Taking a data entry job can do more than just pay the bills—it can hone your skills and prepare you for a future job.
Balancing your academic and financial responsibilities can be challenging, but it can also be a rewarding experience. Not only can you whittle away at your student debt and pay present bills; you can also hone valuable skills to leverage in your future career.
Data entry is a field in which many students have found work that fits their academic schedules. When you check out the list of potential benefits below, you'll want to dust off your data entry resume and start sending in applications today.
Benefit No. 1: The Flexibility of Freelance Work
Flexibility is one of the biggest benefits of many data entry jobs. Most are considered freelance or remote positions. Students can set their own hours, working from their dorm, home, or favorite coffee shop—before class, after class, or between classes. Most positions also allow remote workers to choose how much work they take on each week. This can help students maintain a healthy work/life balance, especially when they need time for big projects or to study for exams.
Benefit No. 2: Cultivating Soft Skills
Soft skills—those personal attributes and personality traits that are difficult to teach in a classroom setting—are more in demand with employers than ever before. While soft skills can't really be taught, they can be cultivated. Your data entry job will give you the opportunity to practice.
Focus, patience, and attention to detail are very important in data entry because the work requires you to ensure a high degree of accuracy. These skills can enhance your academic studies and will prove highly transferable when you apply for future jobs.
Juggling classes and work will also help you sharpen your time management and organizational skills . You will need to meet deadlines both for your work and schoolwork; you will have to practice prioritizing your tasks efficiently.
Benefit No. 3: Honey Technical Skills
Most college students are “digital natives” —they've grown up with computer technology and are comfortable using it. Yet, while “fluent in digital culture,” do you know how to use academic tools? Surveys report that at least 20 percent of college students struggle with basic “ed tech” tools. Early training during your data entry job will fill in some of these gaps, familiarizing you with database spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.
Benefit No. 4: Enhancing Your Resume's Experience Section
If data entry is your first entry point into the workforce, you know how uncertain it can feel to turn into a resume with no previous work experience. Granted, your academics and extracurricular activities fill in the gaps, but having viable work experience will help your first post-graduation resume to feel well-rounded.
Benefit No. 5: Getting a Foot in the Door
Data entry is a part of many fields, including marketing, finance, and healthcare. This entry-level position can help you explore a field you are interested in or discover one that you had not previously considered.
The benefits are even greater if you're seeking a Master's in data analytics . Whether you hope to become a data analyst, data scientist, business intelligence analyst, data engineer, or data consultant, your time in data entry can help you understand this foundational element of our data-driven world.
Finally, in any of these circumstances, you can potentially get a foot in the door, so to speak. As you complete your schooling and gain more experience, you may be able to apply for or be promoted to other positions within the company. You will also form relationships with potential networking contacts that may prove valuable throughout your career.
Benefit No. 6: Show Me the Money
We've perhaps saved the most obvious benefit for last. College is expensive—tuition, books, dorms, groceries, and other expenses. You can offset the amount you'll have to pay back later (and maybe save on interest payments) by covering some of these costs now. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Handbook, information clerks enjoy a median pay of more than $19 per hour.
Benefit No. 7: Ideal for Introverts
Many part-time jobs are located squarely in the service and hospitality industries. They require constant attention to customers, their needs, and sometimes their unruly complaints. This can be a stressful environment for introverts or individuals with social anxiety to work in.
Data entry offers a response from this common problem with part-time jobs. Data entry jobs are usually low-pressure and, as mentioned above, can be performed alone or in an environment the student feels comfortable in. Some students have even reported that the repetitive nature of data entry provides a soothing mental break from the stresses of school
Conclusion
Data entry jobs for students can be beneficial in many ways, ranging from paying down student debt to gaining experience for future careers in data science. They even offer surprising perks, like a break from social stressors. Consider applying for a data entry job today.
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