Of course there are pros and cons to working and studying but for a lot of people the harsh reality is that to get by you need to have a part time job. I was the only person in my flat last year to have a part time job and it was difficult when after a night out I would have to get up and get ready for work whilst they all stayed in their pjs and spent the day bed bound. I don't regret having a job for one minute though, as it allows me to do so much more than if I didn't have a job. For a lot of students its getting to the time of year when the realisation hits of how much student life costs and whether or not they can live off of their loan alone. I thought it would be a good post to list the pros and cons of working alongside studying full time and obviously start with the cons so we can end this post on a high point!
Cons
001 It can take up a lot of your time
This is job dependant of course, but for a lot of students a lot of places that will hire them is clubs/bars as bar staff and many of which pay poorly with crappy hours and when you have a full on timetable this can be difficult to juggle.
002 Not relevant to your future
Unless you're really lucky of course. I'm a prime example of this, I want to go into a career based around Law and I currently work in a supermarket behind a checkout, not exactly similar are they? A job, any job, looks good on a CV but having work which relates to the career you want to go into helps out tremendously.
003 Work/Life Balance
Like I mentioned above it can be difficult, job dependant, to juggle both studying and working. However, in my opinion studies always have to come first, you are paying £9,000 a year to be doing a degree and getting a good degree at that and for me a job should always come second in priority to that. I work one day a week but the overtime is available to me but if I know I've got a deadline or a lot of work that needs doing I won't put myself down for extra work no matter how much I need the money. I'm at university for a reason at the end of the day and not to work in a dead end job.
004 Social Life
University I know isn't all about the social life but it is a massive aspect of it and having a job may affect that. Like I said I only work one day a week and in my first year I worked every Saturday at 3pm until 9pm, these were idyllic hours as it meant I could still go out on a Friday night and on a Saturday if I wanted to (no one ever goes out on Saturdays though as most people go home for weekends) whereas this year I am working only Saturday again but 10am until 6.30pm. Longer hours and earlier starts which means I will have to think twice before going out on a Friday and if I do be careful how much I drink as I don't want to have to call into work sick because I drank too much the night before. Obviously this is independent to the hours and the type of work you do but it is worth considering it.
Pros
001 You have your own money
This is a massive plus in my books. So many people I knew had their loans and nothing else. I never worried about spending too much or too little money. Whatever I earned was mine and didn't contribute to my rent whatsoever, so if I wanted to go out and spend £100 on a night out I could (not that I ever did) or if I wanted to go on a massive spending spree on beauty products I could and wouldn't feel guilty about it. It opens life up a lot as well in terms of what you can and want to do.
002 A Well Deserved Break
My degree is very much self-taught and requires a lot of reading and sometimes knowing that on a Saturday I won't do anything academic is a relief. It gives your brain a break and also can be well needed especially when you live in halls and you just need space and want to get out of being in the same four walls.
003 Social Aspect
Working I have met so many amazing people and its so nice to have 'work' friends who I socialise in and out of work. Meeting new people who may live full time in the city you are going to University or even a student themselves is so nice and handy when you need advice or just want someone to talk to. Also it means you can rant to them about work as well. Having my flat/hall friends and my course friends and then my work friends means I get to do so many things with different people all the time, its great!
004 Guaranteed Summer Job
This is only relevant if you can transfer between stores. If you can you are pretty much guaranteed summer and Christmas work which can be such a bonus, you can work more without studies getting in the way as well as saving all your money for the next semester.
005 Shows Good Time Management
If you have a part time job as well as studying full time it can be a good prospect to future employers as it will show you have good time management to be able to do all of your university work as well as have a part time job on the side. Especially if you get a really good degree at the end of your time at university.
I hope this has helped any of you thinking of getting a part time job whilst at university or even studying in general. If you have any questions please feel free to leave them below and I'll happily answer them.
Do you have a job at university? What are your opinions of working whilst studying?
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