Part-time jobs, a form of employment that takes fewer than 20 hours per week, have been popular among undergraduates nowadays. Malcom (2008) claims on The Times that most studies show at least a half of students work during term-time. Also, a study conducted in 126 colleges and universities in China in 2008 showed that there are 70% of 10,000 students surveyed having part-time jobs. The popularity of having part-time jobs among undergraduates has become a hot topic to which much of public attention has been paid. People argue about its benefits as well as its drawbacks to undergraduates. Since the benefits that part-time jobs offer far exceed its drawbacks, I do believe that undergraduates should have part-time jobs.
Some people oppose to undergraduates' having part-time jobs since they think that after such stressful time and hard work at school, undergraduates should spend free time relaxing. If undergraduates spend free time enjoying such forms of wholesome entertainment as playing football and listening to music, then I might agree with the opinion above. However, there is no doubt that, nowadays, a large number of undergraduates waste time and money drinking and gambling in pubs and clubs. There are 63.5 % of 200 undergraduates chosen at random in 4 universities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in 2007 reported to have an often drink in bars and clubs. It is evident that a large sum of money and amount of time are spent meaninglessly in such useless places. Moreover, undergraduates must spend a bigger sum of money for medical treatment for diseases caused by heavy drink. Why don't they have part-time jobs to use their free time more meaningfully and wisely? Working part-time as tutors, for instance, could offer undergraduates some joyful minutes with children and a sense of happiness when bringing new knowledge to such lovely children. Having such part-time job does not only help undergraduate avoid wastes of time and money but also offer them a chance to relax, to some extent.
Quite a few people have a negative view towards having part-time jobs among undergraduates since they think that the duty of undergraduates is to study, not to earn money. At glance, this opinion appears reasonable and appropriate since undergraduates deserved to be financially supported by their family so that they could devote most of time to study. However, it just seems true in the case of average and rich students. It is undeniable that many other poor undergraduates have to earn money by taking part-time jobs; otherwise, they couldn't afford tuition fee and other living expenses. If the task of undergraduates is only to study, then they must fulfill their task successfully. Then I wonder how poor undergraduates could fulfill their task without having enough money to enroll courses and to pay for accommodation. Moreover, people who have that opinion seem to fail to see another side of the nature of university-life. Indeed, students come to university not only to get academic knowledge from books and professors but also get preparation to become self-reliant and independent graduates. Hence, while at school, undergraduates should have part-time jobs in order to gain financial independence from parents and others - an initial step on their way to an independent life after graduating. This is because income from part-time jobs helps undergraduates cover their tuition fee and other living expenses, and hence, enables them to become financially independent. Therefore, apart from studying, an important part that undergraduates must partly fulfill is to lead an independent life, which could be gained through having part-time jobs.
Many other people hold the opinion that taking part-time jobs should be banned among undergraduates since taking part-time jobs results in undergraduates' poor performance at school. However, this is not always the case. In the article of "Learning and earning: Working in College", Orszag & Whitmore (2001) state that students who work fewer than 10 hours per week have slightly higher GPAs than those who do not. In addition, many undergraduates are able to improve their grades at school thanks to valuable experiences gained from part-time jobs. For example, after having such part-time jobs as being tutors and salespersons, most undergraduates have skills of time-management and self-organization, which are of great help to their performance at school. Besides, undergraduates who major in pedagogy know how to apply theories learnt at school to real teaching situations via working part-time as tutors. Then basing on these practical experiences, pedagogic students will certainly have more chance to improve their learning at school than those who do not take such part-time job. What's more, having part-time jobs in different contexts with different problems to solve will inarguably enable undergraduates to become flexible. The flexibility they gain from part-time jobs then contributes a large part to the success in their study.
With the benefits mentioned above of having part-time jobs, it is advisable for each undergraduate to have one. However, in order to balance between work and study, undergraduates should be wise in choosing what kind of part-time jobs they should have, and how much time they should spend on it. All things considered, as for undergraduates, missing having part-time jobs also means losing a chance to become financially independent, to improve their performance at school and to use their free time meaningfully and wisely.
Some people oppose to undergraduates' having part-time jobs since they think that after such stressful time and hard work at school, undergraduates should spend free time relaxing. If undergraduates spend free time enjoying such forms of wholesome entertainment as playing football and listening to music, then I might agree with the opinion above. However, there is no doubt that, nowadays, a large number of undergraduates waste time and money drinking and gambling in pubs and clubs. There are 63.5 % of 200 undergraduates chosen at random in 4 universities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in 2007 reported to have an often drink in bars and clubs. It is evident that a large sum of money and amount of time are spent meaninglessly in such useless places. Moreover, undergraduates must spend a bigger sum of money for medical treatment for diseases caused by heavy drink. Why don't they have part-time jobs to use their free time more meaningfully and wisely? Working part-time as tutors, for instance, could offer undergraduates some joyful minutes with children and a sense of happiness when bringing new knowledge to such lovely children. Having such part-time job does not only help undergraduate avoid wastes of time and money but also offer them a chance to relax, to some extent.
Quite a few people have a negative view towards having part-time jobs among undergraduates since they think that the duty of undergraduates is to study, not to earn money. At glance, this opinion appears reasonable and appropriate since undergraduates deserved to be financially supported by their family so that they could devote most of time to study. However, it just seems true in the case of average and rich students. It is undeniable that many other poor undergraduates have to earn money by taking part-time jobs; otherwise, they couldn't afford tuition fee and other living expenses. If the task of undergraduates is only to study, then they must fulfill their task successfully. Then I wonder how poor undergraduates could fulfill their task without having enough money to enroll courses and to pay for accommodation. Moreover, people who have that opinion seem to fail to see another side of the nature of university-life. Indeed, students come to university not only to get academic knowledge from books and professors but also get preparation to become self-reliant and independent graduates. Hence, while at school, undergraduates should have part-time jobs in order to gain financial independence from parents and others - an initial step on their way to an independent life after graduating. This is because income from part-time jobs helps undergraduates cover their tuition fee and other living expenses, and hence, enables them to become financially independent. Therefore, apart from studying, an important part that undergraduates must partly fulfill is to lead an independent life, which could be gained through having part-time jobs.
Many other people hold the opinion that taking part-time jobs should be banned among undergraduates since taking part-time jobs results in undergraduates' poor performance at school. However, this is not always the case. In the article of "Learning and earning: Working in College", Orszag & Whitmore (2001) state that students who work fewer than 10 hours per week have slightly higher GPAs than those who do not. In addition, many undergraduates are able to improve their grades at school thanks to valuable experiences gained from part-time jobs. For example, after having such part-time jobs as being tutors and salespersons, most undergraduates have skills of time-management and self-organization, which are of great help to their performance at school. Besides, undergraduates who major in pedagogy know how to apply theories learnt at school to real teaching situations via working part-time as tutors. Then basing on these practical experiences, pedagogic students will certainly have more chance to improve their learning at school than those who do not take such part-time job. What's more, having part-time jobs in different contexts with different problems to solve will inarguably enable undergraduates to become flexible. The flexibility they gain from part-time jobs then contributes a large part to the success in their study.
With the benefits mentioned above of having part-time jobs, it is advisable for each undergraduate to have one. However, in order to balance between work and study, undergraduates should be wise in choosing what kind of part-time jobs they should have, and how much time they should spend on it. All things considered, as for undergraduates, missing having part-time jobs also means losing a chance to become financially independent, to improve their performance at school and to use their free time meaningfully and wisely.
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