Working while studying is the norm for American students

Joana Perez, a third-year organisational communication student with a minor in human resources from West Chicago, Illinois, started working at the age of 16. For her, working while studying has always been the norm.

In March 2021, Perez received a full-time job offer as a receptionist for a social worker at the Ahva Care of Winfield nursing home in Winfield, Illinois. She currently works five days a week, which means she can only attend on-campus classes twice a week.

Perez is one of many students at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois, and millions of others elsewhere in the US who work while they study.

Some of them shared work-study challenges with journalism students at North-West University (NWU). The NWU and Lewis University recently worked together on an international collaboration project. Lewis is a private university in Romeoville, Illinois, USA.

The average annual cost at Lewis University is US$50,000 (around R932,000). Many students at the university rely on federal aid and scholarships, but this is not always enough, forcing them to find jobs to cover the shortfall. Some students at Lewis have up to three jobs while studying full-time.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) found that in 2020, 40% of full-time and 74% of part-time students were employed.

Izzat Hassan, a senior student majoring in computer science, said that this can be attributed to the American culture. “We have a culture whereby we want to get things done, we want to work. The general cost of living is also expensive so that is another driving force.”

Edwin Gutierrez, a senior majoring in air traffic control, said that there is financial aid and other support. “There are programmes such as FAFSA which provide aid and there are also scholarships. Some scholarships bring the average annual tuition fees at Lewis down to US$19,000 (R354,247).”

According to these students, most scholarships are awarded for sports achievements and not necessarily for academic excellence. “You would find that academic scholarships are mostly smaller while some sports scholarships could cover half of your tuition fees with some covering all expenses [a full ride],” Gutierrez said. He added that the student loans provided by FAFSA usually have to be paid back within 10 years after graduation at an interest rate of 4.5-5.5%.

Hassan said the student debt has a lot of students worried about their future and that it is another factor contributing to students working. “We try to earn enough money to rather just avoid student loans because of this, it is safer this way. I have a friend who would work one year and save his money, the following year he would study and pay his tuition in cash. Thereafter he would stop his studies and work again to [be able to] afford his studies the next year. All of this is done to avoid making debt.” 

Millions of Americans – 45 million to be exact, owe US$1,76 trillion in student debt. That equates to 1 in 5 adults owning an average of US$39,000 (around R242,000) – triple the amount of 15 years ago.

President Joe Biden aims to provide relief to the debtors by wiping out up to US$10,000 in college debt for qualifying borrowers, according to BBC. This move could benefit millions of people who earn less than US$125,000 annually. However, the relief plan has ground to a halt after a barrage of lawsuits.

Student debt is the second largest cause of debt in the US, following mortgages. 

Student loan repayments are initially scheduled to be settled over a timeframe of 10 years, according to the Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) website. However, 10 years ago, it already took an average of 21 years to pay off student debt, One Wisconsin Institute found in 2013. 

According to the International Study blog of the University of Newcastle in the UK, working while studying can be beneficial, but it has its disadvantages. These disadvantages can however be overcome with self-discipline, planning and effective time management. 

One advantage of studying and working is managing time and money – good skills to learn while at university. “At the beginning of my studies I had a part-time job, and I had no discipline regarding administering my money, so I had to take out some loans to help me to fill the gaps,” Perez said. “Things are very different now.”

She explained that she lives with her parents, which means that she does not have to pay for accommodation. She also mentioned that she pays her own tuition fees and prefers it that way because her parents already do so much for her. Like many other students who are working and studying at the same time, she spends a lot of time on the road and is never home for dinner. Perez said that “working and studying is not easy, it requires a lot of sacrifices but at the end of the day, it is all worth it”. 

Daisy Padilla, from Chicago, Illinois, another organisational communication student with marketing as a minor who graduated in May 2023, also lived with her parents throughout her studies. Since the age of 20, she helped her parents to pay her tuition. “A lot of my money goes towards gas [petrol], because I have to drive to work and university so often,” she said.

Colin Kenney, a third-year organisational communication student from Michigan City, Indiana, with a minor in business, started working at a restaurant at the age of 16. Kenney thinks that working while studying can be extremely draining. 

Unlike Padilla and Perez, Kenney does not work during the semester because he plays basketball for the university. However, during the summer break, Kenney works 40 hours per week as a real estate agent.

It is a different story in South Africa.

Many South African students use the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to fund their studies. Like FAFSA beneficiaries, NSFAS students have to be eligible for funding. The main difference is that NSFAS students do not need to pay back the money once they start working because it was changed to a grant in 2018.

NSFAS students have a lot of issues regarding payments, but it is uncommon to find students working to pay their tuition. – By Asanté Goeda and Ruhan Friedrichs