What are the benefits of having a part-time job while going to college? originally appeared on Quora, the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.

Having a part time job while in college is great for some people and terrible for others. Here is a list of comprehensive Pros and Cons that can help you to evaluate if it’s the right choice for you.

Please note, some of these items are listed as both pros and cons because depending on your personality, some of these things might work for you or against you.

Pros:

Money - Higher education is expensive and whether it’s paying for books, or lab supplies or your rent, the less amount of debt you can graduate with the better off you’ll be.

Time Management - Many people who work part-time are forced to be more productive and make better use of their time because they have less of it. Also by their nature most part time jobs have little to do with your major, which means it’s a break from your course work. Many studies have shown that taking breaks can improve your focus, productivity and grades. And if that’s true and you’re going to be taking breaks anyway why not get paid during those breaks?

No Full Time Jobs - In the past people used to work full time in order to pay off their college tuition. Currently there aren’t many jobs and/or university schedules that are flexible enough so for most students part time is the only option, which is technically a pro?

Networking - As a college student it’s easy to get enmeshed in the same groups-the same classes and the same people you spend weekends with. Working part time gives you access to different people and expands your network. I once had a part time job (during college) and when an on-campus scholarship/internship program was published I recognized that my boss’s boss was on the committee, and I was able to approach him (via my boss) and tell him I was interested. I ended up getting the scholarship, interning under him which I then leveraged into a bigger internship off campus.

There are a lot of stories about a CS major who met a Marketing major working together and they started a company together-part time work often brings people together who would not have met.

References - Entry level jobs consider references from part time jobs as well as ones from professors, so keep that in mind too.

Community - It’s good to get involved in your local community even if you’ll only be living there for a few years for college and working in the community will allow you to perceive more things outside of the university.

Sense of Independence - If you’re a college age student, you may spend your money on things that your parents wouldn’t approve of. (Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, but if it’s raining and you don’t want to walk the 20 blocks home and you pay for a Lyft, you feel fine about it if it’s your own money, but if your parents see the bill and would rather you walk…)

Combats Classism - There are some people who when they are college educated believe that they are better than those who aren’t. There are some people who have masters level degrees or doctorates who believe that they are better than those who aren’t. People often ignore classicism in the United States, but I would hazard to guess that there are local people in every college town who hate the students and students who mock or deride the ‘townies.’ Yet often when both groups get to know each other they see that the elitism that happens on both sides isn’t healthy.

Puts Things in Perspective - It’s easy to feel overwhelmed while you’re at university-and sometimes having a job puts things in perspective. You’re studying so hard to pass a test and if you don’t you’ll have to go to summer school and may not get that internship you want and then you go to work at the gas station and there’s a guy who can’t afford to fill up his tank so he only puts $10 in that he pays for in change. (Maybe that example is a little too Hallmark Channel; although I think they’d have to fall in love for Hallmark to consider that...) but sometimes in college (and everywhere, really) you need a little perspective.

Work Experience - Entry level jobs are looking for 1–3 years of work experience for recent college grads. And yes, that means that they usually want internships, but you often can’t intern until you’re a junior, so why not work before then and showcase your leadership skills until you can get an internship?

Fun - I’ve had part time jobs that are really fun and that the people were amazing. I worked one part time job in college where I was a projectionist for a film society where they had 18mm prints of popular films which is pretty enjoyable. I’ve also had places where the work was somewhat entertaining. Yes, there’s a reason you get paid to work there, but that doesn’t mean that it’s all drudgery.

Cons:

Money - I’ve had students who worked jobs part time, got promoted and then were offered salaries that were so high that they dropped out of school…only then to be limited by salary caps that were placed on people with no degrees further in their career. Also there is a problem when you’re making a lot of money (which is always nice) wanting to fuel working more which can hurt your studies if suddenly you’re working 55 hours per week on top of a full course load.

Time Management - If you’re bad at time management, you will of course do worse with a part time job because you’ll have less time. Now I would like to point out that if you’re bad at time management you should still consider taking a part time job because you do need to learn that, but obviously that isn’t the only solution.

Taking Away Jobs from Local Economies - If you’re taking a job that means one less opportunity for someone else who might need that job and there are always local people who lose out to jobs because college students are the preferred hires which can create more feelings of classicism.

Stress - Part time jobs are stressful too-and getting to work, doing your job on top of college coursework can be tough.

Judging Themselves - I’ve had students who start working part time and it’s temporary for them and then their colleague at the supermarket or fast food place is using that as their full time job and sometimes it can cause the student to judge themselves (although I would posit that having empathy for people outside your economic class is still a pro) but having that kind of critical judgement can lead someone to feel more stressed and can impact their studies.

Switching from P/T Work to Internships - If I had my way as a college career advisor, college students would only work until they were eligible to intern and then they would switch over to what is most relevant to their major/career field. However, if you’re making money and then you have to take an internship which pays less (or nothing at all) that can really be frustrating.

I have seen just as many people who have not stopped working (usually because they needed the money) and then they are less competitive than their peers who may have better grades and more internships in their industries.

So you have to ask yourself how you work and what might seem right for you as a student and as an employee. I would encourage students to seek part time jobs if it’s a fit for them as it can be a very rewarding experience for growth.

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