When to Quit Your Part-Time Job

A part-time job can be a godsend for some college students: it can provide networking opportunities, valuable job experience for your resume, the chance to learn new skills that you'll really apply in the real world, and of course, extra spending money for books, beer or clothes. For other college students, part-time jobs might mean worthless, poor paying slave work that holds almost no real value when applied to your major or dream career. If you're that type of student, it might be time to quit. You've probably been taught your whole life that quitters get nowhere in life. You certainly didn't make it into college taking the easy way out all the time, and if you're even still in school after a couple of semesters, you obviously understand the value of hard work and sacrifice. But some jobs are simply not worth it, and quitting is the respectable action.

Make a list of the pros and cons of your job and critically examine the list when you're finished. Ask a mentor or friend to help you weight the good against the bad if you need help looking at things objectively. If your cons list includes bullets like "leaves no time for school work," "causing stress and night sweats" or "always having to stay late," then you have a right to consider quitting. And while not many people — even in the real world — typically love their boss, if your supervisor is overly critical and rude, that can be a good reason too. If you not only dislike going to work but feel anxious and experience extreme, physical and emotional dread every time you think about going to your job, there's no reason to waste so much time and energy on it. You need to focus on your schoolwork, and give yourself time to find a job that can help you in healthy, productive ways.

If your part-time job is annoying but tolerable and offers some good networking benefits, stick with it a couple more weeks. The main reason for quitting your job is because it takes too much away from your schoolwork and sanity, in the form of time spent at the job or time and energy spent worrying about it.