Money or Grades?
By Hannah Ng

Today, many full-time university students have part-time jobs like sales and tutoring. Some students even start to have a part-time job when they are in secondary schools. Time management is one of the points that teenagers need to be concerned with.
In the past, some secondary students offered tutoring after class to earn extra income because of family financial problems. The need for students to find part-time employment is now beyond covering the tuition fee and earning extra income to supplement the family living.

Unlike previous generations, the new generation wants to get a little extra money to spend on entertainment, clothes and electronic products. They also want to obtain a working experience during their school lives in order to increase their future employability. Material benefit is the main reason for  finding a part-time job. And the most important thing is that they always ignore the importance of a balanced life. It would not be beneficial if the time spent on a part-time job is more than that on study. Moreover,  bad time management would lead to the lack of sleep which would mess up their studies. It is common to see that some students spent less time on study because of part-time jobs.

Vitty Ho is now a Form 5 student with no part-time job. She worked in a tutoring centre for half a year when she was in  Form 3. She needed to work after class from 17:00 to 20:00, sometimes to 21:00 on weekdays. She was not satisfied with the offer, but she accepted it as there was no other choice of jobs for her age.

"I want to earn more cash for buying some favorite things and having fun with friends, therefore, I need a job," Ho said. Money benefit is one of the incentives for Ho. She didn't want to ask her parents for pocket money except for necessary living costs and tuition fees.

Taking on a part-time job while studying, Ho felt exhausted and sleepy after work. She had little energy to do homework when she went back home. She set aside the homework until she woke up in early morning and finished it in a rush. "Although I felt stressful and tense because of the tight schedule, I was very happy and satisfied when I got the money," Ho said. After half a year, she quit the job since her grades were falling and she felt really tired to give tutoring. "A healthy balance of work and study is very important. Don't get yourself in trouble unless you can handle both  work and study," Ho concluded.