The drawback is that you're spending significant amounts of your time working and commuting instead of studying. Realistically, there's also a limit to how prof

The drawback is that you're spending significant amounts of your time working and commuting instead of studying. Realistically, there's also a limit to how professionally-relevant a job you can get while working part-time. I worked summers, while taking classes during the third year of my degree, and participated in a coop program. The summers and coop program were great, but I regret working while in classes. The money I made wasn't worth the hit to my marks and comprehension of the material. In retrospect, I'd have been better off taking a bit more debt and concentrating on academics. Also, when my father went through school, his summer job not only paid for tuition and books, but gave him spending money and paid for his car, gas, and insurance. I couldn't afford a car until well after graduating, and even then with insurance and gas it cost a quarter of my paycheque. Had I done the same thing, I'd have needed a year-round part-time job just to cover the car.