By Dawn Alethea Lowe En from 24J09
If you’re a secondary school student, you might have a part time job, but if you’re in Junior College (JC), the chance of having one drops to almost zero. And it’s not hard to understand why, with JC being a huge jump in academic workload, and also the time that students start stacking as many activities as possible into their all-powerful portfolios.
This is why it might come as a surprise that I was one of those crazy students who did attempt to juggle both of those time consuming things - and I don’t regret a single second of it.
To set some context, my parents owned a cafe/restaurant for quite a significant part of my life (although I admit my life hasn’t been that long to begin with). This was from when I was Primary 5 till JC1, that’s seven long years! I’ve been helping out (ahem not child labour - helping with my family’s business)/working from the very beginning. Of course, I first started out running food and taking orders, which unfortunately as a shy P5 kid was not my favourite thing, but that quickly transitioned to learning the ropes in the kitchen and bakery sections.
When I was still a cute little kid
The cafe was my favourite place to be — where I could learn from all these cool people while doing a fast paced job and making all this amazing food — it was nothing short of exhilarating.
Who wouldn’t want to spend their weekends with these vibes
Time constraints
Anyways, the important part for most of you is the working hours, so the hours it is. I’ve been consistently working full shifts on Saturdays (7am onwards) up till 3 years ago when I started doing Sunday mornings in addition to it. These eventually morphed into afternoons when I became free to do them, and full shifts when there weren’t enough staff.
All this to say that for many, if not most part time jobs, there are a certain number of hours you are required to hit every week or month, ie. you probably have to work around one and a half days worth of shifts every week in addition to school the other five days!
This is the major point of contention on whether or not you can and should take up a part time job while studying, especially in JC. But that being said, it is still possible to do so.
On that note, I was able to keep up with assignments, tutorials and lectures even while doing a part time job, and also being a JAE student having H1 Chinese lessons until late. So it actually is possible to keep up with work, even learn to be disciplined with it, as long as you clear as much of it as possible on weekdays (and Sunday afternoons).
…And how to deal with them
As a side note, I do not recommend doing full weekend shifts regularly - yes even that one afternoon less makes a huge difference. From personal experience, having to work and school for 5-6 weeks straight without days off is extremely tiring - both physically and mentally.
Basically, intentionally set aside time for yourself so you don’t feel swallowed up by your commitments - I used my long journeys home to read. This stands for anything you do, not just part time work. Really really make sure you have time for yourself.
What benefits are there?
Now you might be thinking, are there other benefits to taking up a part time job apart from earning extra cash?
Well if you do an F&B (food and beverage) job, which is a common choice, you will probably be in quite a fast paced environment. This teaches you how to have laser sharp focus, be as efficient as possible, stay calm in stressful situations and build your stamina — which are honestly quite essential skills to have in JC but also far beyond it!
5 of the hundreds (maybe thousands) of rum fruit cakes I have made and decorated over the years
Talking to customers also teaches people skills! This is definitely useful for the many interviews coming your way, interacting in workplace environments, and just speaking to people in general.
Personally, working so many different positions taught me different aspects of how businesses are run and decisions are made. Not just the business side of things but also the human side of it.
Here’s to the friends you make
Even if you don’t do a F&B job, I know of people who do internships or short term jobs as marketing companies. These are arguably even more related to knowing how to manage workload, workplace skills and real life experience.
How else can time constraints affect you?
Many of you might be thinking of taking up leadership roles and other opportunities to get the elusive “edge”. I will admit that in JC1, my plate was quite full, which meant I did not really take up many leadership or planning opportunities.
This is definitely something many students will lament not taking up if they didn’t, because the tangible skills you learn from such responsibilities are nothing short of “pretty amazing to companies and universities”.
It’s definitely a delicate balance, but if you can still handle those extra activities, which I’m sure many of you can (especially without extra lessons), go for it! And honestly, doing a part-time job and having an enriching time there will definitely look impressive on your portfolio too!
Making precious memories
Lastly, working a part time job is fun! I’ve made so many memories laughing with and working alongside people from all walks of life.
Goofing around
Don’t get a part time job just to earn money if you’re going to dread going into work every week, it’s not going to be worth your time.
Go into it enjoying the thrill of pushing yourself to your limits with how fast you can make and serve that food or drink; go into it excited to see your team effort lead to results you couldn’t do as a single person; go into it to see that smiling child curiously watching you prepare their food.
And for the cute dogs!
Do a part time job that you’ll enjoy! And trust me, it will feel like a break from however stressful school might seem.
The team!
So why don’t I regret spending so much time on part time work while in JC? Well doing part time work, and taking on more responsibilities in general, has taught me many invaluable skills that have aided me as a student, and outside of it. And no matter how you choose to spend your time as a student, my hope is that you too will gain many invaluable skills through it!
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