1. Time
Well, time can be relative, but in direct comparison to each other, work obviously takes a longer time than school! Furthermore, students have a lot more break times than workers. Workers can take breaks as they see fit, but if they’re being observed to take one too many it creates a bad impression for their superiors. So people try to look busy and not look like they’re taking a break when they are.
2. Subject
As a student, you have several subjects to study over the course of a day, with usually the same amount of time. As a worker, most of the time you don’t get to do enough of an aspect of the job that you enjoy doing but you get more than enough of what you don’t like to do! And they’re never for a set amount of time. Murphy’s Law would dictate that the bit you enjoy working will be too little or something problematic will crop out to make you enjoy the process less. :|
3. Responsibility
Since a student doesn’t get paid to study, ultimately the only responsibility s/he has is for him or herself. Your parents can try to motivate you by means of encouragement or threats, but whether you pass or fail, the glory or shame is yours alone. It would also take a lot to get you kicked out of school. At work, because you are paid, you have to take some amount of responsibility, failing which you will earn some talking-to from your boss (depending on how nice s/he is) and the guilt that you are not worth the amount being paid. You might also cause further work for your colleagues to pick up after your mess. Talk about a guilt trip.
4. Friends
You can make friends more easily in school, and there are so many people to choose from! At work, of course you have to make friends with your colleagues, but the point of work is work. So you can’t devote as much social time as you would at school to hang out with your friends than you could at work. Even if you’re a quick worker and get your job done fast, you might be disturbing your colleague if you pop over his or her desk to chat one too many times throughout the day. For students, they have more time to be with their friends after school if they choose to. Workers sometimes socialise after working hours, but more often than not they don’t because they want to be home with their families.
5. Money
Well, that’s an obvious difference. With power comes responsibility! When you aren’t paid for doing what you do and it’s only “for the sake of your future”, you’re not very likely to take it seriously. There isn’t an immediate result when you fail a test as a student, except a scolding from your parents and a little momentary guilt. Maybe your pocket money will be lessened, but you won’t starve. If you perform under par at work, this will be reflected in your pay – you’ll probably get a smaller increment or none at all, if you’re still lucky to have your job! When you’re working, you mostly likely aren’t just responsible for your own self anymore – there’s loans and bills to pay, and family to care for.