It’s not a secret that I am in fact a working student. From the beginning, I made it clear that I didn’t want to lie to anyone about that, especially my potential clients. I’m sure a lot of people out there are still curious on how I got to where I am now and what these experiences felt like. I wish to inspire all those other aspiring students to take a risk and face your fears. So, I made a list of 5 things I learned throughout all of this:
1. Your age doesn’t matter (always)
The person who introduced me to working online told me to lie about my age. I didn’t want to, but I guess it would be hard getting a job that way. Although to my surprise, not one person asked me about my age! The people I got closer to through work tried to guess my age, and all of them failed. I am a fresh graduate from junior high school and am currently 16 years old. Surprise! So don’t be discouraged. It’s never too early to start on your career. Sure, some people would prefer the older freelancers because as they say, “experience comes with age.”
2. You’re not always successful on your first attempt
I feel like this is something very general into everything you put your time and effort into. May it be sports or just learning how to bake, you’re always going to have slumps. Just like me, I didn’t have a job the first month I tried. No matter how many jobs I applied for, I never got a message back. I got discouraged and stopped for a while. To my surprise, when I finally got back somebody had invited me for a job, and they were my first ever client! And guess what, I’m still writing for them up until now. (Literally, I’m writing for them now.)
3. Balancing work and studies is hard
At first, I thought it was easy, I just had to write a few words, and I got money. Oh boy, how wrong I was. Even if you did nothing at school all day thinking of coming home to work is very exhausting. Writing is mentally draining, and even though you think you’re a good writer, there’s going to be a time where you can’t find the right words. Once you start earning money, you’ll also be discouraged to do school works anymore. “Why do I even need to do this, I don’t get paid for doing this.” Trust me; I’ve gone through it. So, make sure to give yourself a rest and schedule your day right. You don’t have to give up any of these.
4. Sometimes things can be too overwhelming.
Once you’ve established a good reputation, you’ll never stop getting job interviews. You may think that you need more money or that you can handle more jobs. Please don’t do that. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. You don’t need to be rich, we’re all still young. Take baby steps and don’t get too greedy or else you’ll be the one in a tight spot. Keep your work and your studies both at a right level.
5. There’s no shame in admitting defeat
If you did try to balance your job and studies but still feel super stressed, that’s alright. You’re not doing anything wrong, you did your best, and now it’s time to take a long-needed rest. No matter how much you want to deny it, your studies must come first. If you have a good client, they’ll understand if you explain it to them. In my graduating year, I just couldn’t deal with all the stress going on in my life, so I had to stop working. My clients understood that, and I took a hiatus for a few months. Once you feel better, get back on your feet and start working again!
So, there you have it. I hope some of you picked up something from all my experiences above. This doesn’t only apply for students but for everyone afraid of what freelancing might offer you. Please leave a comment down below if you have any other questions!
Photo credit: Pixel La Photo / Leo Hidalgo
