Dear Katie,
I seemed to have taken on too much this semester and my grades are falling. I have three jobs and 12 credits. One of my jobs will help me the most with my career but it pays very little and it is not very secure. My second pays even less but again, is going to help me in my career. And my third doesn’t help my career at all, but it pays the most and is the most secure. I need to get rid of something, but I don’t know what. I don’t have time for classes and I am running on empty.
Jessica, 21
Dear Jessica,
It sounds like you’re pretty stressed out. Congratulations on realizing that your life is getting out of control before something happened.
Let’s evaluate each job, one by one.
The first job doesn’t pay well, but will look great on a resume. Assuming you are a college student, you are going to need all the help you can get to put together an impressive resume. It is not very secure.
The second job pays even less, but also looks good on a resume.
The third job pays well, but doesn’t help you out in the long run. It is relatively secure.
I’m going to call your 12 credits another job by itself. This job is your main focus. You are paying to be there, and you need to do your best.
Is there a way that you can go down to the minimum amount of hours at your third job, just so you are still on payroll? Even if you are working once every two weeks, you are still an employee and receive all the benefits of being one, such as a discount. And since you said it is relatively secure, even if you do leave that job, you might be able to come back.
Look at your bills and bank statements. Is there a way that jobs one and two can pay your bills? How about one and three? Three and two? Which combination of two jobs helps you out the most? Is there a way you can cut back on spending or lose an expense (like movie rentals, manicures, etc.) so that you can afford to go down to two jobs?
Spend some time going over these things, and think really hard before you act. Go over your situation with a parent or a good friend and see what they would do in your situation.
If you need some ideas on how to cut spending while not losing any quality of life, check out these sites.
Ask Katie 
Recent Comments