Katherine Lampman Draft 3 (counterargument)

Choosing higher education has an inevitable consequence: student debt. It is an issue that has been sweeping the nations for decades and is increasing rapidly. However, myself and millions of other students throughout the nation are choosing a way out. United Parcel Services provides a program, Metro-college, that allows students to work part time third shift in return for a weekly paycheck and paid tuition to local colleges and universities. The requirements are simple; receive a C average in all classes with no withdraws and complete a few modules to ensure you understand the terms and conditions.

To me, this was a perfect choice to avoid the burden of student debt. However, there are cons to this option that keep people from choosing this route. Metro-college pays tuition for those who work the 11pm-4am shift. This is a problem for people with second jobs, children, or other things going on in their everyday life. Also, working third shift can cause shift work sleeping disorder. Sleep Education says, “People with shift work disorder may sleep up to four hours less than the average worker. Shift work disorder causes you to have trouble sleeping or be severely tired. The quality of sleep may be poor, and you may wake up feeling unrefreshed. You may feel fatigued or exhausted. This can hurt your performance at work, and can put you at risk for making a costly mistake or getting injured on the job.” This can also cause a hurt in performance at school, causing the student to not meet the grade requirements needed. These people work at night.. while sleeping during the day, taking time from homework, family, and other responsibilities of ones daily life.

Although working third shift can cause sleep deprivation and affect the daily lives of the employees, it is easily adaptable for some. Sleep Education also says, “Not everyone who does shift work has shift work disorder. Many people have difficulty initially adjusting to a new shift.” For me, after a few weeks of working third shift, I was easily adapted and became comfortable with my schedule. A student can schedule classes at a good time for them to get enough sleep while also fitting in some personal time. UPS provides great benefits such as health/dental insurance for your whole family, a weekly paycheck at a decent wage, and paid tuition that will help you to avoid the burden of student debt. Although the shift is an odd time to adjust to, it’s simply an opportunity a student cannot pass up.

 

"Shift Work." Sleep Education. American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 2014. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.