort we put into our school work, the less effort that will be exerted in the workplace, and vice versa.
“Before we hit the limit, we see ourselves working in the confines of our consciousness and making sure that we are efficient on how we do things. But if we exert over our limit, then we hit the unconscious part of our brain and that’s where our bad thoughts really are,” Srihari said.
Srihari went on to say that he believes that in a perfect world, people can balance the effort that they put into both work and school.
For tips on how you can balance these aspects of your life, book an appointment by visiting Wellness Services in CE1380 at Lethbridge College.
