Having a job while studying at university

Hello class!

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin!

I'm going to talk to you a little bit about having a job while studying at uni. This is all based on my own experiences, so it might not be true for everyone, but I think most of what I say will be true for everyone.


As you probably know if you have read my blog, I have done 2 degrees at the University of Liverpool, studying a BA in Egyptian Archaeology Hons. and an MA in Egyptology Hons., so I have spent 4 years at uni. I lived either in Halls of Residence (years 1 and 2), or private rented houses (year 3 and my MA), rather than living at home because I couldn't commute to uni. So I was in Liverpool for about 8 months of the year.

When you are a student at university in the UK (other countries are different), you can apply for government grants, loans etc etc to help pay for your degree, accommodation, and other living expenses. However, as I am sure most students will agree, it is hard to make that money go far enough! And for postgraduate students, you generally can't get any money from the government, and although you can take out loans from banks, you will have to pay back a lot more than you are getting. So, a great way of getting money is by working while at university.

Obviously there are lots of different types of jobs you could do while at uni. Most unis will probably offer some opportunities like showing people around during open days etc, in which you can earn an hourly wage, but these opportunities can be quite irregular. If you are doing a specific degree, you may be able to get a job related to your degree, such as a job in a bank if you are doing a degree in business, mathematics etc, which would give you work experience as well as money. However, I think the majority of students with jobs work in 'unskilled' positions, for example as a bar tender or as a shop assistant. In my personal experience, it's nice to have a job where you don't have to think too much, as you are using your brain so much in you university degree!

During year 3 of my BA, and during my MA, I worked in my students' union shop. It is a little shop selling lunch food, especially crisps, sandwiches, soft drinks and chocolate, and stationery and university memorabilia, particularly hoodies. It is a nice little shop, and I have enjoyed working there, and I want to carry on working there when I do my PhD. I wish I had started work there during my year 2, when I lived on campus- it would have been a very short walk to work! I am very glad I worked there during my degrees, as it gave me something to do other than my essays! I made some good friends, and I feel like I have gained skills in many areas I didn't have before, and I have gained confidence too!!

There are some things you have to take into consideration when you are thinking about getting a job at university.
In particular, where you work: I worked in my students' union. 99% of people who work there are students, and therefore the working situation is very flexible for us- we tell the managers our availability for working by the Thursday, and then on the Friday we get the rota for the next week. If we can't do a shift for whatever reason, we email everyone on the staff email "Can you cover my shift", so you can have time off if you need it. If you can't work a certain week, for example if you have an essay due in, you just don't give in your availability. You can work as many or as few hours as you want. The shop isn't open during Christmas and Easter vacations, so we don't need to work then when I want to go home, and it is only open for short hours during revision periods, so they didn't expect many of us to work when we had to revise.
However, other companies and employers are not so flexible. If you work somewhere such as a shop in the city centre, they may give you a fixed rota, and they will expect you to work that. It may be very difficult to get time off when you need it, or get cover. If you have a timetable of lectures for your degree, you can try to fit your rota around that, which would be ideal, but in my experience, lecturers rearrange lectures quite often, and this is difficult if you have a fixed rota for work. If you are late because a lecture over-ran, you may get in trouble at work. If you work in a shop, most likely you will need to work during Christmas Eve and Boxing day, which means that you will find it difficult to spend Christmas at home if you can't commute. If you work in a bar or similar, you may need to work very late, which means that if you need to get up for a 9am lecture, you may not get much sleep! Also, some degrees require you to do a work experience placement, which may be difficult if you have to work in your job! And if you have a permanent job which requires you to work during the summer, you may never be able to go home to visit your parents!
Remember, working while at uni is a big commitment. If you are doing your uni course full-time, you are probably expected to work around 40 hours on your projects etc; if you work, for example, 12 hours per week in a shop, you are actually working 52 hours per week!
Don't forget that you have to factor in travelling to and from work. Fortunately, my work was on campus, so about 5 minutes work from my department, and if I walked REALLY quickly, a 7 minute walk from my house. However, if you work somewhere off-campus, it might take you quite a long journey to get to work. It may cost you extra money every day to get to and from work, such as if you take the bus, and it will take you time to get there and back, especially if you walk.


All-in-all, having a job at uni is very beneficial; however, I would recommend getting one that will be flexible, such as a job in your students' union! Your uni might (should) have a 'job shop', which will hopefully be full of flexible jobs suitable for students! There are other places you can go to find a job, such as employment agencies, where they can either find you a job or temp work, the Job Centre, online, or ask for vacancies in shops and bars! Remember to update your CV, and have a photocopy available when you are out and about, just in case you see an 'Employees Needed' sign in a shop window!

University advice to my 18 year old-self!

Hi everyone!!

Today's post is about becoming prepared for university, or What would I say to my 18 year old-self regarding university? This was a question asked by Deborah-Jane, whose daughter is going to university next year. I know I haven't been writing about studenthood much lately, so I'm glad to be writing this post to help people thinking of going to university!

What would I say to my 18 year old-self regarding university?

Before I went to uni, I really wanted to know what it was like, because no-one in my family had ever gone before, so I knew nothing about it. I wanted to find some young-peoples' fiction about it, to see what the day-to-day experience was like, but I never did. So this is what I would say to myself now:
 
    University isn't like school, it's actually a whole way-of-life. Mostly so if you live away from home, especially in halls; if you live at home, it might feel different. When you live in Halls (which the majority of 1st Years do), you are surrounded by students; you may travel to campus everyday on a bus surrounded by students; you spend all day in lectures and the library surrounded by students; and, if you live in catered halls, you eat in the canteen with students. It's very different to being at home and school, but in a good way, and it's easy to transition into this new environment, if you go with the flow!

    You do need to do a lot of work, definitely more than at school! Think of your course as a full-time job, around 40 hours of work per week. You will be expected to read a lot, and learn a lot of information. Expect to have weekly work, including set books or articles to read, perhaps a little test or two, and at least one essay for each module per term. Also, there will be the big exams at the end of term- make sure you write revision notes regularly (after each lecture would be ideal), so that you don't have to catch-up all subjects at once!

University is about independent work- you are set work in your lectures, seminars and tutorials, with instructions, and a bit of extra guidance if you ask your tutor, but otherwise you are expected to do the work mostly yourself. You can work with your classmates, but remember that you are at uni for your own education, so make sure you put the work in yourself! Don't let your classmates do all the work for you! And importantly, assessed work, especially essays etc, are supposed to be independent- if your teachers suspect you have been working with someone else on your work, UNLESS it is a joint or team project, then you will be in big trouble!

I used to worry about silly little things, like how people would think about me, what I should dress like, will they judge me by my appearance?

No-one cares about what you look like. Or, at least in my experience, they don't! University is much more grown-up than school, and people tend not to judge you so much by what you look like. Not to mention, people tend to think of uni as a place where you can be yourself- no rules about what you can or can't wear, or do your hair or make-up like at school- if you want green hair and nose-studs, feel free!! If you want to wear no make-up today, then people won't care, because they judge you by your actions and your personality instead!

Being the first person in my family to go to uni, I had no-one to give me specific advice about university- which is one of the reasons why I write this blog, so that I can give advice to new students! Now I have lots of info to share to others. And one major thing I should tell you about uni is: it's not that scary!!

It's a big responsibility, and it's not a walk in the park- but it's all manageable! It takes a lot of time, energy, and requires a lot of motivation. You might not get a lot of sleep some nights, and have to neglect your social life, but it is all worth it! It's such a satisfying experience, and it's fun; you get to meet so many amazing people, it feels like such an achievement, and you are doing something for yourself, to help your future, which is so satisfying!! If you feel like you are struggling, there will be a great support network at your uni, so use them. Make friends, have fun, don't drink too much, work hard, play hard, and do well! You will only do your degree once (hopefully!), so make the most of it!

I've written about a few of the pieces of advice I wish I could have told my 18 year old-self- but there are many more things I could talk about! 

Do you have any questions? Write them in the comments below!