If work were a cup of coffee, hers would brim over.
Carrying a full course load, senior Carlee Krebs crunches in a minimum of 50 hours per week as the general manager of Taco Bell. Sometimes she puts in over 70.
“I love my job,” Krebs said. “I have a great staff. They are the reason I can work and go to school.”
In a growing national trend more college students, like Krebs, are working.View a slideshow of students working <a href="http://www.bakeru.edu/orangeline/0708slideshows/college%20jobs" target="_blank">View a slideshow of students working </a> View a slideshow of students working
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the percentage of college students with jobs has jumped almost 16 percent in the past 25 years, going from 33.8 percent in 1970 to 49 percent in 2005.
At Baker, many students work on and off campus, and it is a common tendency for students to work at fast food joints because there are so many options such as Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Wheat State Pizza, McDonalds, Subway and Mr. Goodcents.
One question in point: Why are so many students opting to work fast food? The answer lies in the students themselves.
Senior Alex Riester, an employee at Mr. Goodcents, said he chose his job for several reasons.
“It’s easy, my boss is cool and I get free food,” he said.
Because Riester doesn’t have to pay monthly rent, working 20 hours per week provides him enough money for the things he needs. Another factor that gives Riester’s job appeal is its location. It’s close to home so he can dodge the expense of gasoline entirely.
“I ride a bike so I don’t have to worry about that,” he said.
Location is also one of the things that pulled senior Andrew Hodges, an employee at Wheat State Pizza, toward his fast food job. Hodges gets away with working 25 hours a week because he doesn’t have to pay for gas.
“I only live 10 feet from the backdoor of the place, so it’s not like I have to commute to get to work,” he said.
Senior Margaret Kisner works two jobs unrelated to her major. She is a caregiver at a daycare and a cashier at Taco Bell.
“I really enjoy the daycare job,” she said. “Taco Bell is more of an ‘I gotta work to pay the bills’ job.”
After Kisner’s last class, she chugs down to the daycare to assemble lunches and watch infants and toddlers. Depending on the day, she’ll often motor down to Taco Bell and start ringing up customers. Kisner said she chose the daycare job because she liked it and the fast food position because of its convenience and pay.
Without parents pulling the load, living expenses have tilted the scales and made the days of shaking pennies from piggy banks and digging for dimes in couch cushions a dim memory. Sometimes students have to work in places less than ideal to buy amenities that parents can’t, or won’t cover.
Kisner plunks her paycheck down to purchase personal items, like her car and insurance for it. Krebs works to pay the bills. She pays for everything from rent to gas, electricity to car payment.
Junior Ariel Penner assembles sandwiches at Subway to pay for food, housing and her college education.
“I’m trying to save some money so I can apply it on my loans,” she said.
Senior Jeremy Webb rings up customers part time at Taco Bell in order to earn money for his car payment.
“I like (the job) for the most part,” he said. “I like that I actually have a chance to get the money.”
It can be easy to let work interfere with studying, so some develop study habits to keep grades from slipping.
Kisner utilizes downtime at the daycare to study and punch out assignments on her laptop. This helps because she often doesn’t slide her car into a parking spot at home until 10 p.m.
“It is a lot harder because when I’m working both jobs I usually don’t get home until late,” she said. “But academics are the top priority in my life, so if I have to stay up late and wake up early in the morning, that’s how it works.”
When considering work overload, Ashley Sims, who holds a work-study job in the English department and works at Kohl’s department store, said she has a bit of an advantage. As a work-study student, she’s only allotted eight hours per week, and when there’s nothing for her to do, she can work on homework.
“My job has never interfered with my studies,” she said. “My class schedule always comes first, and I work around it.”
Despite the flexible schedule, the minimal pay and lack of hours can cause students to forego work-study jobs for higher paying jobs. Penner had a work-study position, but gave it up.
“It just wasn’t enough,” she said. “I would get in situations where I’d have to pay insurance and telephone bills and my parents won’t just pay for them.”
But Penner said that the switch to fast food has made it difficult to keep up.
“It conflicts a lot,” she said. “I don’t usually have a chance to start homework until after 10.”
Sometimes the heavy workload can prove too lumbering, forcing students to drop classes or alter lifestyles.
Krebs said she had to drop her sorority, Phi Mu, because it was too much.
“I just couldn’t do it this year. Working definitely makes an impact,” she said. “But if I wasn’t working, I probably wouldn’t spend my time as wisely.”