Gone are the days when one could pay their way through college. That task is impossible these days. I’ve worked steady through two semesters and have been able to save little to no money. I couldn’t pay for school if I tried. So why work so hard? Where does all the money go? What’s the point?

Rent is one, and depending on where you live it can be ridiculously expensive or pretty cheap. Last year living in a Campustown apartment was no laughing matter. The rent was $465 a month, which isn’t so bad, but can be daunting when you’re not making that much an hour. During the fall 2009 semester, I was working for ISU dining, working 15 hours a week, for $9 an hour. Every two weeks I was making barely half my rent. In a month I was making about $530. That paid for rent and utilities; and nothing else. I couldn’t put a dent in my tuition costs with the remaining $25.

Is working a job through college worth it if you’re not making enough to pay for college? It depends on a person’s work ethic. Some people work jobs through college for the experience. Working a job as a supplemental dock associate at Fed Ex can prepare a logistics and supply chain management major for whatever job they’re looking into. Volunteering always looks good on resumes. Even though most volunteer work doesn’t pay, it looks great to employers and provides people with a sense of gratification.

Some are fortunate enough to not have financial worries. Some work on farms and are able to make more than enough to fund their college education. Others have clever talents — like a certain poker playing former roommate of mine — that allow them to bankroll their wildest desires.

For others, it’s weird not having a job. I’ve worked the oddest of jobs from bussing tables to working as a mascot. The point is, it doesn’t matter what the wage is so long as money is coming in.

But even that isn’t entirely true. Some jobs in town pay minimum wage while others pay much more than it. Is it all about the connections you make or opportune timing? Is it more important that you work somewhere you’re happy rather than doing monotonous work for the sake of the income?

Certainly some students are truly happy with the jobs they have. Whether these jobs have led to promotions or friendships or because they truly enjoy the work is up to the individual. However, more often than not, students are grinding it out day after day because the droning work helps distract from school and helps to pay for the bar tabs that sorrows are drowned in.