Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Work, study or both?
When the bell rings at two o’clock, most students do not go home. Many of us are used to staying behind for drama practices, sports practices, Interact meetings and prefects’ discussions, after which there is the two-hour tuition class.

Perhaps this gave the much-needed preparation for school leavers who have opted to work and study at the same time. According to Dilukshan, 21,“It’s like tap dancing with a glass ball filled with water on your head. Balance is what matters.”

Balancing studies and work is a challenging task. For some, it is hard to find a successful medium between books and the need for money. Most students seem to work to get extra money to offset the cost of living and paying bills.

Angela Fernando, 21, a second year student in a local university, works four days a week and enjoys the feeling of financial independence from her parents. “I work for an NGO so I can pay my bills and meet other financial obligations,” she said. “My work helps to provide me with a strong work ethic that I will need after graduation.”

Hiruni, has been studying and working for the last three years and she believes that her positive perspective has helped her a lot in coping with her studies and work. “When I just started, there were many days that I thought I would give up; either my studies or my work,” she says adding, “however, I have sorted things out over the years.” She works because she likes the type of work she does, she says. “Work and studies have both opened up worlds for me and they enhance each other,” says Hiruni adding that her work may benefit her in her studies and vice versa.

Not only have Hiruni’s studies become more competitive over the years, more and more responsibilities have been placed upon her at work as well. She simply smiles, saying, “Much of today’s world is about juggling priorities.” She puts it all down to ‘perspective’, which she is able to maintain with the support and understanding of the people around her. “Sometimes it does take a toll on relationships. I may come home exhausted and not have time for the people in my life. That’s the down side,” she adds.

Though her life has become quite complex, which she never expected, she admits that there is very little that she has given up, to maintain a balance in work and studies. “I still take time to do what I enjoy,” Hiruni says.

A tutor of a well-known computer institute says the primary reason for most students to seek jobs is because of their need for money, pay for their accommodation, books as well as cellular phones and transport. “Earlier it was a necessity for immigrant students, but now even students here, are enthusiastic about part-time work,” he says.

“It is a pity we do not have something called part-time jobs in Sri Lanka,” says Samadhi who is finding it extremely hard to cope with her work and studies. Having signed for a one-year agreement, she says she has to give priority to work and has to stay in office during regular working hours. “When it comes to university exams, study-leave is not for me. I have to come to work anyway,” she says. She too has started work to relieve her parents of financial burden.

Incidentally, local universities are conducting lectures for final year students on weekends and late in the evening. “When I was a first year student, I found it extremely difficult to attend lectures,” continues Samadhi. But there is a remarkable change in her lecture schedule of the final year, she reveals. “Almost all my lectures are held from five to eight in the evening,” she says asking, “are they trying to tell us that it is time for us to find work somewhere on our own?”

Sheran Liyanage says studying in Singapore would have been hard for him if he did not opt to do part-time jobs. His day begins at four in the morning every day. He works in a restaurant and runs off to college at 8.30a.m. After going to the gym and for squash practices, he heads to a drug store to work as a cashier. At 6 p.m., he has to take the neighbourhood dogs for a walk after which he returns to work at the drug store till 11 in the night. “I’m dead by the time I get back to my apartment, but then there is homework!” he exclaims. With the money he earns, he is able to pay his school fees and buy things for his family when he returns home.

Lasantha Harris, 27, a senior psychology major, has currently found work in his field. “I think it helps to have a job in my field because it gives me hands-on experience that will prove invaluable in the future,” Harris says.

“I urge students to be realistic,” says Mr. P. Kahandawala, a lecturer at the University of Kelaniya. He stresses it is imperative that students learn to strike a balance. “Many students take on too much and end up dropping classes toward the end of the semester,” he reveals. Another lecturer, however, says balancing work and school is not impossible.

“Students can handle it if they commit themselves to the task,” he says, revealing that he himself worked as a trainee-accountant while he was an undergraduate. “It is all about communication with your teachers, employers, and most importantly time management.” He recommends that students try to have jobs that relate to their field of study as it provides the experience they will need in the future.

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