When in college, there are countless opportunities that can help prepare you for the future. Perhaps one the most beneficial of these would be having a part time job on top of taking classes. The benefits come along with holding down a job provide both short term and long term positive effects as well as in a variety of essential aspects.

To start off, as many students would probably agree the most satisfying part that comes along with being employed is the paycheck. Getting a paycheck at least every other week will provide a source of income that can be used in a variety of ways such as, purchasing groceries, going out with friends, or just saving it up.

While the first two options mentioned are aimed more towards the present day, the latter of the three deals more with the future. Preparing financially for the future is something that everyone should put an emphasis on contributing to whenever they can. Putting a certain percentage of your paycheck in a savings account would be no question a big help to that cause. Of course, as some have probably experienced at some point or another, saving money when you don’t have any to save can be quite difficult. Therefore, having a job that will supply you with an income which you could then proceed to save a portion (or all) of.

Another quality benefit found from working while in school is the development of time management skills. As most know, once an individual graduates from college they are likely thrown into the real world where they’ll then be faced with juggling a number of responsibilities. Holding down a job while taking classes and perhaps being involved in student clubs as well, is definitely adding a bit more to your list of responsibilities, and by doing so you now have to be more proactive in prioritizing how you spend your time. While balancing all this may sound like a bit of an obstacle at first, establishing a solid routine is critical to it all becoming easier with time. If you’re looking for some helpful information and tips on good time management, check out this article on lifehack.org to learn more.

In fact, believe it or not it’s been shown that students who work a job while in school actually tend to have better grades. According to information from a study in a insidehighered.com article, “Students who work 20 hours or more, on campus or off, did tend to be more engaged than students who did not work at all," The article then mentions that this is likely due to these particular students having developed exceptional time management skills. On top of that, working as a student will also bring about more experience in the work field which can be very helpful when applying for jobs later on in life.

Overall, there are undoubtedly some important benefits that come along with working while attending school. These benefits won’t just be useful in the present day, they’ll also be essential to preparing you for healthy financial future. To read more about the importance of having a job in college, check out this moneycrashers.com article that focuses not only on the benefits of having a job, but also the best jobs for college students.