Balancing on the Work-School Tightrope: 3 Working Students Share Their Advice

Written by Julia Gralki and Haylee Gemeiner, Illustration by Ivy Zingone

If you’re a working student, you may feel like you’re constantly walking on a tightrope. Whether you’re employed for the experience, to pay your bills or just for the extra spending money— the added stress can quickly push you too far in one direction. We spoke with a few SCAD students to see how they maintain a work-school balance and avoid falling off the rope.

Know Your Limits

Third-year user experience design student, Lara Federspiel, worked with a mental-health app for several months when she started feeling overwhelmed by her workload. She asked to have her hours cut but saw them increase instead, ultimately influencing her decision to quit and focus on school.

“I wasn’t valued as a person and that just sent me into a downward spiral,” Federspiel said. Wanting the job experience at the time, she continued to work more than she could manage as her mental health suffered. Federspiel regrets not clarifying her availability with the company again to prevent the stress and her inevitable resignation.

Now the co-leader and co-director for multiple design competitions and clubs at SCAD, Federspiel has redirected her time into extracurriculars. Doing so has offered her more flexible scheduling while still providing experience in her field.

To avoid burnout, Federspiel recommends transparency with your employer regarding schedule limitations and prioritizing your needs. Jobs that hire a lot of students are usually more sympathetic to their availabilities and less likely to overwork their employees.

Find Success in Structure

“My mental health was worse without a job,” fourth-year illustration student, Myles Baynard-Jones said. Employed at a downtown restaurant, Baynard-Jones explained that working gives him direction and something else to look forward to on top of his classes and his place on SCAD’s cross-country team.

While free time may sound mythical to working students, those who are able to focus solely on their studies may find it in excess. For artists, a lack of structure can mean a lack of drive. Baynard-Jones found a purpose at his job and motivation closely behind it.

Stress-Management Vs. Time-Management

Fourth-year interactive design and game development student, Tamara Vega, constantly questions if there are enough hours in the day to do it all.

“I’m financially independent, so working is not optional. I like to think I balance work and school well but it can be a struggle,” Vega said. These days, she works a minimum of 50 hours a week between school and her contract gig with an architectural design firm.

From the mental strain of deadline anxiety and the fear of falling behind to the physical consequences of sleep deprivation and poor nutrition— this familiar reality for working students is a harsh one.

For Vega, mini-burnouts are inevitable. So, rather than trying to prevent them altogether by focusing on managing her time, she has learned it’s more effective to work through them by managing her stress. Some ways she achieves this and prevents major burnouts are: reaching out and asking for help, always reserving times during the week to destress and budgeting so that she can take time off of work when necessary.

The Other Side of the Tightrope

The balancing act of working a job and attending classes is an impressive one, but it’s important to acknowledge how hard it can be on your mental health. Consider what you can do to dodge unnecessary stress and avoid burning out before you’ve fully started your career—the goal, after all, is to make it to the other side of the tight rope and get off.