Personal Narrative - Working While Attending College

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With the cost of college nowadays, you almost have to be rich to finish without working at least part of the time. When I came to New Jersey from India, I thought it would be easy to get a computer science degree and pursue the career of my choice. It turned out to be much harder than I expected. Working full-time and taking much more than two years, but I have discovered that you can turn the problem of working full-time while attending college into a big opportunity to improve your life.

First of all, you have to learn how to live with a double schedule. When I first came to this country, I got a full-time job in a bank. When I began my studies thinking that I would work only part time. Instead, I quickly realized I could not afford to pay my rent and other expense without working full-time. This meant I would have to maintain a forty-hour or more work every week and fit my courses in whenever I could. Luckily, the community college I wanted to attend had an evening program that allowed me to take courses in the evening and weekends. On paper this looked like a good schedule, but I was shocked to learn that I had no time for social activities or shopping, and very little for homework. The first semester I slept only five hours a night and became so tired that I thought I wouldn’t make it. By the end of the first term, I was sure that with enough determination I would reach my goal.

A working also has to overcome academic difficulties and make sensible choices. I didn’t...

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