There is a wide range of financial aid students are privileged to choose from. One of these aids is work study. There are many expenses students need to cover in school. In addition to grants, scholarships, and loans, many institutions offer work-study programs for students. This is a program that allows students to get a job while schooling and they get paid for the job done. The remuneration depends on the type of job the student is doing. Let us read to the end to find out “Is Work-Study Worth It?”
Work-study is a decent and legal way of financing your education, so, work-study is worth giving a shot at. However, It is very important to know the pros and cons of work-study, the difference between work-study and a part-time job, and weigh the benefits and check if it will work for you.
Is Work-Study Worth It?
You can not consider work study as a sophisticated job position in the world, however, as a student, it can finance your education in college and get stipends that will help you with your basic needs.
This program is for students who apply for the financial aid program. This program is funded by the federal government, known as federal work-study. It is established to help students to earn money while in school. These jobs either help the department or society. Students are paid based on the hours they worked, and they are offered a paycheck. Also, the remuneration can be linked to tuition fees. In the sense that, the remuneration covers your tuition fee.
Benefits of work-study
There are many benefits of work-study and they include:-
- Financial support
- Work study is flexible and convenient
- You can earn more than the stipulated amount
- You have control over your money
- You get to have experience
Financial support
The purpose of the work-study is to support students so that they can be independent to some extent thereby assisting them to finance their education and get some of their basic needs met. It is a means of assisting students to prepare themselves and get money through legal means.
Work study is flexible and convenient
Work study is flexible and convenient because they are offered on campus and it is easy for you to navigate your department and your office, it is easy to talk to your boss and you can be scheduled at work according to your timetable. That is, you can easily talk to your boss, and you can also strike a balance between your school work and job.
You can earn more than the stipulated amount
Some employers want to extend the hours you work at work, therefore, they will pay you more for the extra hours since the pay is based on the number of hours. Therefore, you earn more than the money on your FAFSA application.
You have control over your money
Most schools offer paychecks to students at the end of the month, you can spend the money on what you want to, you can transfer the money to your bank account or you may link the paycheck to your school account if you have not paid your tuition fee.
You get to have experience
Work study is a good way of gaining experience, experience is the best teacher and it will help you especially when your work-study job is related to your course of study. This will help you when you want to start your career path, this will help you to build credibility, and also have a good experience for your resume. Aside from the fact that work-study will help you gain knowledge in your field, it will help you in the future.
Limitations of work-study
Despite the numerous benefits of work-study, this financial aid still has some limitations and they include;
- The money does not cover large expenses
- You have to apply annually
- There are restrictions to the job you can apply for.
The money does not cover large expenses
Work-study is a great way of getting money and financing your basic needs and some of your tuition, however, it cannot cover large and big expenses like tuition fees and accommodation. You will still need some other financial means to fund your college education, you can also apply for some financial aid such as grants and loans.
You have to apply every year
You have to apply every year and sometimes, you might not get accepted the next year because there are factors that are considered.
There are restrictions to the job you can apply for
Also, there are restrictions to the type of job you can apply for, most of the jobs are on campus, therefore, most of the jobs are narrowed down and there are restrictions to the job you can select from.
How to navigate yourself through college using work-study?
Navigating yourself through college can be difficult and overwhelming, especially with the fact that the educational system is designed in a way to depend on money. As a student, you need money for a lot of things. Therefore, work-study can help you to navigate your financial issues in college.
The following are ways to navigate yourself through college using work-study. Although work-study will not be able to cover all the expenses you need, here are tips that can help:-
- Demand for extra hours from your employer.
- You can try to get service work to earn extra bucks.
- Apply for a loan, grants, and other forms of financial aid
Difference between work-study and part-time job
Work study is always affiliated with the school. And most of the time, it is always within the campus, and sometimes when it is off campus, the organization is always affiliated with the school, and the hours are restricted to the amount that was agreed upon initially.
Part-time job has nothing to do with the school or organization, you get to find the job on your own and you are paid based on the amount agreed on. You can work as much or little as you want.
Work study you can apply for
The following are work studies you can apply for in college and they include:-
- Tutoring: If you are in the teaching line or pure science, you might be given your course-related work to earn money and gain experience. You may be tutoring high school students or low-level students depending on your current level of education. Also, you can find parents who want you to tutor their child privately, so this makes you earn some extra buck.
- Library position: if you are studying library and information science, English, language, history, etc, your work-study place might be in the school library. There are a few works to do in the library and they range from arranging books, organization of books, registering visitors, and assisting the librarians. This work is interesting because it will look good on your resume especially when you are looking for a job in a corporate organization, it also helps you quiet your head from the noise and things happening in the school.
- Computers laboratory assistant: If you are into tech or your course of study is computer relayed. The computer laboratory assistant position is a position to gain experience and practice your work. I’m advantage of working in the computer laboratory is the fact that you have the privilege of asking questions, and have access to free Wi-Fi. Your work is to monitor the computer and solve any problem the student has.
- Fitness Center position: the fitness position is for people who want to be fit, so if you want to be fit, you can pick up a b at the school gym. You can work as a receptionist, manager of a volleyball team, basketball, or gym instructor if it is what you have been doing.
- Event promotions support staff: Are you an extrovert that loves planning events and knows about planning and organizing events, this is the time to showcase your skill. This position helps you to actively immerse yourself in school activities by supporting the staff in charge.
- Researcher: If your school has a large research department or you are in a research-based field, this is the time to research and try out new things. This can give you the privilege of exploring and trying new things out in the laboratory, especially in science. The highlight of this work is that you might earn more than those in other fields but you might have to perform one experiment 10-30 times
Conclusion
In conclusion, we have learnt “Is Work-Study Worth It?”, work-study is worth it and profitable in many ways and students can take advantage of it because it will help them to expand their capacity in terms of experience gained in the field, get stipends that can cover some of their daily expenses, and make them have an idea of being independent.
Frequently asked questions
Q1. Is work study worth it?
Yes, work-study is worth it because it is a means of financial aid.
Q2. What are the benefits of work-study?
- Work study is flexible and convenient
- Financial support
- You have control over your money
You get to have experience.
Q3. What is the difference between work study and a part-time job?
Work-study is mostly on-campus and it might be within the jurisdiction of the course you are studying while a part-time job has nothing to do with your course in school.
