Understanding the Experiences of Working Students in Metro Manila During the Pandemic

Abstract

The study is focused on the journey of working students. The researchers focused on various causes. Work is needed to gain income to pay for daily necessities, and the researchers wanted a deeper understanding of how the lives of working students take part in this role amidst a pandemic. They wanted to observe and understand why these students do what they do, as not all are financially struggling. Some voluntarily work as they wish to gain experience and make extra income, while their schools guide some through On-the-job-training.

Various online platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet were highly utilized to interview Senior High School and College students around Metro Manila. However, for a specific sampling, the researchers were looking for working students who were either financially struggling or were working for experience and income. The researchers did not interview any working students that work under OJT, for it doesn’t fall under the selection criteria in the research paper.

The results show that the working students did gain experience from their work and benefitted from it as their work aligned with their courses in their schools. Another benefit they received was income. They were able to provide for themselves and their families, and they were also able to buy their wants and needs. Although they are still struggling, especially with time management, having work helps them financially. This study shows that working while studying amidst a pandemic is not simple. Even with advantages, people must be disciplined in time management. A variety of employment available may be suitable and from which people may learn and earn. Various flaws in this study were the lack of observational methods and the data on the working student’s grades, as it would highly support the research.