Eight-thousand five-hundred and eighty-that’s the amount of money a part-time employee makes in a year working 15 hours a week.
Seven-thousand five-hundred and thirty-nine—that’s an average tuition payment for an Ontario university student, according to Statistics Canada. And that is only an average.
If you are in school for dentistry, your average tuition payment increases to roughly $18,187 a year. When you add that to the cost of living, working a part-time job barely makes a dent in tuition prices.
Pauline Leocio, a fourth-year student at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, said she works roughly 20 hours a week at her part-time job at Staples.
“I can’t imagine how students who live on their own, own a vehicle, and pay for their tuition survive on minimum wage pay, without compromising their studies from working crazy hours,” Leoncio said. “After four months of work on minimum wage I’d make roughly $3,200 before tax deductions. This is basically my tuition, without textbooks, so there’s no room for any other expenses.”
For Tegan Baker, a third-year psychology and French student at the University of Ottawa, her part-time job helps with the cost of school and also helps her study.
“My job allows me to speak French and practice my conversation skills, so that caters to the French portion of my program,” Baker said, referring to her job at Chapters.
The pressure of school plus the time commitment of working can become straining on a student. For Baker, working less hours is key: she only works 12 hours a week. “There are times when exams and papers are all due within the one week and I’m still having to work when I’d prefer to be studying or completing assignments, but usually it’s pretty manageable. If anything, working part-time helps me manage my time better outside of school,” Baker said.
For others, such as Leoncio, working is necessary, but finding a balance between is the real key to success.
“It’s taken me a couple of years, but I’ve finally figured out the perfect formula for my success in both school and work. When this balance is disrupted, I struggle in staying on top of my studies or being happy at work. When I work too often, I become too tired to do homework and fall behind,” Leoncio said. “I prioritize school over work so I’d rather have more time for school, but I can’t afford to not work.”
