I just don't understand some people.
This article was about North Dakotans holding more than one job in order to survive, and it focussed in part on one woman who is attending UND to get her (second) bachelor's degree while working three jobs and planning a wedding at the same time.
WHY? You aren't trying to get more education, you're staying in school and HOPING that you'll get a better job when you come out, and meanwhile you're making your life miserable by trying to pay your way. Is there something in the midwestern psyche that is against taking out loans for education? If you think the degree you're working on is worth it, you should have confidence that you can pay off a couple hundred dollars a month once you get a job after graduation.
That being said, there are very few jobs in North Dakota for people who have a college degree. If you want to make a living, move out. I know you want to be close to home, and I know it's scary going to a new place, but sometimes it happens.
Sara Jenson is trying to finalize plans for her August wedding, but it’s hard to find time for that when she works three part-time jobs and goes to UND full time.
“With school and everything, I’m usually going from when I get up which is like 7 or 8 in the morning until midnight,” she said. “I’ve been having problems sleeping, and I don’t really have a social life now.”
Jenson isn’t the only one with a frantic schedule to keep up with the bills. In 2008, the most recent data available, 9.7 percent of employed North Dakota residents had more than one job — the highest rate in the country.
Jenson did everything young adults think will be enough to land a high-paying career — she went to college out of high school, earning a criminology degree from the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2008.
“I thought I’m going to go to college, I’m going to get a good job right when I get out and I’m going to be set,” she said. “And that’s definitely not the case. Nowadays, just a bachelor’s degree isn’t going to get you very far.”
After searching for about six months, Jenson was able to get a part-time job with Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota in Grand Forks. She started in the Attendant Care program, which provides a short-term alternative to jail or detention for juveniles facing criminal charges.
It’s an on-call position that has varying hours each week, but she said she liked it and wanted to get more hours, so she snatched up two other part-time jobs with Lutheran Social Services. Between all three, she averages 30 to 45 hours a week — but because they’re in different programs, it’s considered part time and she doesn’t get benefits.
Jenson, 23, has lived without health insurance for more than a year, an added stress on top of an already stressful schedule. “I’m pretty healthy, but everyone has to go to the doctor every once in a while unfortunately,” she said.
She started as a full-time UND student this month and said she should earn a bachelor’s degree in social work in about a year. Jenson’s part-time jobs have helped her get experience and pick a new career path that could give her a more normal schedule.
“I want to start a family one day, and mine’s going to be put on hold for a little bit because of what’s going on,” she said.
Jenson is going ahead with her August wedding, even though it means she has to spend her weekends doing homework and finalizing wedding plans, which would be impossible without her mom’s assistance. “I do have some help, which is very nice because I don’t think I could get it all done on my own,” she said.