In American culture, all students are expected to support themselves, at least for the basic survival necessities. I too, being a part of this colorful culture, adopted the same approach of working part-time to support myself, but I had my apprehensions. As it turned out, my apprehensions were merely a travesty of the reality of the situation and the experience turned out to be one of the most nurturing and educational experiences I have had to date.

I work as a food tech at Jason’s Deli at Talley Student Union. My job basically involves cleaning the setup, cooking and expediting the process when needed and directed by the floor supervisor. It did take me time to figure out the way things work, which was the first of the many lessons I have learned there: appreciating the work.

Back at my home in India, I did not cook or clean often. This experience led me to appreciate all the hard work my mother put into preparing the delicacies I like and keeping things clean. Many things we take for granted require a lot of hard work by people who usually work in the background. We should be more grateful toward them and also express it as often as possible.

Some students may regard having a part-time job as merely a survival tactic and nothing more, but it is not so. Pursuing perfection in every little thing that we do requires a very organized approach, which is exactly what I learn and improve upon every time I work at Jason’s Deli.

This has a double advantage. Not only do I learn how to prepare different meals, but I also learn the most efficient and brisk way of solving practical problems, a handy skill in conducting day-to-day affairs. This skill is very useful to engineers, scientists and programmers.

While initially some of the tasks appeared to be trivial, later on they taught me many valuable lessons, like how to focus my energy to one specific task for a longer period of time, and how to improvise in case of an unforeseen circumstance. Again, these skills are useful both in our daily lives and our professions. The second lesson applies to all the professions and it is no mean feat to develop a skill that has so universal an application.

For students who wish to take some managerial post or pursue further study of management, working at such a place would be nothing short of training and added experience. As a manager, you will have to manage your resources under time constraints and pressures caused by the presence of a customer (or many customers).

The occasional irritable customer who may have been upset provides you an opportunity to improve upon your communication skills. Ask any person involved in consultancy and the management industry and they will tell you that customer management and satisfaction is one of the most important skills in their profession.

Working at Jason’s Deli has had an added advantage for me. Being an international student, the cultural shock was something that would hit me eventually, but because I was able to interact with many people from different countries and cultures, the after effects of the initial waves of the shock were considerably mitigated. Moreover, the job has enabled me to learn a lot about this culture, which has been an enriching experience.

I believe that a subordinate is only as good as their supervisor, and it is the behavior of the supervisors that dictates the atmosphere of the workplace. I am fortunate to have dedicated and jovial supervisors who are willing to teach me, taking into account my inexperience in any such setup. The entire staff, right from the people who wash the dishes to the floor managers and supervisors are fun loving people and are good at humoring the students, which improves the work conditions of the entire workplace.

Every student should at least work once in a part-time job and experience the beauty of it firsthand. It is a very enriching and educational experience that you will come to appreciate, just as I have come to appreciate mine.