By Taisuke Senoo

Recently, most college students have a part-time job in their free time. Why do they have a part-time job during college? The reasons for working part-time are, for example, to earn money for school expenses, to cover the cost of living, for clothing and entertainment expenses, and so on. There are various kinds of jobs advertised in magazines.

Wages and work hours are taken into consideration in order to be fitted into each person's individual life style. The number of students working as daytime temporary staff is increasing. Temporary staff can make an appointment in their free time via e-mail to the agency and then go directly to the work place. It seems that students can earn money easily.

However, the amount of time they spend on their jobs seems to interfere in their school life. The hourly wage for workers at a convenience store is about ￥650 and they must work from four to eight hours. A waiter or waitress at a chain restaurant earns about ￥680 an hour and works for 6 hours. It may be difficult to keep a balance between studies and work.

It is not always a bad thing for the students, though. For example, they can get real job experience before entering the business world. By doing part-time work, students can find some meaning and some work that is interesting. They can gain a sense of the value of money, too. They can learn about the travails or working and the social aspects in the business world that are not written in school textbooks. There are a lot of practical things to be learned.

Anyone can quit a part-time job whenever they want, but it's better try to work if you worry about your future career. It is one way to find a future job. For example, some people aren't suited for working in the service industry, or some people are not good at deskwork. Everyone has their own personality that is different from others, but in fact, there are many people who don't know what occupation they would be good at.

On the other hand, some students center their life on work. They can get an income, but their time and energy is not invested in the future. It is a good thing to use the money earned for the future. If you spend your time and money like some students do, can you lead a valuable school life? When entering the business world you will have to work harder than part-time workers do day after day. Students should think seriously about how to use their time in their daily lives. A part-time job should be kept down to the minimum hours except for people who have difficulty to pay for school expenses.

Demand for part-time workers is increasing recently because personnel costs are lower than for full-time workers, so many companies are trying to cut their costs by using them. From the viewpoint of the employer they are just flexible workers.

In cases where employers have to reduce their workforce when their business falls into a slump, full-time workers cannot be fired without good reasons. But part-timers can be dismissed easily, so they are often used in various work places on purpose to cut back on costs.

Some part-timers work as much as the full-time workers do. The number of tasks that are entrusted to temporary workers or part-timers is also increasing because the number of full-time workers is decreasing. Students and housewives are hired to reduce the personnel costs nowadays.

University students must get a job in the near future. They should make good use of your time during their school days. It is advisable to go out into the real world which cannot be expensed on campus and to think practically about real jobs and get used to working. It may be necessary to have a part-time job while you are a student.

However, if you lead a work-centered life, it may disturb your studies and it will become a case of the tail wagging the dog. It is important to strike a balance between part-time work and school. More emphasis needs to be put on studying rather than on part-time jobs.