When you look around, you can find some students with part-time jobs even though they are given allowances by their parents. It seems that lack of money isn’t the only reason for one to take a part-time job. For college students, having a part-time job is beyond earning pocket money; it is a proof of one’s independence. This seems to prove what 73% of the students claimed, that they “will do parttime work even if they get a full scholarship.”
In a survey conducted by the recruiting portal site Alba Heaven (www.alba.co.kr), 1,148 university students were asked the question “If you get a full scholarship, will you still do part-time work during the semester?” The result: 72.8% of the students answered “yes.” Even if college students are able to address their tuition problem, they want financial security by earning additional money. More importantly, 11.2% of the respondents said that they want to work to “gain varied social experiences” and not just for money. For those who were surveyed, they were doing part-time work not just to earn additional money but to prepare for their future career.
ST met three university students to dig up their thoughts about work. All the students were veteran part-time workers with a more-than-three-year experience in their respective fields. The interviewees told ST the characteristics of their work and of their work experiences. Why did they decide to do part-time work, and why do they keep working?
Tutoring as a part-time job for four years:
Cha: Tutoring is a relatively less stressful job compared to other jobs. You can get a high pay with a short working time. As long as your time management ability is good, tutoring is a good job to have while pursuing college study. Also, tutoring gives you a sense of satisfaction. I had a tutee who got scores of 60 before she met me. Under my care, she got scores of 100 in her tests. That gave me real satisfaction.
ST: So you teach them and also learn from them?
Cha: When I was in high school, I repeatedly heard my teacher saying, “Study and give it to others.” At that time, I couldn’t understand what that meant. I thus just busied myself with my studies. Now, however, whenever I face my tutee, I feel inexplicable joy welling up inside me. Maybe that’s because I’m really doing what I was told to do: to study and to give it to others. Though it sounds a bit vague, while teaching my tutees, I had many chances to reflect on myself. “What did I do when I found myself in such situation?” “If I were young like them, could I do it better?” These questions make me appreciate my given realities.
Doing work study for three years:
Yu: Above all, you can save time because you are working in your college. You can spend the time between classes, which is prone to being wasted, more usefully. Also, the hourly wage is 9,000 won, which is a remarkably high pay for a part-time job.
ST: You have been doing work study for almost three years now. Have you developed any feelings about your job?
Yu: I didn’t lose anything while doing work study. I always thought that I should feel more responsible for my studies as I am a scholar, and that I should act like a scholar by working sincerely and diligently. The pay is not the only reward that I get for the work that I render; scholarship is also a reward. I think that anyone who neglects either his work or study has no right to receive money. I also want to say this: if you’re doing work study now or are going to do so in the future, please work with sincerity and with a sense of responsibility.
Doing design outsourcing for three years:
ST: You have an unusual part-time job. What made you take on this work?
Park: One day, I made a company logo for my mother. The people around my mother saw the logo I made and asked me to also make one for them. I thus started doing design outsourcing work.
ST: It doesn’t seem like just a part-time job. It looks more like a career.
Park: As a student who’s majoring in graphic, design outsourcing work is a good way for me to gain experience and to develop my skills. You can include your design works in your portfolio when applying for work in the future.
ST: What have you learned from doing design outsourcing work?
Park: I learned that I should check the contract carefully. For example, I should know who placed the order, how long a time I’m given to finish the work, and how much I will be given as a fee. Some people give me an extremely short time to do the work yet demand high-quality work from me. Sometimes, I get paid less than what’s stated in the contract. These are some examples of bitter experiences I’ve had, but they’re also worth remembering. I guess whatever I learn from my misfortunes will help me in my future career.
The students that ST met gain financial and social profits like satisfaction and work experience at once, by doing part-time work. College life is the only time when you can work for something other than money. Some students are learning what life is all about even now, while doing part-time work. Good luck to those youngsters with much vigor! This is the only desire of ST: that they obtain abundant fruits from their hard work in their youth.
