Balancing A Part-Time Job with School

Publié le 14 August 2024 Par Christopher Harley

It’s possible to balance personal and professional advancement by balancing a part-time job with school

Studying and working a part-time job is demanding. However, many students need to work while they study to support themselves and their families.

Reassuringly, many jobs provide the flexibility students need to continue with their studies. It’s working out how to balance working and studying, which can be difficult. With a few tips for balancing a part-time job with school, the process can be a little bit easier.

How to Balance Work and School

If you need to support yourself financially while studying, it’s important to find a balance between how much you work and how much you study.

This will help you meet the expectations of your employer while achieving high grades in your studies (and, of course, looking after yourself in the process).

Learning how to juggle work and school takes practice. It’s all about striking the right balance. This can be difficult and it might take a bit of trial and error, so go easy on yourself.

In this article, we will share tips for balancing study with part-time work so that you can achieve a healthy work/life balance and even find time for the things you love.

The Best Part-time Jobs for High School Students

Before we jump into our tips for how to balance work and school, here are some of the best part-time jobs for high school students. These jobs should make achieving that balance a little bit easier.

Private tutoring

Copywriting

Nannying

Hospitality

Seasonal work

Dog walker

Library assistant

Receptionist

Hairdressers assistant

Our advice for securing the best part-time jobs for high school students would be to find a job that is flexible and works around your study schedule.

Seasonal work is great for this as you can secure a job over the summer or Christmas holidays and then commit yourself fully to studying when school starts up again.

The jobs we’ve listed above are just a few suggestions for balancing a part-time job with school that should provide some inspiration.

You should always look to fit a job around your schooling, not the other way around.

Source Remote and Flexible Job Opportunities

Working while you study is understandably busy. However, some jobs are much easier to manage alongside your studies. Some of the best part-time jobs for high school students are remote and flexible jobs.

Remote jobs in digital PR or link building for a digital marketing agency or freelance copywriting jobs are just some examples of jobs that let you work remotely and on a flexible schedule. This means you can work at the times that suit you and fit with your study schedule.

Many students opt for remote and flexible work as it’s a great way to make money without the cost of commuting, navigating schedule changes, or having to reschedule your shifts around exam dates. If you want to fit a part-time job around school then opting for remote or freelance positions could be the way to go.

Eat the Frog

If you haven’t heard the expression ‘eat the frog’ you might be wondering what eating frogs has to do with studying.

Well, the expression was coined by the famous motivational speaker, Brian Tracey who explains that, “if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that it is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long.”

Therefore, the expression ‘eat the frog’ is just another way of saying don’t put off the things you need to do. If you have a list of important tasks to do today, start with the hardest and most important task first. Once you get that task over with, you can move on to other things. It’s a great way to get things done.

As a helpful example, many students find that studying for an hour or two means they get their learning done for the day rather than putting it off until later when they’re probably feeling tired and unmotivated.

Make a List of Priorities

Once you’ve eaten your frog for the day (and you’ll know what your frog is) then it’s time to write a list of priorities. Making a list of priorities is a great way to line up all the things you need to get done in the day and organise them from the most important to least important.

This is a useful way to get everything you need to done. It also means that if you run out of time or you’re faced with something unexpected (like your car breaking down or your laptop failing), you’ve managed to get through the important tasks first.

Writing lists is also helpful for prioritising the things that matter most to you. Do you enjoy time out with friends? Do you have particular hobbies or interests? Are you part of any clubs or sports teams? By listing all these things in order of priority you can clearly see which things you care about most and which you should therefore devote more time to when you can.

Be sure to revisit these lists regularly and adjust them as your priorities change. There will be periods where you have more ‘free time’ for your hobbies and others when you should devote more time to your studies. It’s all about balance.

Take Care of Yourself

Studying and working part-time can be demanding and sometimes it can feel a little bit overwhelming. Taking care of yourself should be your number one priority. You should be realistic about what you can and can’t achieve in any given week.

Make sure to set aside time in your schedule to rest and relax. This might simply be an hour break at the end of the day. It’s important to give yourself that time so that you avoid burning out.

Burnout in students is unfortunately common and this is especially true for students balancing study alongside a part-time job. However, your mental health and wellbeing is more important than your academic achievements. Which is why it’s so important to learn how to avoid academic burnout. If you take care of yourself well, you’ll have everything you need to thrive academically.

Start Small and Take Things from There

If you’re not sure how you will cope trying to balance your academic studies alongside your work responsibilities, start small and take things from there. After all, you can always increase your working hours if you feel you can handle more.

Starting small is the best way to ease into the world of studying and working part-time. It allows you to dip your toes in and experiment with finding a balance that works for you.

It’s always better to start small and increase your workload than immediately taking on more than you can handle. It’s usually best to work for a month before increasing or decreasing your hours. A month gives you enough time to really settle into your new routine, understand how much time things take, and make an informed decision that will benefit you.

Plan Ahead as Much as Possible

One of the best ways to avoid burnout and manage your workload is to plan ahead. Scheduling your time, from work and study schedules to social meet-ups with friends, is a great way to manage your time effectively.

Planning ahead lets you foresee busy periods and prepare for them appropriately. For example, you can plan for upcoming exams and allocate more study time or speak to your boss in advance about reducing your hours when the time comes.

Planning ahead is one of the most effective ways to balance a part-time job with school. It provides you with a reliable weekly structure, avoids overwhelm from unexpectedly long hours, and helps you plan proactively for holiday periods when life is typically busier.

Get Started Today

Now that we’ve shared our tips for balancing a part-time job with school, we encourage you to implement these changes straight away. The sooner you organise your priorities, create a schedule, and prioritise time to yourself, the sooner you will be equipped to succeed.

We hope our tips will help you navigate this busy time in your life so that you can get the most out of your studies while advancing in your career.