Working in College Pays

By Shannon Sullivan, Business Administration and Marketing ‘14

While I’ve certainly spent a good chunk of my time over the past four years complaining about how busy I am, I am so glad that I’ve been able to hold a few different jobs during that time. Not only has it been a great resume builder, it has given me a different perspective on things that I have learned in class.

Classes and textbooks are no doubt important, but applying concepts to real life situations before heading off to the “real world” is essential. On top of everything, working while handling a full class load has taught me how to balance my time well. Luckily, every boss that I have had has been incredibly understanding and accommodating of my class schedule and very supportive.

When I started off freshman year, I was still working as a sales associate at a local outlet store; a job I held until January of last year. While I knew I was honing my people skills during my shifts, particularly how to deal with… let’s say difficult people, it felt like I wasn’t really getting anything out of it aside from a paycheck. As my classes progressed and I learned more about what makes business tick; however, I was able to compare what I was learning with what I saw, which even helped me make suggestions to management that wound up working for our store and improved overall customer experience.

That type of experience has carried on through all of the other jobs I’ve held, as well. I’ve had my fair share of curveballs thrown at me at work and, at times, it felt like my head might explode trying to balance it all, but I did and am proud of myself for it. I know that all of my experience will undoubtedly help me to not feel like a complete fish out of water once I land my first post-college job.