It’s 8:30 a.m. and my phone begins to play “Come on Eileen.” Somewhere in my nest of sheets, I groggily roll over and lay in bed for a minute. The sun is already streaming in through my window and the sky is a gorgeous blue; it’s a nice day to go to the beach. I get out of bed, eat breakfast and suit up for the full day ahead of me. I get into my car deciding to put the top down because of the inviting Florida morning. I smile knowing the water is going to be cool and I’m reminded of the salty, “sunscreeny” smell that I love so much when you first step onto the soft white sand.
I pull into the asphalt lot, put the top up and grab my name tag. I walk towards the front entrance of Lowry Park Zoo ready for a six-hour shift in the cash office on the third floor, a six-hour shift that will keep me inside the majority of the day. When I leave, the sun will be setting and the air will be cool and heavy.
There seems to be an ongoing rumor that Generation Y is spoiled and feels entitled. However, recent studies suggest that we may be the hardest-working generation of college students to grace campuses. Four out of five college students are now working part-time while attending school as full-time students, according to a study done by New Citi Group and Seventeen Magazine in 2013. In most cases, the survey found that these students are working 19-plus hours a week, which can make balancing group projects and study sessions tricky.
The money earned by these jobs isn’t thrown away on concert tickets or raging house parties, either. When broken down, 18 percent of students say they are responsible for the cost of tuition, while 31 percent of students say they are responsible for housing payment. About 41 percent of students say financial aid covers the majority of tuition, but because of an alarming rise in college tuition (41 percent for public schools and 31 for private throughout the past 10 years, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics), students must find ways to subsidize the cost of higher education. The University of Tampa is no exception to that inflation.
Kaitlyn O’Driscoll works part-time as a marketing assistant at SB Recommend and is the marketing intern for American Integrity Insurance. She’s glad that she’s been able to have the experience working while in college.
O’Driscoll also believes that being a full-time student and working part time will help her be prepared for the real world.
“I’m very glad I chose this for myself. I knew from the beginning it wouldn’t be easy, but it’s prepared me for the real world and a real full-time job,” O’Driscoll said. “None of my classmates work as many hours as I do, and I think that it gives me more experience. It also shows future employers that I can manage my time efficiently. Most importantly, I think it will help me gain respect from employees and it will show them how serious I am about wanting the job because of what I have sacrificed.”
She feels because most students who are in college really don’t have much experience with working and don’t seem to mind:
“I would say people who think our generation are spoiled are right for the most part. Especially going to a private school it’s really common for kids to not ever know what it’s like to work full time until after they graduate.”
—————————————————————————————————-
Alex Hance is a sophomore entrepreneurship and management information systems major and works part-time at the Jaeb Computer Center as a lab technician. He’s recently taken on an internship at Websults, a web design company in Tampa. Hance is grateful for the experience he’s gained at his job and internship knowing he’ll be able to apply what he’s learned toward future jobs.
“I think any type of work experience in college is invaluable,” Hance said. “Even if you’re doing something completely unrelated to your major, you’re gaining practical soft skills that you can apply to almost anything you do in the future.”
Hance doesn’t think our generation is spoiled, just exposed to more technology:
“As a whole I wouldn’t say our generation is any more entitled and spoiled than another. I lot of members of past generations seem to mistake using technological shortcuts for laziness and lack of motivation.”
——————————————————————————————————
Jerry Yancy is a junior marketing major and has worked at H&M part-time for two years. Yancy is proud of what he’s achieved through his hard work outside of the UT community.
“I am definitely glad that I work because it helps me become more independent,” Yancy said. “I don’t depend on my parents for much of anything. [For example], I just recently bought a car and signed a lease for my own apartment without a cosigner and things like that.”
Yancy says most students at UT are entitled:
“There are students here that are driven to work and make their own money, but in my opinion, I see that a lot of the students here have pretty much everything handed to them on a silver platter whether it’s the car that they drive to just small things like groceries.”
——————————————————————————————————-
Lindsay Nixon is a senior exercise science major and works at the UT Bookstore and the downtown YMCA, and she interns at Back to Work Physical Therapy in downtown Tampa. Nixon has been working since she was 16 years old.
“I have learned the value of a dollar. It has also taught me time management and to have a strong work ethic. In the working world, going the extra mile when no one else will sets you apart from the rest,” Nixon said.
She plans on going to grad school after graduating and pursuing a job in exercise science. Nixon keeps herself extremely organized in order to stay on top of everything,
“I drink 5 Hour Energy, which is horrible for you. I have my organizer, which is color coded by importance. I have my phone with alarms to remind me of things to do. Friday nights is my reflection day where I make sure I made all of my deadlines, Saturday is my personal day for my social life. It’s very regimented but it helps me,” Nixon said.
Nixon thinks the view of our generation being spoiled just comes from the older generations’ perspectives:
“I think it’s a fair assumption. I believe that older generations worked harder to get where they were but that’s just because of the lack of resources. In our generation we literally have everything handed to us yet we don’t take advantage.”