A full load of college classes is often difficult and time-consuming. When you add a part-time (or in some cases, two part-time) job into the equation, that’s when things get really stressful.

We all know how the economy is these days. Things are not cheap. According to www.acenet.edu, in the 2003-04 school year, 78 percent of undergraduates had part-time jobs while they were enrolled.

Right now, I am taking a full load while holding down a part-time job in retail. I go to school three days a week and work around 25 hours a week. I have always had a job while in college, and in the long run I believe it will help me in the future.

Dealing with stress is very common in these situations. A good example is during the holiday season. In my case, mid-to-late December is right in the middle of the busy stretch for shopping, and, as luck would have it, it’s also the time for final exams, research papers and big projects for school.

Time management is critical. Being able to balance school, work, and leisure time is essentially a skill. It increases responsibility in people and takes effort to have fun without overworking yourself.

The skills you develop while working in college are also important. Even if you are working a job that is unrelated to what you want to pursue a career in, there is a good chance you will need the skills you obtain at your current job in the future.

Working in retail has helped me become able to better relate to people. Dealing with difficult customers isn’t easy but each time it happens, I learn from it and I use the knowledge I obtained to make the next instance easier for both the customer and myself.

Being able to keep a job for an extended period of time looks good on resumes. It also increases potential references that future jobs will ask for.

Many college students have a hard time figuring out what it is they want to pursue for their careers. Often times, students will pick a major, decide after a semester or two they want to change, and then end up getting a degree in a field they don’t want to work in.

What matters at the end of the day is having a degree. That piece of paper opens many doors, regardless of what you want to do.

Kyle Kershner can be reached a [email protected]