Mastering the double shift with the right work-university-life balance
Balancing work and study requires a lot of self-organization and an understanding environment - both privately and at work. Tight schedules, demanding client projects and meetings and long lectures are all things that have to be juggled and managed in one day. I am part of GenZ myself, am currently in the last semester of my part-time Bachelor's degree and work 26 hours a week as an account manager at digitalwerk. My biggest personal challenge is time management - spoiler: Coordinating university, work, sport and friends is anything but easy.
Why did I still decide to be an account manager at digitalwerk and not take on a relaxed 20-hour student job? Quite simply: career and money. In my opinion, the earlier you start your career and familiarize yourself with an industry, the easier it is to find out what job you are passionate about and the easier it is to get new jobs in the future. Ultimately, it's not the university degrees that set us apart from other applicants, but the experience we have gained. You can also start saving your own money earlier and become independent more quickly (and who doesn't want to be independent 😉).
What is the foundation of a good work-university-life balance?
In order to reconcile study, work, sport and friends, levers must be found in all areas that allow flexibility. This is likely to be difficult when it comes to lectures at university, so more leeway is needed at work in the form of a flexible working culture.
Companies should ensure that their working conditions allow student employees to complete their assignments, exams, lectures, etc. without their work suffering as a result. The right to flexible working hours and the option to work remotely is therefore no longer just a wish, but a prerequisite for a good work-university-life balance. At digitalwerk, I have the freedom to easily coordinate client, exam and presentation deadlines as well as lectures and to schedule remote working days sensibly, which makes my planning much easier.
From theory to practice
If your studies are related to your work, I can say from my own experience that the combination of studies and work can help you to apply what you have learned both during your studies and at work. Content learned during your studies can usually be helpful at work or be brought in additionally, e.g. new strategies, trends or research results. On the other hand, study-related work can help you to understand subjects during your studies more easily and better, as the practical relevance already exists.
And if your work doesn't fit in with your studies - don't worry, a student job at a cash desk also trains your emotional intelligence and teaches you how to fit into a team and deal with people of all kinds.
Further challenges & solution strategies
GenZ is therefore increasingly faced with the challenge of reconciling study and work and time management is becoming a top competence. Equally important is the ability to switch quickly between different ways of thinking and to maintain concentration over a long period of time during the day.
5 tips from my own experience that can help with these challenges:
- Look for an employer who also respects your personal interests and is willing to work flexibly with you.
- Always keep an eye on your schedule: Mark your working hours and lectures in your calendar.
- Try to arrange one day off per week with your employer: This will allow you to concentrate on yourself, your studies or other things on this day.
- Take time for plenty of breaks during the day
- Don't forget to plan free time for yourself!
Visions of the future - does an early entry into the professional world influence the future career path?
What requirements can be found in almost every job advertisement? Exactly: At least 1-2 years of professional experience, preferably at management level. In the creative industry in particular, experience and ability are often more important than an academic title, which says little about your skills.
Gaining professional experience at an early stage alongside your studies demonstrates a great deal of commitment and good (self-)organization - the basic requirements for any job. You develop personally and interpersonally, get a feel for how to deal with people in different situations and how to solve various challenges at an early stage.
Finally, an early career start offers the opportunity to try out different professions and positions at an early stage in order to find the right job for you. This shouldn't just be work, it should also be fun. This article is intended to show that the combination of studying and working is not only feasible, but also very enriching - you gain professional experience early on, increase your chances of success when looking for a new job, learn a lot personally and earn your own money earlier 😉.
