A 2015 Georgetown University study found that more than
70% of college students worked while attending school over the last 25 years. The
percentage of working students increased throughout the last quarter century,
except for the years during and after the recession of 2008.
The study, Learning While Earning: The New Normal,
reported that students work an average of 30 hours each week and 25% are
working full time. It also found that educational costs have increased to the
point where even a full-time work schedule is generally not enough to cover the
bills.
“Today, almost every college student works, but you
can’t work your way through college anymore,” Anthony P. Carnevale, director of
the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, said in a
report for CNBC. “Even if you work, you have to take out loans and take on debt.”
Seven in 10 college graduates had student-loan debt in
2014 and the average amount owed was nearly $29,000, according to the Institute
for College Access and Success. The Georgetown research found that while 14% of
working learners had student debt of more than $50,000, 22% of nonworking
students carried similar obligations.
The report also pointed out that working provides
hands-on experience, even when the job isn’t related to a student’s major.
“Working while one is still in school enhances the
ability to meet deadlines, work under pressure, and effectively structure time
blocks,” said Wendy Patrick, business ethics lecturer at San Diego State
University. “It instills a sense of discipline, responsibility, structure—all
elements that contribute to a successful life.”
