Siddhiq J
II CYS
“Every hour I work, every step I take, I carry the weight of my dreams and the love of those I hold close.”
I work part-time, and honestly, I think every student should do it too. It’s not just about earning money, it’s a learning about life. Many students might say handling college in itself is difficult and that they don’t have enough time to do all the work given in college, but to be honest, if we manage our time wisely, there’s actually enough room to get things done. In many ways, my part-time job has taught me more than some of my actual classes. And I think more students (and maybe teachers too) should be talking about that.
When I tell people that I am working a part-time job, they assume it is only about money. Yes, it is about money too, I don’t deny that, but it is not only about money. It is much more than that.
It is not only about earning, but it is also about learning what life truly is. The life lessons I have learnt when I started working are more valuable than the money I have earned so far. The first time I realized how long it takes to earn enough for a night out with friends, it hit me hard, making me understand that money isn’t just numbers on Google Pay. When you work for your income, every rupee has value. You begin budgeting and start calculating how much money you need and how much work it takes to earn that.
I work in a clothing store. Even though it is run by my relative, and many of my co-workers are my extended family, it is not easier because the expectations are really higher. I have to constantly earn my place through effort and keep proving my reliability.
This job is physically and mentally demanding. I’m on my feet most of the day, managing stock, assisting customers, and staying alert from morning till night. I started off earning ₹400 a day, and now I earn ₹600 for a full day and ₹350 for a half day. The earnings may seem modest, but the experience is priceless.
There were times when I wasn’t fully focused at work. I’d get distracted sometimes by pending college tasks, sometimes just by fatigue. And that’s when mistakes happen. I forgot prices, misarranged items, or unintentionally ignored a customer. These weren’t just small slip-ups. They were wake-up calls. At first, I felt defeated. I even wondered if I was trying to do too much. But those moments became turning points.
They taught me a powerful truth: “Focus is a form of respect” for the job, for the people around me, and for my own growth. I started learning from my mistakes, owning them, and improving bit by bit.
Balancing work and college forces you to actually manage time properly. Instead of spreading an assignment for one whole week and complaining about how difficult it is, we have to try to cram it into the time that we have. There is no time to waste asking “doubts” about the assignments to our friends and then just chatting about something else. Every minute counts. You plan your day with no time to waste – class in the morning, work in the evening, study at night. It’s tough, yes, but it builds discipline.
You stop procrastinating because you can’t afford to. You stop noticing how efficient you are because you have built focus. Others spend hours scrolling through Instagram and then wondering why they don’t have time to do their assignments.
Working part-time has helped me grow so much and has taught me skills and values that syllabus alone could not have taught me.
Here are a few key skills and values I’ve gained:
Time Management
Discipline
Responsibility
Patience
Communication
Self-Awareness
If you want to learn these skills and values and, in addition to that, gain confidence, resilience, grit, and different perspectives, you have to start working part-time immediately!
Yes, it’s tiring. Yes, you’ll make mistakes. But those struggles build character. You will be in a different league, both personally and professionally!
Working has taught me that education doesn’t end at the classroom door; it continues through every interaction, every mistake, and every day you choose to grow!