Newspaper Page Text
Working
Leading a double life—as student and employee—
pays off in money and experience.
Peggy Luttrell: Nonstop Student
She’s not a professional ma
gician, but Peggy Luttrell
performs an impressive jug
gling act. As a graduate stu
dent in interior design at the
University of Tennessee, she
holds down a full-time job
and works on her degree at
the same time.
A typical day begins with
a class from 8 to 10 a.m.,
then continues with work as
a counselor at a mental health
institute until 5 p.m. Before
dinner Luttrell runs a few
miles, then heads for the
design lab and works on
projects until midnight.
Although her job frees her
from worries about financing
school, she finds it takes
discipline and constant or
ganization to keep up with
the demands on her time.
“A person must be able to
work for long-term goals,”
she says. “For instance, I
know I can’t go out and
drink beer with my friends
tonight because two years
from now I want to have my
degree.”
-LAURA SHANLEY
M B A candidate and
business representative
for Pacific Telephone
“I’d rather get work
experience and go to
school at the same
time. It’s a more real
istic atmosphere
and a chance to
make business
contacts that
could be impor
tant to me."
Making a Part-Time
Job Work for You
Whether it’s to raise cash for
college, get some valuable
experience in the “real world,”
or escape the craziness of
dorm life, you may want to
join the 2.7 million college
students who work part time
while going to school.
The first question to an
swer about a part-time job is:
Do I have the time? Any
money or experience you could
earn by working has to be
weighed against the possible
cost of failing a test or drop
ping from exhaustion. Mil
lions of working students do
well in school, but you should
consider carefully the effect
work will have on your aca
demic career.
The first step in looking
for a part-time job is to make
a list of your skills—how
fast you can type, what mu
sical instruments you can
play—anything and every
thing that might sell you to
an employer. List the jobs
you’ve had in the past and
what you’d like to do in the
future. You might want to
work up a brief resume.
Then ask around. Your
friends, enemies, professors,
mailman, and anyone else
breathing may be the source
of a job. Check with your
school’s employment office,
read the help-wanted ads,
and call federal and state
employment services. Think
seasonally. Around Christ
mas, department stores take
on tons of help. In the sum
mer, camps and playgrounds
need counselors and coaches.
Find out what’s out there!
In general, you should look
for a job that offers hours
suited to your class schedule.
Your employer, however,
should know you’re in school
and that under unusual cir
cumstances—during finals,
for instance—you may need
time off. Don’t take on too
many hours; for a full-time
student, 20 hours a week are
usually enough to handle.
Consider volunteer work.
Though working at an ani
mal hospital or writing for a
community newspaper may
pay nothing, the experience
can be valuable. In the long
run, you may earn more by
spending a little time volun
teering rather than going for
the money right away.
Enterprising Ideas
If you’d like to go into business for
yourself, consider one of the following
enterprising ideas:
• Sell something students want—dough
nuts during study hours, tennis balls at
wholesale prices, plants grown from
cuttings.
• Work as a campus marketing repre
sentative for major magazines, life insur
ance companies, stereo manufacturers,
or travel services.
• Tap the parent market—mail post
cards to parents offering services like
custom-decorated birthday cakes and
exam-time "care packages.”
• Market your knowledge—give tennis
lessons, or conduct classes in exercise,
French, or basic car repair.
• Earn your car’s keep by starting a
shuttle service to local airports and bus
stations.
• Start a wake-up service, a typing
service, or a babysitting service.
14 INSIDER