Work and School by Richard MacAuley

Richard is a market pricing strategy senior analyst at Southwest Airlines. Views are his own.

"Working through college was never much of a question for me. In fact, I’ve been working since I was a 14-year-old high school freshmen washing dishes and making salads at a pizza joint in Wyandotte, Michigan. I’ve bussed tables, washed dishes, and prepped salad bars all through high school. My father taught me the value of hard work and told me that once I turned 18, he would help me get a job with Northwest Airlines at the Orlando airport as a way to get into the airline business. I couldn’t contain my excitement. I was finally within reach of my dream: working for the airlines.

Within a month after my 18th birthday, I was a baggage handler making $9 an hour wearing the same uniform my father wore early in his career. I was a part of the lucky few who knew exactly what they wanted in life. Working as a baggage handler was very taxing on the body, especially during those hot and humid Florida summers. However, I never viewed it as a job. I felt simultaneously honored, excited, and genuinely happy to go to work every day because I got to be around aviation. That made working 30-40 hour weeks while studying full time totally worth it. I got my foot in the door at the earliest time possible; and it has paid dividends as I now hold a very exciting and well-paying job in airline pricing.

 I frequently get asked, “Would you change anything?” “Do you feel like you missed out on key college experiences because of working so much?” The truth is, I wouldn’t change a thing about what I did. I had my fun, went to my share of football games, got involved in leadership development, served as the student government vice president, and spent many nights in sports bars enjoying time with friends. Oh, and let’s not forget the benefit of free, space-available travel we airline employees get. I flew all over the country, even doing my homework on flights so I could get everything done without missing out on life. There were of course, a few things I wish I had done differently.

After I left Seminole State College and began the final two years of undergrad at the University of Central Florida, I stopped getting involved on campus. I became a “ghost student” spending as little time on campus as possible so I could focus on work, school, and a budding relationship that would eventually turn into a marriage. My 3.8 GPA became a 3.2 as straight A’s became B’s and my ambitions shifted to simply getting the piece of paper and moving on with my life. My hours at work increased and I found myself frequently giving up shifts or taking sick days to get homework done. In all honesty, my attitude at work and in school began to suffer. I was burning out, finally feeling the effects of the previous 4 years of hard work and multitasking. Thankfully, I fought my way through the senioritis, got my bachelor’s degree, and quickly networked my way to a new job on the corporate side of the airline business before getting married and starting my MBA.

I wish I had taken undergrad more seriously. I consider myself a smart and successful person, but I can’t help but wonder if I could have been even better had I worked a little harder in college. Perhaps I should have joined a fraternity. There was a fantastic business-orientated fraternity that had a great reputation on campus. I could have made some excellent friendships and important connections. I could have been more involved in philanthropy, too. Maybe I needed an internship to get a head start on developing my data analysis skills.

There’s a lot I could have done differently. However, what I did got me to where I am today, which is light-years ahead of anything I could have ever imagined. My internship was 5 years of working on the ramp at two different airlines. My fraternity was my coworkers who helped me learn the business and bridge the gap between the frontline and corporate offices. My mentors were executives who let me fly out to Dallas and discuss career paths with them. Within a month of graduating, I had a solid job offer in hand and became a young professional. You can’t argue with those results.

If you can get a job in your field that enables you to work part time, I would highly suggest working through college. No fraternity or organization will be as valuable to you as the connections you make in a real workplace with a company you can envision spending the rest of your career with. Of course, not every field may give you that opportunity. Even still, I would recommend working at least 20 hours a week. Working enables you to start learning how to handle personal finances and shows potential employers that you are driven enough to handle multiple responsibilities at once. I’ve worked with people who had no prior work experience before getting professional jobs and the side-effects are often quite visible. Many feel that the world owes them something because of the 4 years they spent in college. Many feel they shouldn’t have to work as hard for the money they make. Some even feel superior to the burger flippers, cashiers, and busboys of the world. I tell you, there’s something about bussing tables, washing dishes, and cleaning airplane bathrooms that teaches you the value of hard work. That’s a lesson you don’t learn in school. That being said, the most important thing you can do for yourself in college is to enjoy being young.

Enjoy the experience of going to school and having more free time and fewer bills than the average adult who’s married with two children and a mortgage. Never short-change yourself when it comes to having fun, but know the right balance between work and play. Always ask yourself, “Is what I’m doing preparing me for my future career?” After all, college lasts a few years. Your career will impact the rest of your life."

Masters of Business Administration in Aviation from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, 2015
Business Administration and Marketing from The University of Central Florida, 2013