Work and Freshman Year

Your parents have probably been asking “have you found a job yet?”, “do you have enough money to eat?” along with all the other nags that come with leaving the nest. But they’re right… will you have a job through your first year of university? If you won’t, how will you afford parties in addition to everyday necessities? Your parents won’t have bottomless wallets forever you know.

First year can be a bit nerve racking in general. It's normal to be anxious about balancing the work load with simple but time consuming things like laundry or cooking. I know people who haven’t worked a day through their university career, whereas I’ve always held two jobs throughout school and summer. Who do you think will be more prepared to for a career once they graduate? If you don’t learn how to prioritize now you’ll fall behind the others. By starting in your freshman year you'll accustom to a school-work life and it'll be a cinch once fourth year comes around.

By working part-time you learn how to prioritize, develop work ethics and learn from your mistakes (like calling in sick way too often) – plus you’ll have some pocket change for a rainy day! If your schedule during the week is full it's worth applying for weekend jobs like a pizza place or the movie theatre.
University really isn’t as difficult as people make it out to be. As long as you stay on task you’ll be fine – unless you work better under-pressure, then you’ll definitely need coffee change for plenty of late nights.

If worse-comes-to-worse you can explain to your employer that you need to focus on school and respectfully wish to be on a leave of absence until the holidays. No employer should make you choose work over academics if they have your best interests in mind. You do need to keep your marks up because your first year marks could come back to haunt you in your final year.

It’s time to check-in and grow up! You’re getting tossed into a bigger world and the time to adjust is now. Check out careerzone.brocku.ca for job postings within the Brock community or navigate to “Find A Job” through brocku.ca/career-services for an extensive list of job search resources.

Welcome to University! Good luck and best wishes on surviving Frosh week!

Sam