the perspective towards part time employment among neu students

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION1.Background: In today’s modern society, part-time jobs have long been a part of universitystudents, and the tendency of NEU students to work part-time in paralle

National Economics University

The perspective towards part-time employment

among NEU students

Chapter II: Literature Review

1 Benefits of part-time jobs

2 Types of part-time jobs

3 Problems of part-time jobs

4 Methods to balance work and academic life

Chapter III: Findings and discussions

Chapter IV: Conclusions

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1.Background:

In today’s modern society, part-time jobs have long been a part of universitystudents, and the tendency of NEU students to work part-time in parallel withstudying has also been increasing over time Preliminary figures show that themajority of students in NEU look for part-time jobs in addition to their studies tomake money and cover their daily living costs and the small quantity for otherreasons such as gaining experience and expanding relationships

2 Rationale:

In reality, part time jobs have popularly existed in students’ life It helps people

so much on daily life both short-term and long-term By contrast, somedetrimental effects on NEU students’ college life have been seen on this trend,resulted in the imbalance between their academic life and personal life

Therefore, research on a large scale needs to be carried out to shed light on thereasons behind the trend and also suggest several feasible ways to mitigate thisimbalance as much as possible

3 Purposes

Through researching and analyzing data, our group aims to outline the actualstatus of working part-time jobs among NEU students and the factors directlyaffected to their choices of working part-time Moreover, some benefits anddrawbacks would be addressed to know more about this kind of work amongstudents and therefore, we would recommend the most efficient methods forcollege students to balance between studying and working in order to achieve thebest results in both academic and personal life

4 Research questions

1 What is the current situation of working part-time among NEU students?

2 What are the factors the NEU students consider when working part-time?

3 What are the benefits and challenges of working part-time among NEUstudents?

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

1 BENEFITS OF PART-TIME JOBS:

The various reasons why an increasing number of undergraduate students choose

to work part-time in parallel with their studies are also the benefits they gain fromdoing so

1.1 Financial supporter:

Income is the first and foremost benefit that makes students look for a part-timejob Going to college, especially for those who live far away from home, finance

is always a problem that needs to be solved College life requires a huge amount

of money According to Nguyen Van Phi (2022), the tuition fee at NEU,depending on one's major, fluctuates from $500 to $2500 a year, which can be aburden on many Vietnamese families Even if one has scholarships, livingexpenses are enough of a reason to get a job, especially as they are increasing in

Ha Noi Therefore, a part-time job can subsidize part of these fees, releasing apart of the burden on parents' shoulders (Staffinder agency, 2016)

1.2 Experience:

According to Nguyen Thu Huyen (2016), besides financial problems, having apart-time job also has another meaning, which is to experience life andaccumulate lessons Many students are still protected under their parent's wings

from birth to the end of high school Furthermore, as soon as they step out intosociety, everyone wants to see clearly and broadly how adult life works.

Most students desire to work part-time to increase life-related skills, understandthis society better, and at the same time, draw lessons that few parents andschools can teach

1.3 Make a good resumé:

Nguyen Thu Huyen (2016) also claims that if one is also a recent graduate buthas had part-time work and exposure in the industry for six months or longer, hisprofile is much more dominant than a fresh graduate's An employer alwayswants to hire candidates with experience For fresh graduates, in addition to theknowledge at school, which is confirmed through diplomas and certificates, thestudent's work experience is also an essential factor Therefore, part-timeemployment can help them gain skills and relevant experience, making themmore attractive to prospective employers These skills include teamwork skills,problem-solving skills, communication skills, and more For example, awaitperson job could help one's application stand out for a job in accounting, asemployers will recognize the skills applicants have gained through dealing withcustomers and handling money

2 TYPES OF PART-TIME JOBS FOR STUDENTS

Today, college students have a wide variety of options when it comes tofinding part-time jobs In fact, the same changing employment trends that arehaving an impact outside of colleges and universities are also bringing newopportunities to students When picturing this issue, Ashley Kornee (2020) statedthat there are 6 types of jobs for college students

2.1 On-Campus Part-Time Jobs for College Students

These days, some universities have provided a work-study program forqualified students In some cases, these jobs are part of a student’s financial aid

package meaning that they are not obliged to pay federal income taxes on themoney they earn Moreover, employment on campus may also be found Somepaid occupations could be available at cafeterias, libraries, the maintenancedepartment, or even the marketing department Some talented students maywish to work as a T.A or help other students in studying Although these worksare not quite lucrative, they do offer relevant experience.

2.2 Traditional Part-Time Employment

Applying for a traditional part-time job is a common choice amongundergraduates These are jobs in restaurants, bars, bookstores, grocery stores,clothing stores, big-box supercenters, warehouses, and even factories Studentsseek out these jobs because they often involve varying shifts that can workaround a student’s schedule

Some students may be hesitant about pursuing these jobs This is because theymay perceive those works as not reflecting their skills or not being relevant totheir future goals However, students with these jobs could learn about customerservice skills and work ethic, which are still highly beneficial to them Moreover,they also have a chance to hone their teamwork skills with work in, for example,restaurants or factories

2.3 Part-Time Entrepreneurship

Starting a business is also a favorable trend for lots of students This can beexplained by the fact that many like the idea of not having a boss and havingcontrol over their time, and students don’t need to form empires to work forthemselves and operate profitable businesses However, there are probably manydifficulties in this selection For instance, a lack of funds and well-educatedemployees significantly hinder starting their businesses Still, there are severalbusinesses that students can form depending on the skills that they have:Housekeeping And Cleaning, Home Maintenance And Repair, Tutoring,Babysitting, Deliveries, Personal Shopping, Photography, Web Design,

To be successful at these jobs, students must be highly motivated and willing

to take on the responsibilities of owning a business This includes keeping track

of finances, paying taxes, and marketing the business Successful students willpick up valuable skills they can apply in virtually any field

In many cases, gig work is more lucrative than traditional employment Peopleseeking this kind of help are often in a bind They need help quickly and arewilling to pay a premium On the other hand, compared to different types of part-time employment, the risk of being scammed or ripped off is higher Studentspursuing these jobs should research as much as possible about the person orcompany hiring them It’s also a wise idea to get details about payment upfront

2.5 Paid Internships

Not long ago, the vast majority of internships were unpaid Today, more and

more companies are opting to pay their interns This may be to ensure that theystay within the bounds of the Department of Labor regulations In any case, manystudents can now enjoy the benefits of an internship while also earning money.Students who intern can pick up valuable skills and experience related to theirfield of choice They can also connect with employers, future coworkers, andothers These are invaluable during the post-graduation job search

2.6 Summer Employment

Summer employment may not technically be its type of employment, but it isstill worth mentioning Because many students are unable or unwilling to workduring the school year as they may have intense class schedules that don’t leavetime for work They may also attend schools where jobs aren’t readily available.For them, summer employment is a viable option Frequently, the summer seasonalso brings more jobs and opportunities Here are just a few places where summerjobs are prevalent

- Local Parks Departments: Maintenance and Clean up Concessions

- Movie Theaters: Concessions, Ushers, Ticket Sales

- Summer Camps: Counselors, Maintenance Workers, Office Help

- Construction Companies: Temporary Labor, Canvassing, Office Work

Moreover, when tourism is popular in the summer, many traditional employerssuch as restaurants, hotels, and retail shops have additional opportunities as well

3 PROBLEMS OF PART-TIME JOBS

According to many research documents, it is found that students who areworking part-time encounter different challenges both study-wise and health-wise

3.1 Challenges on academic attainment

Ali (2017) stated, “The most important part gained from PT jobs is skillsetssuch as improving communication skills, teamwork skills and learning about timemanagement and students might gain extra income and meet new friends''.However, in his survey, he also said “Students may feel sleepy and reduce timefrom study, thus it is a real challenge to balance between part-time jobs andstudy”

According to H.M Fahimah, H Anie & A.N Jonet (2000), if students took part

in part-time jobs in company with their study for a long period of time, it wouldsignificantly negatively impact their learning accomplishment at university Theiraverage overall value (before working part-time was 3.57) dropped to 3.48 afterworking part-time Moreau and Leatherwood (2006) found thatindividuals holding a job always or usually found their academic studies “astruggle” Carney also had the similar findings that most college students whoworked more hours perceived a negative effect on their academic performance

In an analysis of Claire Callender (2005), there was an adverse term-timeworking influence on student's final year marks at university Moreover, herresearch revealed that the more hours students worked during their final year, thelower the marks achieved

However, King (2006) argued against the view of Callender that working time could improve students’ GPA at university This is because it was helpful incovering their living expenses for essentials, reducing the burden on their family,gaining higher opportunities for their future career, broadening the networks withfriends, customers and having a multidimensional view to their social lives Thus,the aforementioned benefits could bring satisfaction and happiness, which in turnboost student's academic attainment

part-3.2 Challenges on students’ mental health

The studies of Lauren Dundes Jeff Marx (2006) showed that not only marks atuniversity but also stress correlated with working part-time The majority ofstudents working more than 10 hours felt stressed Studying and working at thesame time is also difficult, which caused students fatigue and worry because oftoo much academic work and issues related to part-time jobs (Chantrea, 2017)

To sum up, students working part-time in addition to their studying mightencounter different problems that influence their GPA as well as their health.Therefore, it is a matter of the utmost importance to students to find a viablemethodology to balance their work and study

4 METHODS TO BALANCE WORK AND ACADEMIC LIFE.

As several problems related to the imbalance of students’ work and study lifehave been seen in the former steps, some feasible methods will be outlined tomitigate that imbalance to some extent

First of all, higher educational institutions, especially universities or colleges,should arrange the programs that would help working students to do academicwork effectively as they work full time or part time in their occupations.Regarding this point, Edward and Esther (2019) deem that schools should makegood use of information communication technology (ICT), so that it is easier forstudents to access documents and materials or making some procedures such asregistration or submitting assignments without going to the institutions

Additionally the students themselves must take responsibility by planning their,time schedules well such that they can save some time for their academic work.Social activities such as funerals, weddings or hangouts should be reduced asmuch as possible to make time for studies According to Andrea Casnovas(2022), keeping the body healthy both physically and mentally no matter howstressed you are with many tasks in work and study is undoubtedly important,you need to take special care of your health

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

After surveying among NEU students for a month, our team produced 12 graphsabout the topic of this research Below is the breakdown and analysis for eachchart

I The current situation of working part-time among NEU students

1 The number of NEU students who work part-time and their year of study

Chart 1 The number of NEU learners who work part-time jobs.

Chart 2 NEU working students’ year of study

Looking at the pie charts, there were 60% students having part-timeemployment, higher than that of those who don’t (40%) Additionally, while thefirst-year students accounted for the highest figure of having part-time jobs(69,4%), that of the fourth-years took up 2,8% for the lowest number All thefigures reveal most of the people working part-time jobs were the first year andsecond year students This is a common phenomenon in many universitiesnowadays, maybe the educational programs in the first year and the second yearare not too heavy with academic knowledge so that they could have time to earnmoney or pursue personal interests Otherwise, the juniors and seniors not only inNEU but also in other universities often have quite expertise knowledge that needthem fully concentrated on it In addition, there are so many concerns aboutinternship, job finding or just presenting a dissertation Therefore, they just don’thave enough time to do other things like part-time jobs