The Impact of Financial Burden and Employment on Student Employment Turnover and Dropout Intentions

Abstract

College may be stressful but paying for college can bring its own issues. Financial burden is one of the primary sources of stress for many college students. As noted by Ross, Niebling, and Heckert (1999), financial issues account for over 70 percent of perceived stress in college students. In addition to daily cost-of-living expenses increasing credit card debt, a substantial amount of long-term debt is incurred by students who are required to take loans to pay for their tuition (Jackson & Reynolds, 2013). Regarding the later, the amount of debt that is incurred by a college student is typically a direct function of the socioeconomic status and education level of the student’s parents (Houle, 2013). This disparity in the availability of resources due to parental status creates a considerable burden on students who must attempt to balance academic success with making ends meet (Smith, 2011). Students are also faced with an additional source of stress resulting from the ambiguity regarding their career opportunities following graduation and the subsequent ability to pay off their college loans (Guo, Wang, Johnson, & Diaz, 2011). In order to pay off these extensive loans, many college students work during college. This additional role as an employee adds stress to the student as well.