The Balancing Act of Student Life
Chapter 9

Balance; it’s a great thing.

You might hear a lot of people talk about having a great “work-life balance”. If you work so much that you can’t have a life, that’s not healthy for you. If you “live” so much that you get fired, that’s not healthy for your bank account. For students, in an ideal world, this becomes a three-way balancing act (work-study-life balance) but the reality for most students, is that it ends up being just work-study balance. The “life” part of it mostly takes the backseat. So, unless you are on a fully covered scholarship or receiving full financial support, then you are going to have to get a job while you are studying.

Call centre jobs are a great option for students. They tend to be normally available, pay well, and give you some great experiences. You learn the accent and pronunciation of the lingo in your new environment. We all know that customer service in Kenya can sometimes be lacking. By lacking, I of course mean if you are able to get ANYTHING solved you must be talking to the employee of the decade.

If more students learn from their experiences from call centres in places like Australia that can only be great for our local service as people will return like I have and, either, make changes in those companies or at least demand better service.

You don’t need to know a lot going into a call centre job as they will train you. You will actually get a lot more out of it than just a pay cheque. You will learn effective communication, brainstorming, copywriting, and empathy. These are experiences that will greatly benefit your work and university life.

I would be remiss if I didn’t say one of the major drawbacks to this type of work is that you might experience some angry customers and some racism. When people are stressed, they might pick your accent and let loose with a “go back where you come from” or “Put someone on the phone that speaks English” lol… yet you are speaking English without the tweng they want. While you might want to fire back, it’ll probably only add to the situation.

This is not something that I experienced in Australia, which is a great country of many mixed cultures. I’m not saying that doesn’t happen, I’m just saying that it’s not something that I experienced. My working career there saw many employers rallying behind the idea of inclusiveness which was great.

With that out of the way, the idea of the work-study balance is something that is achievable. You don’t have to go with the call centre route, but it would be great to get a part-time job that will add vital skills to your resume. Back office jobs such as working in a bank where you are processing telegraphic transfers, checking signatories on cheques etc. can also be great student jobs.

You might not find the perfect part-time job, but you will find one that you like and will add some money to your bank account and some skills to your work life.